cabinet leveling


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Old 04-09-18, 09:49 AM
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cabinet leveling

We recently picked up our kitchen cabinets.
I have done cabinets multiple times but why is it at your own house is where you always run into the problems?!

Anyway I tore up my kitchen, reinsulated, sheetrocked, etc etc, redid the floor with cement board and 12x24 tile.

Long story short, I tried leveling the old floor as much as I could with the tile but it was impossible.

Now running my base cabinets Ive ended up with minor shimming on the right side all the way up to strips of just under 1/2" ply (dont remember the exact thickness).

This wouldnt normally worry me except I decided to go tile then cabinets in this situation and we are getting quartz counters on top. The weight scares me honestly. I got them all level but seriously the way these walls and floor are out of whack is like the house is 200 years old. All the cabinetry I have even done was only supporting formica counters.
Im just hoping I can get some piece of mind from you guys who have done more work that involves either quartz or granite counters and some of the shim jobs you have done.

Im getting pretty stressed here. This wouldnt be an issue except the majority on the shimming was done at the end where the mounting was complete. The upper cabinets were a breeze.
 
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Old 04-09-18, 10:54 AM
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How much distance is between shims and/or the part that rests solidly on the floor?
I'm not a cabinet guy but would think as long as the cabinets are solid you shouldn't have any issues with the top.
 
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Old 04-09-18, 11:09 AM
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It sounds like all you can do is shim the cabinets well. I like to put a dab of construction adhesive on the shims so they can't move in the future. What you don't want is the cabinets hanging off the back wall. You really want good support from below with the floor to carry the weight and screwing to the wall just holds the cabinet from moving around.
 
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Old 04-09-18, 11:53 AM
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marksr: Im sorry, Im not sure I follow?


Pilot Dane: Yes, Ive been using adhesive as I go.
 
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Old 04-09-18, 01:57 PM
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You have shims under the cabinet, how far apart are the shims .... or how much of the cabinet base is setting on something solid versus what has a space under it.
 
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Old 04-09-18, 02:40 PM
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Each corner of each box should either be resting on the floor or on shims.

Find the highest point of the floor in the area occupied by cabinets. Shim all other cabinets level with the one at the high spot.
 
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Old 04-10-18, 11:18 AM
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So far from what you guys are saying, I should be fine then. I have shims all over. I was pretty certain I was over using shims. The highest spot turns out to be the corner cab (luckly) so out from there is where I have to start the shimming. Furthest from the corner is where the most shimming is. Thats where I basically use some of the slabs of ply I was mentioning.
 
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Old 04-11-18, 01:53 PM
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Question;

I was going to put on the kicker covers this evening or tomorrow. I was wondering if screwing a decent piece of 1x or ply strips to the front of the bases bottoms would also help sure anything up? All the face frames are screwed together already so I was thinking a nice strip of something that holds them all together down there and if cut right runs from the toe kick to the floor might act as a giant prop as well.

What do you guys think? I am more than likely over thinking this but again never dealt with such a heavy counter going on and I tend to WAY over build.

I put in a granite bar counter on the opposite side of the kitchen a few years ago that was about 7'x12" deep and had a hell of a time lifting it with another pretty strong guy (and Im no weakling) so I can just imagine how heavy these quartz slabs will be!

On top of everything my tile starting squeaking right on front of the kitchen sink area lol. Prob from the new weight, season change and all the lifting int here. Thank god my entire lower is drop ceiling. I was able to find the squeaky area and place some shims between the sub and joists. Seems to have taken care of the noise for now. .
 
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Old 04-11-18, 02:25 PM
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The toe kick is primarily just for looks, any structural advantage would be minimal.
 
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Old 04-12-18, 05:03 AM
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dont the overhang of the cabinets actually sit on the toekick? I figured a piece would sit under that to the floor and add some more stable frontal support and bind the cabinets instead of just being locked at the face frames.

not debating just throwing ideas around
 
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Old 04-12-18, 07:56 AM
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The overhang will be at varying heights along the front of the cabinets because you shimmed the cabinets to level and the floor was not level. The toe kick support would only come from the nails holding the toe kick in place.
 
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Old 04-12-18, 08:09 AM
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so basically not worth a dime?
 
 

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