Walls aren’t always perfectly straight, so it’s essential to identify any projections or variances before installing cabinets. In this video, we show how to use a string line to detect “bellies” or uneven spots in the wall and mark them for both base and wall cabinets. Since you can’t build into the wall—but you can build out from it—these measurements are key to a proper fit. Taking the time to map wall irregularities ensures a smoother installation and a clean, professional result.
Video Transcript
Justin:
It's a glorious day here at Cabinet Joint. I'm Justin, and I'm here with Josh. And we just figured out our high point of our floor, and we measured and planned accordingly. Now Josh, I see we have a string set up here in the wall. So I'm assuming we have to mess with the wall some. So can you tell me more about that?
Josh:
Yeah, so just like the floor, we know that we can't build into the wall. We can only build off of the wall. So, we want to distinguish which part of the wall sticks out the most. So, what we've done here is we've taken a pull string. We can pick any shim, any thickness. You just want to make sure that whatever you use at the start is the same thickness as the end, and whatever you're engaging with also matches that thickness.
Justin:
So, once you've mounted the string, how do you go about finding which stud is poking out the most?
Josh:
Yeah. So, what we're going to do is we're going to take our third shim matching thickness, and we're going to basically slide this shim behind that string. And along the way, you'll see these notes on the wall. I've basically disclosed what the variance is, whether it be a 1⁄16" or a ¼" like here. We know that we have a belly in the wall. We're going to do this at the bottom, at the top of the base run. We're also going to do this at the bottom and the top of the wall cabinets.
This really sets us up for success because if you don't do this step and you just start screwing cabinets to the wall, this will telegraph whatever the wall does right through the front of your cabinets. So, the goal here is to have a parallel run of cabinets. If your wall is crooked, your cabinets will be crooked unless you take the time to do this step. We know here, this is a ¼" belly, a ¼" belly. We know that we're going to want to put a ¼" shim behind this cabinet. And down here, we should have no shim because we're flat against the wall.
Justin:
So, what you're telling me here is you are finding what's the furthest in, but what you're really looking for though is what's the furthest point out, right? So on the flip side of that, we want to really look at where we might push this string forward.
Josh:
And at that point, we would want to disclose that this is a positive projection. At that point, we know that this may be the part of the wall that sticks out the most. Now, when we check down low, if we have the same issue, we'll take that high point, compare it to the other high point with a level. So, if this projection down here, which we've already noted, sticks out a little further than here, we want to figure out which one wins, which part of the wall sticks out the most. And that's going to be the starting point for these wall cabinets on this run.
Justin:
Gotcha. So, you're not looking at just one spot on the wall. You're looking at the entire wall where your cabinet is going to land.
Josh:
Yes. We're basically creating a mental image of what's happening with this wall. We can't go in with the cabinets. We can only go out. So, we want to kind of prepare for what size shims and figure out which part of this wall is sticking out the most.
Basically, we're just going to repeat this step. We're going to do it down at the bottom of the the base cabinet. We're going to do it here at the bottom and the top of the wall cabinets, and then over here on this wall. We've already begun making notes here. Once we have that information, we'll be ready to start our install. If you have any more questions about this, reach out to your cabinet coach, or you can call us at 888-211-6482.
Justin:
Have a great day.
