Who orders the cabinets?

Either the homeowner, through a supplier or designer, or the contractor — it is settled at the estimate. Whoever orders them, field measurements should be taken after demolition rather than off a plan.

Do cabinets have to run to the ceiling?

No, but the space above them is a decision rather than a default. Uppers can run to the ceiling, stop short with open shelving above, or stop short and be closed in with a soffit and crown. Ceiling height and the sizes offered in the cabinet line decide what is possible.

Cutting a cabinet's filler or end panel to match a wall that is not straight or plumb, so the joint closes tight with no visible gap. It is why a finished run looks built into the room instead of set against it.

Cabinet Installation

Setting cabinets level, plumb, and square — kitchens, vanities, laundry, and built-in runs.

Also called cabinetry or cabinet install.

Wide view of a kitchen with a stone-veneer wall and wood-panelled refrigerator on the left, a dark-wood island with a stone top and stools, a white range hood, pendant lights under a pressed-tin ceiling panel, and a hardwood floor — Kitchen with a stone wall and a coffered ceiling from the portfolio →

Cabinet installation is the step where a kitchen or a bath either lines up or does not. Floors are rarely level and walls are rarely plumb, so boxes get shimmed and scribed to a layout line rather than to the room. Doors and drawer fronts are adjusted at the end until the gaps read even across the whole run.

What the work involves

Layout: finding the high point of the floor and marking a level line for the base run
Locating studs and adding blocking where a cabinet or a heavy shelf needs it
Hanging uppers, joined face frame to face frame and shimmed to a straight plane
Setting base cabinets and the island, scribed to the walls and the floor
Filler and scribe pieces at walls, appliances, and the ends of a run
Toe kick, light rail, and crown or ceiling trim above the uppers
Door and drawer alignment, soft-close adjustment, and hardware layout
Finished panels and end caps on exposed sides, islands, and refrigerator surrounds

From the portfolio

Frasch Construction's portfolio includes dark wood kitchen cabinetry with a wood-panelled refrigerator set into a stone wall and a large stone-topped island.
Frasch Construction's portfolio includes a dark-stained shaker island with seating and light gray perimeter cabinets run to the ceiling, and a white shaker double vanity with a granite top and undermount sinks.

Questions

Who orders the cabinets?: Either the homeowner, through a supplier or designer, or the contractor — it is settled at the estimate. Whoever orders them, field measurements should be taken after demolition rather than off a plan.
Do cabinets have to run to the ceiling?: No, but the space above them is a decision rather than a default. Uppers can run to the ceiling, stop short with open shelving above, or stop short and be closed in with a soffit and crown. Ceiling height and the sizes offered in the cabinet line decide what is possible.
What is scribing?: Cutting a cabinet's filler or end panel to match a wall that is not straight or plumb, so the joint closes tight with no visible gap. It is why a finished run looks built into the room instead of set against it.