Cabinet Installation Advice Needed

[Michael Roback]

Want to check something out here! I had a "cabinet maker/finish carpenter" install some kitchen cabinets. When I looked at the hanging ledgers I noticed that he had drilled about 5-6 holes through the cabinet for every connection point until he found the stud. When asked why he didn't use a stud finder, he replied ... they don't work. Why he didn't nail pilot nails in the wall so all I would have is nail holes to spackle I don't know? Question is, with multiple holes drilled in a row spaced a quarter of an inch which penetrate/break/ the venier of the strip, isn't the integrity of the connection compromised and doesn't it present a possible failure in the case of an earthquake?

Secondly, is it customary for a cabinet maker to drill multiple screws through and into the interior of cabinets? Wouldn't it be customary to measure the length of screw one needs so that it does not penetrate the finish material?

And lastly, this person fabricated some bath cabinets and mis-corred for the stubouts and so to correct his, rather than replacing the back on the cabinet, he chose to cut out some melamine patches the dimension of the interior of the cabinet and affix them back. You can see the patch and it reduces the working room of the stubouts by about 1/4-1/2" (not a big deal) but not necessary. He had the cabinet completely out to work on it. Why wouldn't he have not replaced the back completely?

Thanks in advance for your help. I am just wanting to do some reality testing so that I know I am not mis-interpreting the way it should be done!

[C G]

Are you sure you got a "cabinet maker/finish carpenter"? Sounds more like a framer.

[PhotoMan]

You were dealing with a butcher after the fast buck. Be sure to show friends and visitors and let them know who did it. Joe Arnold

[Sligo]

[Intrigued]

Your "cabinet hanger" was totally incompetent. Even the most inexperienced real carpenter would be able to hang cabinets by putting holes only where the studs are, even without a stud finder. A stud finder is very handy, but I reliably found studs for many years through a combination of measuring and tapping on the wall.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

The guy is a hack. I'm not a pro, but I have hung cabinets. Every stud was marked. I missed one screw when I went off a bit. . Stud finders are not perfect, but they do work. So does measuring 16" from a know stud. Again, not perfect, but 90%+ accurate.

As for the integrity of the cabinets, I don't think all that much was taken out to weaken them enough to be concerned. It sure looks like hell though.

Please let him use you as a reference so you can tell others of his work.

Ed [e-mail]

[Jeff Wisnia]

And you PAID this guy?

Never pay in full until you've had enough time to thoroughly inspect the job.

Jeff

Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"If you can smile when things are going wrong, you've thought of someone to blame it on."

Michael Roback wrote:

[3GCPO]

all studs are usually found behind the base cabinets and marked with a pencil so they can be transferred to the wall cabinets and should be pre-drilled into the hanging rail before installation.

always remember measure twice, drill / cut once.

sounds like you hired a very un-handy man!

he probably used sheetrock screws to hang them. oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!

[berkshire bill]

Does this guy work for "Near Enough Construction"? The low bidder is sometimes not the best.

Bill

[Michael Burr]

Like many contractors he was lazy and after the max $ in the least amount of time. Finding and marking studs is not that hard. He just didn't want to put the time in to do it. Our cabinets were hung with 1 screw in the proper place every time - but I took it upon myself to locate and mark all studs.

Bottom line though is that there is probably not that much that you can do about it at this point - maybe small claims if you can prove his workmanship is *substantially* outsite of the industry norm. But even then you'ld have to prove some damages and aestetics doesn't get much respect in court IMHO. It's probably more of an aestetics issue than a structural one.

Make sure everyone you know hears about his sloppy work. Word of mouth is probably your only recourse.

Michael