This guide will show you how to build your own wall cabinets for storage. We’ll take you through the step-by-step process of building and installing your new wall units, including how to cut and fit the various pieces of wood together. You’ll also learn how to add doors, fit shelves and install your cabinets into position on the wall. With some patience and a little elbow grease, you can make beautiful kitchen cabinets yourself with only a few basic tools.
Build the box forms by assembling 4 pieces of wood together.
- Use a saw to cut 4 pieces of wood to the desired length and width.
- Use a hammer or mallet to assemble the box forms by aligning and nailing the corners together.
- Make sure that all four pieces of wood have been cut correctly and that they are assembled properly before continuing with this project
Cut the back for each of the cupboards.
Cut the back for each of the cupboards. The back is what will be visible when you’re standing in front of the cupboard, so it’s important that it looks good. Use a table saw to make all your cuts, following this guide:
- Cut the back to the correct size — make sure it fits inside your cabinet opening and extends past your left side or right side by half an inch.
- Cut the back to the correct angle — make sure it slopes outward at an angle away from you (so that someone standing in front of it can see into it). You can use 45 degrees as a guideline if you don’t have a protractor on hand; just remember that larger cabinets require steeper angles.
- Cut depth and height to match those of your carcass pieces (see “Making Your Cabinet Frame” above).
- Cut width so that there are no gaps between pieces after they’re glued together; keep in mind that some glue squeeze-out may occur along these edges during assembly—this is normal.
Get some hole drillers and make holes to fit the cupboard board to the wall.
To make the holes in your cabinets, use a drill bit that is the same size as the screw head. You will want to place these holes on the back of each cabinet. Also, make sure that you place these holes at least 1 inch away from any edges and at least 3 inches away from each other. Now put in your screws with a Torx head and add some glue so that they are firmly attached to both sides of the wall when you install them later on.
Fit a face frame to each of your cabinets.
- Fit a face frame to each of your cabinets.
- Use a router to make the grooves for the face frames.
- Use a drill to make the holes for the hinges.
- Use a screwdriver to fix the hinges into place.
- Use a hammer to tap the face frames into place (be careful not to damage any of your cabinets).
Fit doors onto your cabinets.
Now that you’ve completed your cabinet frames, it’s time to fit the doors onto them. The doors are usually made of wood and are fitted with hinges that allow them to swing open and closed. They also have locks to prevent unwanted intruders from accessing what’s inside your cabinets. The doors also have handles so they can be easily opened and closed by hand—and sometimes even windows for extra light.
Fix the cabinet into position on the walls.
Fix the cabinet into position on the walls. A spirit level is a must-have here, as it’ll ensure that your cabinets are level, straight and square.
- Check if the top of your cabinet is parallel with the ceiling using a spirit level. If it isn’t parallel, pull out some wall plugs from behind the cabinets and shim one end up or down to make it match. Reinsert any removed plugs before continuing with step 2 below.
- If your kitchen has an island benchtop for seating space—or if there is an island benchtop in addition to freestanding stand-alone units—check that this sits at a perfect 90 degrees from each corner of its base cabinet (i.e., where wall meets floor). To do this: Hold one end of a tape measure against one side of your island benchtop (in line with where its front edge meets floor), then use another ruler or tape measurer held against opposing walls/corners so both ends touch each other; this should help form right angles across all four corners in which they meet your base cupboards.
Connect up all internal shelving and supports.
Now that you’ve assembled the cabinets, it’s time to connect up all of the internal shelving and supports.
- Check that each shelf is level by placing a spirit level on top of it. If you have any wobbles, adjust each shelf with wooden shims or a spirit level until they’re perfectly flat.
- Next, check that all the shelves are spaced evenly apart from one another. You can use a tape measure to make sure they’re at an equal distance from each other; if not, add or remove wooden shims as needed until they are all even distances apart from each other.
- Once your cabinet is built and secured together, test its strength by putting weight on some of its shelves so you know that it will be able to support heavy items like cookbooks without breaking under pressure.
Fix any additional shelves into place in your new kitchen cabinets.
Once you’ve decided on the number of shelves, you will want to create a template for each shelf. To do this, use your ruler to measure out the width and length of each shelf. Then use some masking tape and a pencil to mark out where the holes should go.
Once all the holes are marked on your templates, take them down to your drill with a 3/4-inch bit attached so that you can drill through them (you’ll also need some screws). You may wish to place these templates in place before drilling so that they don’t shift around while working—but if this is not possible, just make sure they’re level before drilling into them.
With a little patience, you can build beautiful wall cabinets yourself.
Building wall cabinets is a great DIY project to do while watching TV or listening to music. You can get the job done in one evening, and even if you make a mistake, it’s really not that hard to fix.
I started with an old set of IKEA kitchen cabinets my wife had from her previous apartment—they were free! But if you have some money to spend, you can buy premade wall cabinets for about $150 per linear foot. This cost includes all hardware and hinges for doors and drawers, as well as any special features such as glass panels or pull-out shelving units.
Conclusion
We hope the tips mentioned in this article will help you build your own kitchen cabinets. These are simple steps that anyone can follow. Remember to be careful when using power tools and keep all your measurements accurate to ensure a well-made cabinet.
