Starting the Kitchen Cabinets

Chris comes back on the 23rd to sand and refinish the hardwood floors. Jewels thought it best if the upper kitchen cabinets were installed before then. His theory - better to drop something on an unfinished floor than scratch a newly finished floor. I support him in this.

We've had the kitchen design for months. We picked out IKEA cabinets - light birch. The appliances will be stainless. The newly installed wood flooring will be stained dark.

My cousin, Paul, used IKEA cabinets in his home. When I asked him about installation, he said they go together like Tinker Toys. He was correct. After assembling the pieces, the cabinet hangs on a metal track (that you make sure you nail to the studs). Once hanging on the track, you slide the cabinet into place, level, and tighten the screws. Now, of course, our kitchen is special. The walls have some issues - a 50+ year old house does sag a bit - so all the cabinets have to be tweaked. Jewels is also putting plugs in some of the cabinets so our under counter lighting will shine.