Getting an Austin Room Ready Before Cabinet Installation Day
The day cabinets arrive is the day every earlier decision gets tested against a real wall. A room that was only roughly prepared turns a one day set into a three day one, because the installer spends the first morning fixing things that should have been fixed the week before. In Austin, TX the preparation has a few local wrinkles: older plaster in Hyde Park and Clarksville, slab floors that move with clay soil, garages that bake through the summer, and bathrooms that stay humid for months. This article walks through what to do in the weeks before cabinets go in, whether they are bookcases, a mudroom bank, a vanity or a wall of office storage.
What should be finished before the cabinets show up?
Anything that would be damaged or blocked by the cabinets themselves comes first. Wall repairs, texture and a base coat of paint behind the cabinet zone should be complete, since a freshly painted wall is far easier to roll before a carcass stands in front of it. Flooring that runs under a cabinet is a decision to make early. Cabinets set on a subfloor and then surrounded by tile leave a raised toe kick and an awkward gap, while tile laid first leaves the cabinet height measured from the finished surface. For built-in bookcases and entertainment walls, wiring has to be roughed in before drywall closes, so the outlets, the television power and the data lines end up where the cabinet will leave them reachable.
A short list helps keep it straight:
- Electrical outlets and switches moved or boxed in their final spots
- Plumbing stub outs and supply valves located for a vanity or sink base
- Walls patched, sanded and primed in the cabinet zone
- Final floor material chosen, and installed if it runs beneath the cabinets
- Light fixtures and any recessed cans above the run positioned
- Access to the room cleared, including a path from the driveway
How does a leaning plaster wall change the plan?
Older homes near Travis Heights and Tarrytown were framed and plastered by hand, and a wall can bow in and out by a half inch across a single bay. A cabinet maker deals with this by building the face frame with extra stock along the edges and scribing it to the wall with a plane or a belt sander. The scribe line is drawn with a compass held against the wall, so the cut follows every wave in the plaster. That step needs to be allowed for in the schedule, because a scribed run takes noticeably longer than one set against a flat drywall wall.
Preparation for the homeowner is simple. Take down any picture rail or crown molding that will be disturbed rather than letting it get chipped, and mark the studs with painter tape. If the wall is lath and plaster, screws need to land in the studs, and the stud layout tells the installer where the heavy upper cabinets can hang.
Does a slab floor need special attention?
Much of the city east of the Balcones Fault sits on clay that swells when it is wet and shrinks when it dries, and houses on slabs follow it. A floor can be a quarter inch out of level across a long room, and the amount changes with the seasons. Installers handle that with leveling legs or a separate base frame that is shimmed until the tops line up, then covered with a toe kick. The homeowner can help by pointing out any known low spots, doors that stick in summer, or cracks that open and close through the year. Those clues show where the floor has moved before.
Limestone ground west of the escarpment moves much less, but the floors in those houses are not always flat either, so a level reading along the whole run before ordering anything is still sensible.
Where does the delivery go while the room is being prepared?
Cabinets are bulky, and a carcass for a long bookcase may be eight feet tall. Ahead of delivery, measure every door and turn the cabinet will pass through, including the garage entry and the narrow hall that leads to a back bedroom. A box that will not fit through a door gets built in sections, which is the usual method for tall units, and the sections are joined on site with a face frame and a cap. Storing finished cabinets in a hot garage through an Austin summer is a poor idea. Heat and swings in humidity can warp doors and soften glue, so the delivery date is best matched to the day the room is actually ready.
If cabinets have to wait, a spare room with steady air conditioning is far better than a garage. Keep the boxes flat, off the floor on blocks, and out of direct sun from a window.
What can be done about dust and noise?
Cutting scribes, trimming a face frame and drilling for hardware all make fine dust, and sawdust travels through a house. Closing the doors of the room, taping plastic over vents and covering nearby furniture keeps it from spreading into the rest of the house. Most installers vacuum as they work, but fine dust still lands on surfaces. If the work is in a home office, move the computers and papers into another room for the duration. If the work is in a bathroom, cover the tub and the toilet, and plan for a day without that bathroom.
Who decides where the hardware goes?
Pulls, knobs and hinges are best picked before installation, since the holes are drilled to a template. A euro hinge needs a cup hole bored in the door and a mounting plate on the box, and a soft close mechanism adds a small piston or a damped arm. Drawer slides have their own clearance requirements, and a full extension slide needs a side gap on each side of the drawer box. Changing the hardware after the doors are drilled leaves unused holes, so settle the choice at the drawing stage and confirm it again when the cabinets are delivered.
How should a finished run be checked?
A walk through with a level and a few sheets of paper catches most problems. Doors should sit with an even gap, usually an eighth of an inch, and open and close without rubbing. Drawers should run the full length without catching. A reveal that tapers from top to bottom suggests the box is out of plumb, and it is better to say so on installation day than a month later. Check the scribe along the wall for daylight, check that the toe kick is tight to the floor, and run a hand along every cut edge to find any rough spot that needs a touch of finish.
Caulk or putty at the joint between the cabinet and the wall is the last cosmetic step. A thin bead of paintable caulk hides hairline gaps that open and close with the seasons, and it is easy to renew when it cracks.
What gets forgotten most often?
Three things come up again and again. The first is an outlet that ended up behind a cabinet side, which turns a simple setup into a hunt for a place to plug in a lamp. The second is a door or window casing that interferes with a cabinet door swing, so a door opens only partway. The third is a light switch hidden behind a tall unit. Taping the cabinet outline on the floor and wall before anything is built shows these conflicts in a minute, and it costs nothing to look. Walk the room with the tape in place, open an imaginary door, and see what it hits.
A room that is prepared, measured and clear on delivery day gets its cabinets set square and finished in a single visit. The weeks of preparation matter more than the hours of installation.