A Kitchen Installer's Wish List

A Kitchen Installer's Wish List

by Dave Loechel

Recently, I got together with a couple of friends who are also kitchen installers. We discussed what we thought the designers with whom we work could do to help us make a job run more smoothly. I found it interesting that although we work independently of each other and for different designers, we all had the same basic desires. What follows is a sort of "Kitchen Installer's Wish List."

I Need To Know What I Have To Do.

Of course good plans are essential. Plans should consist of a floor plan and elevations drawn to scale. Identify the cabinets by dimension, such as W2436 or B36, not by invoice number. It's also a big help when the door swings are shown. The elevations should show the configurations of any and all applied moldings including the placement of furniture legs or ball feet and light valances. A cross section sketch of multiple piece crown moldings is great.

More and more often there are elements of the job such as microwave enclosures, refrigerator enclosures, oven, cooktop and warming drawer enclosures, shelving units and range hoods which are to be built on site. Sometimes a particular cabinet from the manufacturer needs extensive alterations to fit into the design. Precise, measured drawings of these should be a part of the plans and will eliminate guesswork on the part of the installer.

Plumbers and electricians want to know where they have to make connections and installers want to know how to accommodate them so "cut sheets" for all appliances should be a part of the plans.

Got Everything?

The number one complaint from installers is not having everything needed to complete the job. All cabinets and moldings, panels and trim pieces necessary to complete the job should be delivered to the job site on or before the installation start date. All hardware (pulls, knobs, roll-out trash cans, tray dividers, etc.) should be delivered to the job site on or before the installation start date. Pulls and/or knobs should be chosen during the ordering process, not during the installation process. The appliances should be delivered on the second or third day of installation.

When ordering crown molding, designers should allow at least one foot of crown for each mitered joint required. Be sure to take into account the total projection of all the pieces of a multiple piece crown. Order long enough lengths of crown to cover each straight run of cabinets without scarf joints. There is nothing uglier than a joint in the middle of a run of crown. Nine times out of ten, the pieces of molding on either side of the joint won't be a good color match. Order one extra eight foot length of crown even the best installer can make a mistake.

Designers seem loathe to order scribe molding. Enough scribe molding should be ordered to cover each place that a finished side of a cabinet meets a wall. Scribe is a great multi-purpose molding. It is useful for finishing off the raw ends of toe kicks and panels and closing gaps between out of level floors and finished ends of shimmed up cabinets.

#*!&@*# Hoods

When an installer sees a custom hood in the plans for a kitchen he gets a knot in his stomach. There always seems to be a problem with custom hoods. The interior isn't finished. The ventilator unit isn't on the job and it will take two weeks to get it. There isn't enough room in the hood for the ventilator unit. There is no way to reach inside to connect the duct to the ventilator. The customer thinks the hood is too big. Can it be cut down? How am I going to hang this thing over the island?

When designing a hood, choose the ventilator unit FIRST. Then design the hood to allow room for the ventilator and ducts needed to vent to the outside. Have the ventilator unit on the job from day one. Make sure that any ducts that need to be run through walls and ceilings are completed before those walls and ceilings are closed up. Inform the general contractor of any special blocking needed in the ceiling framing so that island hoods can be securely hung.

120" Of Cabinets On A 119" Wall

It's amazing how often this happens. Usually, it's because not enough wall space was allowed for the projection of crown molding or the overhang of the counter. Everyone knows to allow for these things but a wall that is out of plumb " can foil the best laid plans. Allow an extra inch.

Allow for fillers wherever a run of cabinets ends against a wall or a full depth panel. They can always be cut down or cut off but they can't be added if they're not there.

Any time a taller unit is installed right next to a built in refrigerator, e.g. Sub-Zero, the taller unit needs a " extended stile on the refrigerator side. This provides a surface on which the side moldings of the refrigerator can rest.

Well, that's it. What every kitchen installer wishes for is to make his or her job easier and more efficient. Come to think of it, these suggestions will also improve the designer's job. Even if it only means that they won't have to listen to their installer's whining.