Have you just invested in a new kitchen? Congratulations ! But you may be facing a major problem: how to fix your kitchen furniture? It's a job that requires a bit of preparation and knowledge. In this article, we explain all the tips you need to know to successfully install your kitchen like a pro. This will be useful for kitchen cabinets as well as for the shelves murals. You'll see, it's not that complicated! First of all, you just need to find the right fixings. Let's take a closer look. 🧐
Finding the right fixings for your wall
What is the type of wall? Concrete, plaster, brick, etc.
The first step to securely attaching your furniture to the walls is to identify what type of material it is made of.
There are generally 4 types of walls.
The soft and hollow walls, which are made of plasterboard.
The full and soft walls, made of cellular concrete or plaster tiles.
Hollow and hard walls, made of concrete block or hollow brick.
Finally the solid and hard walls, for their part, are made of solid concrete, hard stone or solid brick. 🧱
Why is it essential to identify your wall type? Because you will need to choose suitable dowels and drill bits.
Choosing the right ankles
To choose the right dowels and prevent your furniture from detaching from the wall with loss and crash, you must take into account the weight each ankle will support.
Take into account the weight of the furniture itself and that of the objects you will store there. 🍽️
For a heavy load, greater than 50 kg, choose 10 mm diameter dowels. For an average load, between 20 kg and 50 kg, take dowels with a diameter of 6 to 8 mm.
For a light load, less than 20 kg, 5 mm diameter dowels suffice.
Concerning the number of dowels, you will need 4, one per fixing location.
Now let's move on to the question of furniture height. 📏
What is the right height to attach your kitchen furniture?
How much space should I put between the worktop and the wall units?
Let's start by laying out some basics. Generally speaking, the height of the worktop, itself placed on the base units, is between 85 and 95 cm. A very practical height for cooking without being bent over! Using a meter you can measure between 50 and 60 cm starting from the work surface. Concretely, the furniture must be placed above the splashback, the latter itself being 40 to 60 cm high. 📐
What is the right height to attach a tall piece of furniture?
The right height, as we saw previously, is 50 to 60 cm above the work surface. If it is located 90 cm high, the tall furniture will therefore be 1m40 – 1m50 high. You will therefore be able to reach everything you have stored inside without a stepladder. 🪜
The maximum height not to be exceeded is 2m20. This could be impractical on a daily basis. For the furniture with integrated hood, note that you must place them at a height of 65 cm above the work surface, i.e. 1m55 high.
What is the right height between the sink and the wall units?
If you have a sink with a high mixer tap, it is advisable to attach your furniture at a minimum height of 45 cm above the work surface. This is usually enough to not be bothered when using the sink. Of course, if your mixer tap is higher, adapt and fix your furniture at a sufficient height. ⛲
How to properly drill the wall to attach kitchen furniture?
Step 1: make markings on the wall
Before taking out the drill, you will have to mark marks on your wall. Take a pencil and a tape measure. Thus equipped, you will be able to:
- Take measures of the height of the fixings above the work surface. With your pencil, mark the marks on the wall.
- Draw a horizontal line of the width of the furniture. To make sure it is straight, use a spirit level.
- Mark the location of the furniture on this feature. Then, mark the location of the fasteners. Measure the mounting location on the furniture, in height and width. Then, relative to the line you have drawn, note these marks.
- Finally, take a clip to attach to the wall. This has holes for placing the screws. Place these holes in the locations marked previously and mark them with a pencil. 🖊️
Step 2: Drill the wall
Now that your marks are in the right place, you shouldn't make any mistakes when drilling. So select a drill bit suited to the type of wall. To do this, nothing could be simpler, the type of drill (concrete, wood, plaster, etc.) is indicated on the packaging.
This must also be adapted to the diameter and length of the drilling. Drill a hole the diameter of the dowel for hard walls. For soft walls (plaster for example), choose a drill bit 5 mm smaller than the diameter of the dowel. Finally, proceed to drilling your wall.
Note that, for concrete walls, you will need to equip yourself with a percussion drill. We strongly recommend that you equip yourself with noise-cancelling headphones, as the sound can indeed be very unpleasant. 🔊
How to insert wall plugs and fixings?
To properly insert the anchors into the wall, start by check the type of anchor you have. For traditional anchors, drive them into the wall with a hammer. For expansion anchors, you must use the tool to retract the anchor. ⚒
Then install one of the fixings on the wall by placing the hole provided for the screw opposite the dowel. Insert the screws. Screw them in all the way. Then repeat the operation with all your fasteners. Everything is now ready for the long-awaited final step: installing the kitchen unit.
How to install the kitchen unit?
Take the piece of furniture to be fixed, then match its hooks with those attached to the wall. Tighten the screws inside the box more or less to correct the plumbness of the furniture. If you have any doubt, use a spirit level on the furniture. You will immediately see if it is not straight. Then place the screw covers inside and install the doors. These must also be adjusted to be plumb.
You can now do a little cleaning to remove dust what this whole operation caused! 🧼 Also clean your furniture inside and out to remove dust from drilling. You can now put all your dishes!
In summary, remember that to fix kitchen furniture, you must:
- Start by finding the right bindings for your wall. These differ depending on the hardness of the materials that constitute it.
- Choosing the right plugs for your wall, the weight of the furniture and the load it will support.
- Define the height of your furniture. You will also need to place marks for the fixings.
- Insert the dowels into the wall, using a hammer or a suitable tool, then install the kitchen unit.
We hope this article has been useful to you. If you like to DIY, go read our article on making a wooden shoe cabinet.
See you soon at Ripaton! 🌞