One thing I have learned the hard way, over the years is that having the right tools makes a home improvement job much easier. Trying to save a few bucks has often wound up costing me hours of time. If you are saving money doing a job yourself, go ahead and splurge a little on some tools. Chances are you will find other uses for them later. Having the right tools certainly makes a job go much easier.
I don't think I could have done without an extra pair of hands had it not been for the cabinet jacks. The low cost jacks below were a life saver, though if you have a helper you can probably do without them. Drilling holes in your brand new cabinet doors for handle hardware can be a bit scary. The last thing you want to do is wind up with a hole in the wrong spot on the front of your cabinet door, or crooked handles. Door templates are very low cost and well worth the money.
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Only $79.00 a pair these Little Hand cabinet jacks from FastCap make installing wall cabinets easier for the do it yourselfer. Just set them on your countertop and raise the wall cabinet to the desired level.
It would have been very difficult to install kitchen cabinets myself without these little gems. |
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Cabinet Door & Drawer Pull Templates
After you new cabinets are installed you want to add some pulls and handles to give them that finished look. A bit scary since you don't want to ruin your work by drilling a hole in the wrong spot. These low cost templates will make the job easy. |
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You will find a right angle drill will make life much easier when installing cabinets. Often where you need to drill inside the cabinets you just don't have room for a full size drill.
I did manage to complete my install without one of these but it caused much stress and foul language. I sometimes had to use a smaller less powerful drill in tight spaces. Next time I will have a right angle drill from the start.
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Works as a clamp, spreader or to lift base cabinets while installing levelers or shims.  |
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Dual Gang Electrical Outlet Box Extender
If you tile your backsplash after installing new cabinets your wall will be thicker. You will probably find that your outlets are too far back. These box electric box extenders will allow you to solve that problem easily. |
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Electrical Oulet Box Extender
The box extender levels and supports a wiring device when the box is too far back from the wall surface. Adjusts to 1" to 1-1/2" and functions with all standard devices, switches, and GFCI's. The box extenders can be easily trimmed for adjoining multiple gang boxes. |
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You will probably want several levels. I used a laser level as well as a standard level. |
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Wood or composite leveling shims are used to level your base cabinets. |
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Wall Stud finder |
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Cabinet installation screws have a large diameter head to keep from pulling through the back of your cabinets. |
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Cabinet clamps to keep separate cabinet boxes aligned while you mount them. |
