Decided last weekend to finally tackle the cabinets in my kitchen. You know how it goes, watched a couple of YouTube vids, felt super confident, figured it'd be a quick weekend project. Um, yeah...not exactly. Got everything measured out, old cabinets ripped out (that part was actually kinda satisfying), but now I'm staring at a bunch of boxes and hardware spread across my living room floor. Instructions might as well be written in another language, lol.
Ran into a snag with uneven walls and floors too, which I definitely didn't expect. Thought my house was pretty level, turns out it's got some quirks. Had to make a hardware store run three times already, and I'm pretty sure the employees there think I live there now.
Anyone else dive into a DIY cabinet project and realize halfway through they might've underestimated it just a teensy bit? Would love to hear your stories or how you managed to get through it without losing your mind...
Been there, done that... uneven walls are the worst. Learned the hard way that shims are your best friend—cheap and lifesaving. Also, never trust YouTube timelines; multiply by three and add a hardware run or two, that's reality.
Honestly, shims can save the day, but they're not always the magic bullet. Sometimes you're better off biting the bullet and scribing the cabinets themselves to match the wall. Sure, it's more effort upfront, but you'll thank yourself later when the finish looks seamless and professional. And about YouTube timelines... yeah, they're optimistic, but once you've done a few installs, your own speed picks up quicker than you'd think.
Totally agree on scribing—it's a bit of a pain at first, but once you get the hang of it, the results speak for themselves. Shims are handy for minor adjustments, but relying on them too heavily can leave you with gaps or uneven lines that bug you every time you walk into the kitchen (speaking from experience here...). And yeah, YouTube makes everything look like a weekend project. My first cabinet install took me nearly triple the time I expected—mostly because walls are never as straight as they look. But after a couple installs, you start anticipating those quirks and things move along faster. Best tip I learned: invest in a decent scribing tool. Makes life way easier.
