DIY Home Improvement Forum banner

Install base cabinets on uneven wall

27K views 33 replies 12 participants last post by  SPS-1 
#1 ·
Hi
I want to install IKEA base cabinets against a wall. Length of cabinets will be 96" (15"+24"+18"+24"+18")
But the wall is not flat.....it's OK on the right side on 55", but then the wall goes off, and I will have a 3/4" gap at the other end !!!
Is there a solution other than redoing the wall???
 
#25 ·
Don’t fight each other because of my project……!!!
Keep in mind this is a DIY forum
If I do it myself, I decide how I want to do it. If I want to do compromises, even though it’s not the ideal perfect method that will give the best possible results, at least it’s my decision
But if I were to pay a contractor to do it, I would for sure want to now the different options. I would expect him to tell me “Hey, you wall is off, we can shim and it won’t be perfect, or we can do it perfect and redo the wall first, but it will cost more”
Then depending on the price, I would make my decision

I will double check again tonight and see how it will look like if I split the gap each end…..
I know fixing the wall is certainly the best way to make it right, but I find this an “intimidating” task…..
 
#26 ·
Keep in mind this is a DIY forum
Then from another DIYer I would be inclined to rip off all the drywall from that wall - fix the suds as required and put new drywall on the whole wall. If its a bathroom, the wall probably isn't all that big, and corner joints are going to be easier to finish than butt joints in the middle of the wall. Figure you are going to be painting the room anyways.
 
#12 ·
No, but we are not talking about a finished carpenter either.

But since you want to opened the door, as a GC who specializes in kitchen and bathroom remodels that's exactly what we would do.

We would open the wall and fix the stud. It's the cheapest easiest fix. The only finished repair needed would be between the upper and lower cabinets of you weren't tiling.

The HO is playing all of the parts in this remodel he would put his rough carpenter hat on and demo the DW, fix the stud. Then he would put his DW hat on and install the piece, tape and mud. Then put his finish carpenter hat on and hang the cabinets.
 
#9 ·
OK, if my straight edge is straight (and I think it is....:smile:), the gap on the left is 1/2" actually (the length of the straight edge is 8', which is the length of the cabinet row)
So with a 1/2" gap, I could shim to split that gap and have 1/4" on each end. Then a backsplash should hide the gap....Is this something acceptable?
What do you think?
Thanks
 

Attachments

#14 ·
@OP - sounds like you have seen may cabinets installed without the counter top on. You would be amazed at what some installers do to get the cabinets mounted. Our 1983 kitchen had all sorts of shims so the cabinets would fit, and who would know until I demoed the kitchen year before last.

I wound up doing almost the same thing. Then the counter top guy came along and made his template for the Silstone top and wall was good with the world! :)

So, add shims where needed so the wall appears straight for the base cabinets to sit against. Run in a few screws , and move on.

Good luck.
 
#15 ·
What about the backsplash? If it's a 4" granite or top material splash would you also recommend that he just caulk it? If the uses tile he'll have even more troubles.

The best course is to fix the problem. No shimming and no worries on the backsplash.

Just because it was done before, doesn't mean that it was the right way or the best way to do it. Most builders are lazy and don't care about details like this. They would rather shim and put ugly trim on the wall transitions.
 
#18 ·
I've dealt with this same problem.

Shimmed the cabinets and then when the countertop with a granite backsplash was installed, we cut the sheetrock so the backsplash had a slightly lesser reveal across the length.

No way you can tell unless you stick you head up under the wall cabinets and make a seriously painful effort to look down the line.

I quickly realized there pretty much was no way to open up the wall in a wild attempt to get that 1/2" or so in several places.
 
#19 ·
He said it 3/4" out. Splashes are typically 1 1/4" - 1 1/2" thick. Which means you will definitely will see the drywall overlapping the splash without shooting the wall. It also means no tile on the backsplash either. It's hackery to cut the drywall and shove the splash in the wall. I would hate to collect money from a client half as$ing work like that.

Also, how was there no way to open the wall and plane it. I guess when you don't know what you are doing it could seem impossible, but it's rather easy.

They sell drywall shims just for this purpose. You also pull out your planer and plane out the ones that are sticking into the room. It's really not that hard. Cut out the drywall, fix the studs and put it back up.
 
#20 ·
When you cut the countertop/back splash into the drywall as you suggest there are implications. ie: the countertop may not overhang enough to extend past the doors and handles or there will be visible gaps at the ends of the countertops.

Pull the drywall, fix the stud and everything is good. Most of the drywall repair is behind the cabinets and uppers, so the repatch is easy and everything fits well and looks good. Even better would be to tile the wall above the backsplash to the underside of the uppers.
 
#22 ·
When you cut the countertop/back splash into the drywall as you suggest there are implications. ie: the countertop may not overhang enough to extend past the doors and handles or there will be visible gaps at the ends of the countertops.
I said nothing about having the counter top being cut into the drywall. It was not. It didn't need to be.

Pull the drywall, fix the stud and everything is good. Most of the drywall repair is behind the cabinets and uppers, so the repatch is easy and everything fits well and looks good. Even better would be to tile the wall above the backsplash to the underside of the uppers.

In SOME cases, some of this would be true. SOME cases.

With a simple counter top and backsplash kitchen update it isn't necessarily an option to open up the wall and plane a stud, or studs.

Tile from the countertop up to the wall cabinets is pretty much standard fare here. But only when there is no backsplash.

Tile above a 4" granite backsplash isn't typical in this area, and I've not seen it done around the area (based on thousands of high end homes I've worked on).
 
#24 ·
Thanks for all your comments.....
I should have mentioned this is not a kitchen, but a bathroom. So no upper cabinets. And yes I know, kitchen cabinets are deeper, but it's OK in my master bathroom
I said the wall was pretty flat on the right side on 55", then goes with an outward angle after that stud
Should I open the wall on the whole 8 ft? If I just open 1 cavity each side of that stud, will the transition be "smooth" enough on only 32" span?
By the way which tool do you use to cut the drywall?
 
#33 ·
I would open it up to the studs on either side of the issue. If you don't feel you are competent to complete you should seek professional assistance or go another route such as shimming and trim. My advice is purely based on the best practice and result. I wouldn't call it hackery if a home owner did it, but I would if a professional suggested it as a worthy fix and got paid to do it in their clients home, especially when they spend 10's of thousands of dollars on a remodel.
 
#34 ·
Can't really tell how much needs to be removed from pictures --- just keep going until your straight edge says its flat. If you have not done much drywall, the risk is that the seams in your joints will be visible. (Maybe Google butt-boards) There has been discussion that only one stud needs to be planed down, maybe its that simple --- maybe its not. (To me, photo looks more like a step than a bump.) But if your wall is 16 feet long (or less) that's only two sheets wide, and if you end up needing to take it all down you will be able to use the tapered ends of the drywall at the butt joints.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top