[OP]
Contributor
I was helping a friend build and install some kitchen cabinets for a customer. This is how he builds his bases so I thought I'd pass it along. Makes for very easy levelling and you can screw a finished face on from the back.
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Last edited by vince dale; 08-30-2020 at 12:56 PM.
Moderator
I'm a fan of separate bases and that's generally how I build them. Not only is it easier to level a line of cabinets, especially in older homes, it helps with locking them together into a unit during install, too.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
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That is a pretty slick way to do bases. I've used it a few times, but must confess that I don't any more. The reason I quit is that with enough practice, shimming a built in base is actually just as fast to set, and you save a step by not having to tie the cabinets to the base after setting them. There are a couple tricks for making it sure you can level a cabinet from the accessible sides that make setting regular cabinets a breeze. Nothing against the separate base strategy though, it's an effective way to give really good access for leveling cabinets if you are worried about it.
Moderator
Aside from the ease of leveling a short base because of full access to all sides, it also means that the cabinets are simple rectangular boxes with no cutouts for toe-kicks, etc. That helps make up the time spent creating the bases, but they go together uber quickly due to their nature. It's nice to have choices!
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
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My most recent project was a 7 foot long base cabinet for my Great Room. I built a separate base out of 2x4s and was surprised I had to remove half an inch of material at the ends due to a dip that big in the floor over the 7 feet. The 2x4s are overkill from a strength standpoint but they are not expensive. I faced them with cut down base molding. That was the cabinet was a simple box and installation was a simple matter of sliding the cabinet on top of the base. I would not have wanted to shim a 1/2 inch gap. My house is 55 years old.
Another benefit of a separate base is in garages or anywhere with a concrete floor. In garages I use pressure treated 2x4s so I do not have to worry about them getting wet. I have some of those cabinets in my near term future.
Jim, if the cabinets are just going to have drawers vs doors, do you still put a bottom in the cabinet? Seems as if you would have to to connect them. And I am sur eyou would for kitchen?bath etc but what about for the shop?Originally Posted by Jim Becker
Tim in Hill Country of Texas
Moderator
I do put in a bottom, although it would be just as easy to use some narrower cross members. A full bottom is certainly more suitable for helping keep things square and it's also going to be helpful with keeping things like rodents out from the bottom.
I don't have any fixed cabinets in my shop, but would certainly build them with solid panels on the bottom if I did.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
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I think the OP was asking Jim Becker but I will chime in. My shop cabinets have a solid 3/4 plywood bottom that rests on the PT 2x4 base. They have all drawers - no doors. I used pretty cheap 3/4 plywood, however. Works fine. I typically work with the doors open so Jim Becker's point about critters definitely applies.
Member
Quit building bases a long time ago. Run a water line, a circuit, or new flooring is a snap.
leveller.jpg
Moderator
This is the method used with the (reasonably good) Ikea base cabinets. It works well and I generally like it, at least where a floor is kinda regular. It would have been a bear to get my kitchen base units level with feet like this, however. A separate base like this thread speaks to made it slam-dunk easy with setting things "level" with a whole line ganged on one base.
It's actually nice that we can all use more than one method, depending on circumstances to best handle the job!
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
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Agreed.
There is NO WAY any type of wooden base system , big, small, long , short, indiv, or whole run is quicker to fabricate, transport, install and set to level is faster than a set of legs. In more cases than not, I suspect they are also less expensive.
And don’t forget about those pesky HVAC ducts and central vac systems that run under cabinets too.
Jim, these legs work on severely sloped floors too. They also excel on irregular floors in places where you might have tile in the front of the cabinet but only subfloor in the back. And IKEA didn’t invent or even perfect these legs. They are ubiquitous for all Euro cabinets , including those from Poggenpohl and SieMatic where a set of cabinets can easily approach six figures.
Last edited by Dave Sabo; 09-01-2020 at 9:54 PM.
Moderator
Dave, I didn't suggest that Ikea invented the technique; rather, I mentioned they used it. (They also use the great Blum metal drawer system, too)
I agree that they are unbeatable for adjustability in any situation for a given cabinet. But I retain my preference for a separate base under a gang of separate cabinet boxes simply because it takes care of the whole row at one time without being on my back to adjust all the feet in an awkward position. (especially those in the rear of the cabinet at arm's length away. This is not a "right or wrong" type thing...it's merely a personal preference.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Contributor
i stopped making ladder bases when i discovered the Hafele blocks/feet. i can cut hours out of a build by using those, and the contractors love them as they are adjustable from the front.
Member
Jim, there are levelers the adjust through the cab bottom from the inside.
These look slick I'm going to try them one day.
Member
Those are pretty good, however I did see a failure with a set of them firsthand. 450# granite top for an island, got away from us a little on the landing and put most of the weight on one corner. The leveler buckled on that corner. I don't set islands on those now.
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