I just did this with non-Ikea cabinets. Laser level on a tripod and a piece of 2x2 to make a sturdy wooden indicator. Chose the highest cabinet for reference and started shimming. Worked like a charm!
Been fitting kitchens for years, watched this video last week, been fitting this week, used this method, wow you are a godsend, Levelled 11 base units in a quarter of the time, my little stick of mdf is in my tool pouch ready for next week ha ha
Thank you for your comment. Yes, as longs as the cabinets you're installing can be adjusted easily, this way can be used on any brand. Well, come to think of it, anything which can be adjusted in height, and needs to be level, can be leveled like this. Bed frame, office desk etc.
@@kitchensbyrannes Very much looking forward to learning more from you, you are a great teacher. Just subscribed to your channel. Very best wishes. Pat, Ireland
amazing. AMAZING!! having spent 2 hours trying to get ONE cube cabinet level with a spirit level only to fail every time i made an adjustment, I had a laser level but didnt think of using it to do the fronts like this as well. just levelled every cabinet in the kitchen today. best tip ever imo. super helpful! i didnt have ikea cabinets so i just had normal cabinets and pulled them a few cm away from the wall and adjusted away with the laser level and a bit of wood with a line on it. brilliant.
My pleasure, Jessica. Even though I have installed close to 200 kitchens, I am still surprised how fast one can level an entire kitchen of base cabinets, island included, in no time.
Finally, a great video🙌 Thank you soooo much. Just bought my first lazer for leveling. I got the cabinets mounted and was going to do drawers and cabinets door's myself. Unfortunately the person who mounted the cabinets have done a terrible job. Not even the high cabinets are level upwards. Do you have any video's for leveling upwards, the same procedure as in this video?
Thank you for your comment and question. I take you mean vertical level, right? If so, I use a regular spirit level. For wall cabinets I use shims to push the cabinet from the wall or remove the white plastic brick (+shims) if it needs to come closer to the wall. High cabinets are adjusted by adjusting the feet.
@kitchensbyrannes Yes, ment vertical 😊👍It's the tall cabinet that are really bad.. The fridge and oven are already placed🙈 Do you think it's still possible to adjust with the legs or should it all go out for it to get leveled?
Oh yeah, possible BUT YOU MUST BE CAREFUL since it's heavy. Don't pull on the legs. If they are pushed sideways, they may come off and you don't want that to happen. If it isn't too much off vertical, I would leave it be.
You're very welcome. Good question. I just turn them down wards until they touch the floor, and then an additional quarter of a turn. Before doing the leveli6, it's important to put in the grey locking piece at the bracket, to lock the cabinet onto the rail.
Hello, do you have any suggestions for how to do this without investing in a 360 laser level? I haven't got one on hand and need to install cabinets today. I do have multiple spirit levels, including a longer one. Many thanks!
If you don't have a laser, you will red to use your spirit levels. The longer the better and if you have a long row of cabinets, start in the middle and work your way to both sides.
I have one base cabinet that is 1/32'' lower than its neighbor, in the back - at the rail. Should I just not care for 1/32, or must I Iift up the lowest one (using its back legs) before tying them? But lifting in the back would prevent the grey lock to fit, wouldn't it ?!
Thank you for your question. You can disregard the 1/32" difference. Chances are that the sides of two adjacent cabinets are not identical. They can be flush at the front and bottom, and still not flush at the back. If such a small difference makes you ask, you can come and work for me any day 🙂 Being meticulous is good.
If it needs to come down a bit, loosen the three screws holding the bracket (and the one sitting back to back if applicable) and give the cabinet a whack downwards. If it's too low, push it up with the leg.
A side question: I don't dislike the airy look of exposed legs, with CAPITA stainless legs, but I barely can find any exemples of such kitchen. Do you have any comments on cabinets without toe kicks (beside the obvious that items can roll under) ? Thanks
No comments ☺️ It's matter of taste I guess. Without toekicks the floor must be fully finished of course and plumbing should preferably come out from the wall.
how would you check theh level for the upper cabinets? since they're so close to the ceiling that we can't use this great technique ? I assume you have to make sure your rail on the top is perfectly leveled and then they will hang leveled automatically?
With base cabinets forming an L-shape (including the 47'' corner cabinet), is it better to attach ALL cabinets and laser level the whole kit, or better to attach and level one wall and repeat afterward for the second wall ? Many thanks
I usually level the long corner before I put up the cabinets adjacent to it, especially the one on the side with the filler, as the leg in the corner is hard to reach. So put in the corner first, level it, and continue adding cabinets on both directions.
I've only used two different laser levels since I started to install Ikea kitchens. The DeWalt one I'm linking to a few places and a cheaper one from Mastercraft/Canadian Tire. Unless you're installing kitchens for a living, there no need for a fancy one with many features. I can recommend getting one where you can charge the batteries as using four AA batteries every day of use isn't great.
Thanks. This is a lot easier than with a level. My cabinets are almost perfectly aligned, but some are maybe 1mm higher at the wall sitting on the rails (without extending the legs in the back of the cabinets). I suspect that the brackets are not exactly on the same height mounted at the cabinet walls. What's the best way to fix that? Losing the screws of the bracket and try to align them? And should I lock the cabinets first to the wall before I level them, or level them first and then attach them to the rail with the little grey parts? Thanks I am making progress, it just takes time.
Yes, lock them to the wall with the grey thing. If some of them are a bit higher at the wall, you can either loosen the bracket and give the corner a good wack downwards or you can use the higher ones as baseline and life the others . Depends on the numbers, higher vs lower ratio. It's always possible to lift a corner, even when attached to the rail, a tiny bit.
why do ikea ones have rails at the back? do they hold these kitchen like a wall cabinet or actually it was just locking in and still need the legs to support?
The rail is holding the cabinets to the wall but you'll still need legs. If your counter top is light i.e. laminate, you might omit the legs, but I wouldn't recommend it. Certainly not on a gypsum wall where you don't necessarily have solid support at the lower end of the cabinets.
Thank you for your question. I cut most panels with my table saw and visible side up. I use a blade with as many teeth as possible and I don't use the saw for anything else to keep the blade from wearing down too fast. The 36x96" panel I cut with my circular saw. Same deal, many teeth. And for the circular saw, I cut from the back side.
It is a Dewalt green laser with three directions. I use it with a pole, which is more practical than I would have thought before getting it. I have written a bit about those tools here, at the bottom. kitchensbyrannes.com/taking-measurements-3-essential-checks/ .
Very good question, Garviel. I theory you can do both but I find it makes more sense to screw the cabinets together first. When I hang the base cabinets I only attach the outer legs and level each individual cabinet with my spirit level. When they are all connected to each other, I level them all using the laser as shown in the video.
Yes, absolutely. A good tip. When both legs at the Wall are supporting the cabinet, you can loosen the three screws in the bracket for the rail, and then lower or raise the cabinet corners as needed. When level, tighten the screws again. All this is happening with the grey plast twist lock in place.
Thank you for your question. I rarely shim the entire lower rail. Only spot shimming when the wall isn't flat. Lately I have stopped mounting the small white plastic distance pieces on the base cabinets, as they serve no purpose. The base cabinets stands on four legs so whether it touches the wall at the bittom edge or not isn't important. Very often, the wall leans back which make the front sitting higher as you describe, so not having the distance pieces in between, solve that problem. I hope that helps.
@@kitchensbyrannes thanks for the reply, since I asked the question I got to the point when I'm going through checking leveling and I find myself ripping out those plastic spacers (even of the upper cabinets). I only installed two legs though per the instructions and rely on the rail. I might have to rethink that approach and add 2 more legs for each cabinet as you do.
If you have received the cabinets recently, you might have received the latest version of the plastic spacer. Unfortunately, they are poorly designed as they don't allow to be shimmed down as there's a nail in the middle. I guarantee you that no installers were involved in that "upgrade." Good call on the legs. I can highly recommend putting a leg in each corner of any cabinet. I put a leg in every single position with predrilled holes, which means I count the number of cabinets and add one extra box of legs per corner cabinet when I prepare my order list. Legs are such a small expense in the overall budget that a few extra boxes won't break the budget. I see the purpose of the lower rail is to secure the cabinets to the wall and the legs to carry the load. If you have quartz counters, the legs have to carry quite a load and having four legs on each cabinet will make it stronger. Also, I don't "share' legs between two cabinets either as it slows down the installation process, I find.
You must position the laser a few inches above the cabinets, as shown. Then you ensure you have the same distance from the laser line to the top of the cabinets. If the top of the cabinet is horizontal, the front will be vertical automatically.
Thank you for your question, Stephen. I'm using a DeWalt with green light and rechargeable 12V battery. I started out with a cheap one from Canadian Tire but it was hard to see well on a sunny day. I'm mounting the laser on a pole (also DeWalt) and it's a great setup.
You could. I've tried it but found it a lot easier when the laser is a few inches above the cabinets. And, no matter how high you decide to aim the laser, at the top or above the cabinet, you'll still have to check each corner of every single cabinet. That is in fact the objective.
Hi Clive. Thank you for your comment. Do you mean that using a ruler instead of a piece of wood with a line on? If so, yes that's feasible too. However, when using a piece of wood with just one line, it's a GO or NO-GO situation. When using a ruler, you actually have to make sure you're at the right line, not just the line. I sometimes use the green plastic target that came with my laser as it has a magnetic base which makes the leveling even faster as I can adjust each individual feet while I see the where the laser hits the target, so there's no going back and forth.
I just did this with non-Ikea cabinets. Laser level on a tripod and a piece of 2x2 to make a sturdy wooden indicator. Chose the highest cabinet for reference and started shimming. Worked like a charm!
There you go!
Always a sure win.
Its just such a great way to level any cabinet including tall shelving units very glad you mentioned starting at the high point also just in case.
I'm installing this week, so I'm very glad I found your video before hand, thanks
All the best with your project, Nalani.
Best 2 minutes and 54 seconds EVER🤗Thank you!
Thanks. I am happy that your find it useful.
Brilliant.. Thank you Rannes, you really saved me some time.
You're very welcome 🤗
Straight to the point and extremely clear and helpful ! Thanky
My pleasure ☺️
Been fitting kitchens for years, watched this video last week, been fitting this week, used this method, wow you are a godsend, Levelled 11 base units in a quarter of the time, my little stick of mdf is in my tool pouch ready for next week ha ha
Thanks. I'm happy that you liked it.
Just what i have been looking for, it seems like a universal way to level any cabinets, I am very very greatfull to you.
Thank you for your comment.
Yes, as longs as the cabinets you're installing can be adjusted easily, this way can be used on any brand.
Well, come to think of it, anything which can be adjusted in height, and needs to be level, can be leveled like this. Bed frame, office desk etc.
@@kitchensbyrannes Very much looking forward to learning more from you, you are a great teacher. Just subscribed to your channel. Very best wishes. Pat, Ireland
Great video, thank you Rannes!
My pleasure!
amazing. AMAZING!! having spent 2 hours trying to get ONE cube cabinet level with a spirit level only to fail every time i made an adjustment, I had a laser level but didnt think of using it to do the fronts like this as well. just levelled every cabinet in the kitchen today. best tip ever imo. super helpful!
i didnt have ikea cabinets so i just had normal cabinets and pulled them a few cm away from the wall and adjusted away with the laser level and a bit of wood with a line on it. brilliant.
I'm glad it was helpful.
Getting my cabinets in 2 weeks thank you!
You're welcome. Good luck with your installation.
I do something similar when installing pavers. Works like a charm and such a big time saver! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!!!
You're very welcome, Tom.
Year, laser levels have many applications.
I will be doing this in about 2 weeks :P
Did you first screw the cabinets together before you do the final level adjustment?
Check this:
ua-cam.com/video/QmRz5UMX-qQ/v-deo.html
Such a simple but effective way to level. Always have a difficult time seeing the bubble in the level and it’s awkward. Thanks so much
You're very welcome. I'm happy you found the video helpful.
Excellent little trick cheers
Wow! Glad I saw this I’m installing next week definitely using this method.
Just at the right time then.
Have fun installing your kitchen.
@@kitchensbyrannes Will do thanks
Thank you so much!!! This was sooooo simple yet so effective and efficient 😊
My pleasure, Jessica. Even though I have installed close to 200 kitchens, I am still surprised how fast one can level an entire kitchen of base cabinets, island included, in no time.
Brilliant idea
Thanks, I'm glad you like it.
Finally, a great video🙌 Thank you soooo much. Just bought my first lazer for leveling.
I got the cabinets mounted and was going to do drawers and cabinets door's myself. Unfortunately the person who mounted the cabinets have done a terrible job. Not even the high cabinets are level upwards. Do you have any video's for leveling upwards, the same procedure as in this video?
Thank you for your comment and question.
I take you mean vertical level, right?
If so, I use a regular spirit level.
For wall cabinets I use shims to push the cabinet from the wall or remove the white plastic brick (+shims) if it needs to come closer to the wall.
High cabinets are adjusted by adjusting the feet.
@kitchensbyrannes Yes, ment vertical 😊👍It's the tall cabinet that are really bad.. The fridge and oven are already placed🙈 Do you think it's still possible to adjust with the legs or should it all go out for it to get leveled?
Oh yeah, possible BUT YOU MUST BE CAREFUL since it's heavy. Don't pull on the legs. If they are pushed sideways, they may come off and you don't want that to happen.
If it isn't too much off vertical, I would leave it be.
@kitchensbyrannes Thank you for great advise and help🙌 I'll definitely go through all your videos 😊
@@sweetvibes01 You're very welcome. Good luck with your project.
Great video sir ! Need a cheapies/ decent laser level now!
Thanks. Yes, I can highly recommend to get one. Very useful in many ways.
perfect
Thanks 🙏
Super helpful, thank you
You're very welcome 🙏
hi, thank you for your help! when you add the rear legs and how to adjust them so that they will not damage the level.
You're very welcome.
Good question. I just turn them down wards until they touch the floor, and then an additional quarter of a turn. Before doing the leveli6, it's important to put in the grey locking piece at the bracket, to lock the cabinet onto the rail.
Is the adjustment made after or before locking the cabinets in place? Thank you for such a helpful video !
After....
You're very welcome 🤗
The corner cabinet doesn’t have the metal brace, what to do then? If I raise the corner cabinet it won’t match at the bottom.
True, but it has those small metal washers so put those on before you level.
Thank you Rannes, This information will help many great job.
Glad it was helpful!
This is great technique
Thanks, Miki.
Hello, do you have any suggestions for how to do this without investing in a 360 laser level? I haven't got one on hand and need to install cabinets today. I do have multiple spirit levels, including a longer one. Many thanks!
If you don't have a laser, you will red to use your spirit levels. The longer the better and if you have a long row of cabinets, start in the middle and work your way to both sides.
I have one base cabinet that is 1/32'' lower than its neighbor, in the back - at the rail. Should I just not care for 1/32, or must I Iift up the lowest one (using its back legs) before tying them? But lifting in the back would prevent the grey lock to fit, wouldn't it ?!
Thank you for your question. You can disregard the 1/32" difference. Chances are that the sides of two adjacent cabinets are not identical. They can be flush at the front and bottom, and still not flush at the back. If such a small difference makes you ask, you can come and work for me any day 🙂 Being meticulous is good.
@@kitchensbyrannes 😊So the only things to have flush before tying cabinets are the face edges?
Yes, the front edge and upper corner for base cabinets, and front edge and lower corner for wall cabinets.
This is clever
Thanks.
What if the back is a little bit off of level? Should I adjust the rail? I'm talking about
If it needs to come down a bit, loosen the three screws holding the bracket (and the one sitting back to back if applicable) and give the cabinet a whack downwards. If it's too low, push it up with the leg.
A side question: I don't dislike the airy look of exposed legs, with CAPITA stainless legs, but I barely can find any exemples of such kitchen. Do you have any comments on cabinets without toe kicks (beside the obvious that items can roll under) ? Thanks
No comments ☺️
It's matter of taste I guess. Without toekicks the floor must be fully finished of course and plumbing should preferably come out from the wall.
@@kitchensbyrannes Have you ever installed CAPITA legs? (Their range is 4'' to 5'', compared to the plastic legs 3-1/2'' to 5-1/2''...)
Sorry for taking so long.
But, no, I haven't. Be aware though, I think they are thinner so no toekick.
how would you check theh level for the upper cabinets? since they're so close to the ceiling that we can't use this great technique ?
I assume you have to make sure your rail on the top is perfectly leveled and then they will hang leveled automatically?
Just use a spirit level on the front and check that it is vertical 👍
With base cabinets forming an L-shape (including the 47'' corner cabinet), is it better to attach ALL cabinets and laser level the whole kit, or better to attach and level one wall and repeat afterward for the second wall ? Many thanks
I usually level the long corner before I put up the cabinets adjacent to it, especially the one on the side with the filler, as the leg in the corner is hard to reach.
So put in the corner first, level it, and continue adding cabinets on both directions.
Nice one mate
Cheers.
can you recommend a laser that is in the $100-150 range ? I looked at yours but it's very expensive :O
I've only used two different laser levels since I started to install Ikea kitchens. The DeWalt one I'm linking to a few places and a cheaper one from Mastercraft/Canadian Tire.
Unless you're installing kitchens for a living, there no need for a fancy one with many features.
I can recommend getting one where you can charge the batteries as using four AA batteries every day of use isn't great.
Thanks. This is a lot easier than with a level. My cabinets are almost perfectly aligned, but some are maybe 1mm higher at the wall sitting on the rails (without extending the legs in the back of the cabinets). I suspect that the brackets are not exactly on the same height mounted at the cabinet walls. What's the best way to fix that? Losing the screws of the bracket and try to align them?
And should I lock the cabinets first to the wall before I level them, or level them first and then attach them to the rail with the little grey parts?
Thanks
I am making progress, it just takes time.
Yes, lock them to the wall with the grey thing. If some of them are a bit higher at the wall, you can either loosen the bracket and give the corner a good wack downwards or you can use the higher ones as baseline and life the others . Depends on the numbers, higher vs lower ratio. It's always possible to lift a corner, even when attached to the rail, a tiny bit.
why do ikea ones have rails at the back? do they hold these kitchen like a wall cabinet or actually it was just locking in and still need the legs to support?
The rail is holding the cabinets to the wall but you'll still need legs.
If your counter top is light i.e. laminate, you might omit the legs, but I wouldn't recommend it. Certainly not on a gypsum wall where you don't necessarily have solid support at the lower end of the cabinets.
Do you have a video on how to cut the side panels? I am struggling with making good cuts. I'm about to do one that has cuts that will be visible.
Thank you for your question.
I cut most panels with my table saw and visible side up. I use a blade with as many teeth as possible and I don't use the saw for anything else to keep the blade from wearing down too fast.
The 36x96" panel I cut with my circular saw. Same deal, many teeth.
And for the circular saw, I cut from the back side.
What type of laser level do you use? A 2D or a 360 degree level
It is a Dewalt green laser with three directions. I use it with a pole, which is more practical than I would have thought before getting it. I have written a bit about those tools here, at the bottom.
kitchensbyrannes.com/taking-measurements-3-essential-checks/
.
Should this be done individually or screw the cabinets together?
Very good question, Garviel.
I theory you can do both but I find it makes more sense to screw the cabinets together first.
When I hang the base cabinets I only attach the outer legs and level each individual cabinet with my spirit level.
When they are all connected to each other, I level them all using the laser as shown in the video.
@@kitchensbyrannes Thanks
But can I slightly adjust legs which are near wall? 🤔
Yes, absolutely. A good tip. When both legs at the Wall are supporting the cabinet, you can loosen the three screws in the bracket for the rail, and then lower or raise the cabinet corners as needed. When level, tighten the screws again. All this is happening with the grey plast twist lock in place.
what do you do if the front is sitting higher than the rear of the cabinet? Shim the rail maybe?
Thank you for your question.
I rarely shim the entire lower rail. Only spot shimming when the wall isn't flat. Lately I have stopped mounting the small white plastic distance pieces on the base cabinets, as they serve no purpose. The base cabinets stands on four legs so whether it touches the wall at the bittom edge or not isn't important. Very often, the wall leans back which make the front sitting higher as you describe, so not having the distance pieces in between, solve that problem.
I hope that helps.
@@kitchensbyrannes thanks for the reply, since I asked the question I got to the point when I'm going through checking leveling and I find myself ripping out those plastic spacers (even of the upper cabinets). I only installed two legs though per the instructions and rely on the rail. I might have to rethink that approach and add 2 more legs for each cabinet as you do.
If you have received the cabinets recently, you might have received the latest version of the plastic spacer. Unfortunately, they are poorly designed as they don't allow to be shimmed down as there's a nail in the middle. I guarantee you that no installers were involved in that "upgrade."
Good call on the legs. I can highly recommend putting a leg in each corner of any cabinet. I put a leg in every single position with predrilled holes, which means I count the number of cabinets and add one extra box of legs per corner cabinet when I prepare my order list. Legs are such a small expense in the overall budget that a few extra boxes won't break the budget.
I see the purpose of the lower rail is to secure the cabinets to the wall and the legs to carry the load. If you have quartz counters, the legs have to carry quite a load and having four legs on each cabinet will make it stronger. Also, I don't "share' legs between two cabinets either as it slows down the installation process, I find.
Thank you sir
My pleasure. Thank you for watching.
how do you get the laser to be on the front and back of the cupboard tops at the same time . can this be done on most lasers
You must position the laser a few inches above the cabinets, as shown. Then you ensure you have the same distance from the laser line to the top of the cabinets. If the top of the cabinet is horizontal, the front will be vertical automatically.
What laser do you use? Many thanks
Thank you for your question, Stephen. I'm using a DeWalt with green light and rechargeable 12V battery. I started out with a cheap one from Canadian Tire but it was hard to see well on a sunny day.
I'm mounting the laser on a pole (also DeWalt) and it's a great setup.
genius
Without this information the leveling was painful.
The next kitchen installation will be faster :)
I'm glad that you found it helpful.
Why not just shoot the laser onto the top of the cabinet?
Reduce the time wasted checking all 4 corners?
You could. I've tried it but found it a lot easier when the laser is a few inches above the cabinets.
And, no matter how high you decide to aim the laser, at the top or above the cabinet, you'll still have to check each corner of every single cabinet. That is in fact the objective.
Use a ruler.
Hi Clive.
Thank you for your comment.
Do you mean that using a ruler instead of a piece of wood with a line on?
If so, yes that's feasible too.
However, when using a piece of wood with just one line, it's a GO or NO-GO situation. When using a ruler, you actually have to make sure you're at the right line, not just the line.
I sometimes use the green plastic target that came with my laser as it has a magnetic base which makes the leveling even faster as I can adjust each individual feet while I see the where the laser hits the target, so there's no going back and forth.
I subscribe you