Buffalo Grove Carpentry Company
(847) 242-8940
Cabinet Installation in Buffalo Grove, IL
New cabinets can completely change how a kitchen, bathroom, or utility room looks and works. But even the best cabinets fall short if they are not installed correctly. Uneven boxes, doors that won't close flush, and shelves that sag under weight are all signs of a rushed installation. Buffalo Grove Carpentry installs cabinets for homeowners throughout the northwest suburbs, kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, laundry room cabinets, and utility storage, fitted level, secured properly, and finished so everything lines up the way it should.
What Cabinet Installation Involves
Cabinet installation is more involved than most people expect. It starts with finding studs, marking level lines across the wall, and planning the layout so cabinets go up in the right order. Upper cabinets go in before base cabinets. Each box gets shimmed, leveled, and screwed into wall framing, not just drywall. Adjacent cabinets get fastened to each other so the faces stay flush. Then doors get hung, adjusted, and aligned so the gaps are even and everything opens and closes smoothly.
We handle all common cabinet types:
- Kitchen cabinets: uppers, bases, pantry towers, and islands. We work with flat-pack, semi-custom, and custom cabinets from any supplier.
- Bathroom vanities: wall-hung and freestanding vanities fitted to plumbing locations and secured to wall framing.
- Laundry and utility cabinets: storage solutions for laundry rooms, garages, and utility spaces where function matters more than looks but the installation still needs to be solid.
- Built-in storage: cabinets that get integrated into walls or closet spaces and need to fit the exact dimensions of the opening.
We also handle cabinet repairs, loose hinges, broken drawer slides, doors that have dropped out of alignment, and boxes that have pulled away from the wall.
When You Need Cabinet Installation
Most homeowners call for cabinet work in a few situations:
- You have purchased new cabinets and need them installed properly
- Existing cabinets are pulling away from the wall or no longer sitting level
- Doors and drawers have dropped out of alignment and adjustments are not fixing it
- You are renovating a kitchen or bathroom and replacing the existing cabinets
- You want to add storage to a laundry room, garage, or utility space that currently has none
In Buffalo Grove homes from the 1970s and 1980s, original kitchen cabinets are now 40 or more years old. Many are still functional but outdated, and replacing them is one of the most impactful upgrades you can make to a home.
Why Cabinet Problems Happen
Most cabinet problems trace back to installation shortcuts.
Cabinets pulling away from the wall almost always means the screws went into drywall instead of studs. Drywall cannot carry the weight of a loaded cabinet over time. This is especially common with upper kitchen cabinets, where the consequences of a failure are serious.
Doors that won't stay aligned usually mean the boxes were not properly leveled when they went in, or the hinges were adjusted to compensate for a poor installation rather than fixing the underlying problem.
Gaps between cabinets and walls happen when the wall is out of plumb and the installer did not scribe or fill the gap properly. In older homes with plaster walls or walls that have settled unevenly, this is a common issue.
Sagging shelves are often a sign that the shelf pins are in the wrong positions or the shelf material is too thin for the span. A proper installation accounts for load and shelf thickness from the start.
Repair vs. Replacement
Repair makes sense when:
- The cabinet boxes are solid but the doors or hardware need attention
- One or two cabinets have pulled from the wall but the rest are fine
- Drawer slides are worn out and just need to be swapped for new ones
- Doors have dropped and just need hinge adjustment or new hinges
Replacement makes more sense when:
- The boxes themselves are damaged, warped, or structurally compromised
- The layout no longer works for how the space is used
- The style is so outdated that repair would leave you with functional but ugly cabinets
- You are doing a broader renovation and the cabinets need to match new finishes
We will look at what you have and give you a straight answer before recommending anything.
What Affects the Cost of Cabinet Installation
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you supply the cabinets or just install them?
We install cabinets you have already purchased. If you need guidance on what to buy or which suppliers to consider, we are happy to advise. We work with cabinets from IKEA, Home Depot, Lowes, and custom cabinet shops.
Can you install IKEA cabinets?
Yes. IKEA cabinet installation is a common request. The system is well designed but the assembly and installation process is time consuming and requires precision to get right. We handle the full job including assembly, installation, and hardware.
How long does cabinet installation take?
A full kitchen typically takes one to two days depending on the number of cabinets and the complexity of the layout. A single bathroom vanity or small utility cabinet takes a few hours. We give you a realistic timeline before we start.
Do you do cabinet refacing?
Yes. If the boxes are in good shape but the doors and drawer fronts are outdated, refacing is a cost-effective alternative to full replacement. We replace the doors, drawer fronts, and hardware while keeping the existing boxes in place.
What if my walls are not level or plumb?
That is very common in Buffalo Grove homes of this age. We account for it during installation using shims and scribing so the finished result looks clean regardless of what the walls are doing behind it.