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If you are decently handy (eg, you already own some tools and have done some basic fixit projects before), installing kitchen cabinets is straightforward.

I would not necessarily tackle it as your first DIY project. But it's not rocket science.

I installed our kitchen cabinets myself. We used IKEA's cabinets which are probably more geared towards DIY.
The hardest part was the planning ahead on what types of cabinets you need, how the doors will open etc.
And, invest in a good laser-level.

If you go to Home Depot, give them 50 bucks, they will have someone come out, take measurements and provide them to HD. Then you meet w/someone at HD who has a computer program, punches in your dimensions, locations of any windows, sinks, frig, oven, microwave, etc. They help you design it all. You decide what kind of cabinets, wood, color, etc, etc. They can actually give you a virtual view of what it will look like. Kinda cool.

You are not obligated to use their installers. You can just buy the cabinets yourself and then install them yourself, or hire someone else.

Been checking into this myself. Though I got a lead on someone who actually makes custom cabinets and says will beat HD pricing. Meeting on Saturday. We'll see.

I would have to agree.. and emphasize, plan ahead, measure and then double check plans. Once you start, there is no going back, and changing your mind gets very expensive.

I replaced all of my kitchen cabinets on my own. Turned out pretty good, although I used stock cabinets from Lowes. I wouldn't try it myself if I were ordering custom cabinets.

Also, many kitchens are cookie cutter meaning direct replacement cabinets are often in stock at Home Depot or Lowes. This assumes you want to stick to the standard layout which is exactly what I would do if this were your 1st time installing a kitchen.

Not that hard to do unless your walls/ceilings are not square.

Not that hard to do unless your walls/ceilings are not square.

I think this is the key.

If your not square to the world... It could be somewhat difficult and this where spending the money could be worth it.

CE

Not in my experience if I understand the meaning of square in the above statement. Houses are framed with wood for the most part and not precision machines - not being square is a given.

Normally when installing cabinets you start in a location and the remainder of the cabinets (for the most part) are based on that first cabinet.

Agreed.

But I use to grout tile in vegas and watched them have to shim some of the cabinets which was difficult. But then again some of the construction in Vegas we pretty sub-standard.

CE

True, and I used more than a few shims. In some cases I epoxied shims in place using JB Weld which should last 50 years or more.

There's two parts to this - one is building the cabinets. The other is installing them.

I have done both - making a built-in entertainment center and also installed my own kitchen cabinets that were made by a carpenter in Tijuana, which was a third the price of custom cabinets and less than half of Home Depot. THey were all plywood, too - not particle board. I wouldn't recommend it, though. It was not easy. I was young, had time, and was on a budget so I could make it happen.

I like the Home Depot process alot, actually. Would recommend it if you aren't handy. We also had some tricky custom corners that the "standard" Home Depot design process was not able to deal with for our kitchen. Used Home Depot for bath cabinets, though and installed those myself. Looks great.

I don't know if IKEA has plywood cabinets or not but if they don't, I would avoid it. Using any kind of particle-board cabinets in a kitchen near the sink is bad news. The water makes it swell. Same with Laminate flooring near a kitchen sink.

The key to getting the wall cabinets right is a cleat - just put the cleat ( I use a 1" x 2" pine strip ) on the wall nice and level. Then, attach another one to the cabinets. The cleat will hold the cabinet up while you secure it.

If you want to get real fancy, use a french cleat, but I have never need to do this.

CDMA is right that getting things level and square is the key. You have to make the cabinets an inch or two short just in case the room isn't square, then order some extra filler and moulding to match the cabinets to hide the gaps.

The other thing to not underestimate is the amount of moulding work you have to do to make it look truly finished.

Many people can hang the wall cabinets and get them level and square but don't know how to cover all the errors, corners, gaps, etc. If your website doesn't show you how to do this, it is leading you on.

Also, if you don't have a level floor, you have to shim them or you are in for a disaster.

I'd recommend getting a laser level - they help alot - and don't settle for anything that isn't level and square. Really. You'll regret it if you think the first one is "close enough"

Walls that come together at near-90 degree angles will drive you mad. If the angle is > 90 degrees, you either have to live with a gap behind the cabinets that grows and grows, or you have to butt the wall-side of the cabinets together an leave a gap in the front and fix it will a filler strip and/or moulding. Like I said, this is the tricky part of cabinets that alot of videos don't show you.

I like my circa 2001 kitchen cabinets, but I hate their color... a little too light for my taste. I would like to change them to something darker. Is staining or repainting something doable? (As you can see from my questions, I'm not an experienced DIYer...)

Very helpful dude although the guy finished his cabinets a year ago.

Old threads are the Piggington version of the IQ test that I fail at least once a month.

Look into refacing for a fraction of the cost of new cabinets.

One of my neighbors had their nice but unspectacular Honey Maple cabinets restained and they now look very rich. It was not inexpensive but the result looks very current and high end now. If you would like I can ask them who they used. Just PM me.

I once took my (15 yr old) oak cabinet doors off and emptied and removed the drawers and took them all outside, then:

1. Cleaned the doors and drawer fronts with Murphy's Oil Soap;

2. lightly sanded doors and drawer fronts (just roughed up);

3. applied Carver Tripp Spanish Oak Stain to all;

4. applied Minwax Satin Urethane Finish (2 coats a day apart);

5. cleaned the front of the "cabinet skeleton;"

6. applied 2 coats Liquid Gold to the cabinet skeleton (didn't remove anything inside them);

7. put doors back on with same hinges and put drawers back in and filled them.

Carver Tripp stain has a LOT of pigment and the Spanish Oak color was a little darker than the original color but it matched very well. I was so impressed with it that I later replaced the baseboards with nicer pine ones stained with Spanish Oak and satin finish (it was a large eat-in kitchen). Hint: I used abrasive 3M pads to clean the skeleton.

The result was spectacular and the cabinet job only took one summer weekend and cost about $40!

Old cabinets have exposed hinges and frames.
No refinishing can fix that.

Please let us know how it goes. Your posts are always informative and useful. I keep them in a file for future use. Thanks!