Install cabinet when floor not level - back higher than front

[Jungle8888]

Hi everyone,

I've been building a makeup station from my wife and it is my first ever cabinet project.
The station consist of a cabinet both sides with a middle drawer.
Once I'm done, I will get a slab of quartz installed.
When I fitted the cabinets in place, I found that the tile floor is not leveled, there is a slope with the back higher by about half an inch. So there is a big gap on the front and on the sides.

What would be my options at this stage to make the base of the cabinet flush with the tiles or at the very least reduce the gap as I plan to apply some caulk along the gap.

Thanks!

 

[mwildt]

Yikes. I'm guessing the floor had a slope due to water diversion maybe. Nice work on the cabinets though. Some ideas on how to solve it.

You could scribe to the floor.

You could attach a thin Kick board on the front and similar on the side, think like 1/8 thick. Side would go all the way to the top of the cabinet. Like a veneer. It would hide the gap and any shims needed.

You could cut the 'step' of the cabinet bottom and make a standalone base the top cabinet would rest on. Sorry if that isn't describe with correct terminology.

1/2 inch is too much to caulk, imho. So I agree something should happen.

Just ideas. Do let us know how it goes. I hope I remember/learn form this one as I've considered making a vanity at some point. Our bathroom floor probably isn't level either.

 

[tjbnwi]

With the cabinets level as shown, scribe the bottom along the floor. Cut with the track saw.

The wall side will be hared to work out but it can be done.

Tom

 

[nclemmons]

Scribe them.  Then just use your track saw to taper the bottom panels of the two side cabinets.  Given it's an inset cabinet between two walls with the knee hole, it will not be noticeable.

 

[Rob Z]

As Tom and Neil suggested, scribe to the floor and cut the bottoms as needed.  Or, you could make toe kick molding to cover the gap in front and run shoe around the fronts and to the wall behind the cabinets.

 

[Jungle8888]

Thanks Mwildt, Tom, Neil and Rob!

I will most likely scribe to the floor and cut with my track saw

I will post pics once done.

[member=3693]mwildt[/member] - I'm also making a vanity which will sit opposite of the makeup station and I mostly followed the steps in this video:

 

[NL-mikkla]

Don’t you have any room available for the adjusting feet commonly used in kitchen cabinets?
I know Ikea sells them cheap, after that you could make a custom fit kickerboard.

Scribing the floor sounds like a hassle to even out.

 

[Mario Turcot]

I'm doing something similar and I went with those adjustable glides to ensure the two cabinets are leveled. All you have to do once leveled is to put a toekick face that will cover any gap.

Mario

 

[Jungle8888]

I'm doing something similar and I went with those adjustable glides to ensure the two cabinets are leveled. All you have to do once leveled is to put a toekick face that will cover any gap.

Mario

Thanks Mario, I believe that the glides won't work in my case because everything is assembled and glued... I didn't measure twice and cut once  [smile]  A big gap will show on the sides.

Next time, I will make the base, do the scribe, then cut and assemble the sides

 

[Michael Kellough]

Scribe and cut the accessible sides. Estimate and over cut the hidden sides. Use a corner installed leveling foot for the two hidden corners.

There are many styles of Corner leveling feet. Most have a screw you access from a small hole in the bottom of cabinet.

 

[tomp]

Looks like maybe the face frames are flush to the cabinet sides, so you would have to cover /hide the edges of scribed panels. How easy would it be to remove the toe kicks? - make new trims pieces for the front and sides, set the front to the floor and scribe the sides back to the wall.

A little off the subject, but here is a make-up station from a few years back (before digital cameras) - laminate top with a drop at the work area.

 

[sancho57]

if your dealing with a uneven floor I would build the cabinet as a box and use either the adjustable Euro legs which will make it easy to level or make a seperate base, its easy to level the separate base and set the box on the base.

 

[Jungle8888]

Scribe and cut the accessible sides. Estimate and over cut the hidden sides. Use a corner installed leveling foot for the two hidden corners.

There are many styles of Corner leveling feet. Most have a screw you access from a small hole in the bottom of cabinet.

I took a day off from work to do it and with the precision of my TS55 and track, I was able to get them leveled and minimum gaps!
It's one more reason I can tell my wife that is why I buy Festool!  [big grin]

 

[Jungle8888]

if your dealing with a uneven floor I would build the cabinet as a box and use either the adjustable Euro legs which will make it easy to level or make a seperate base, its easy to level the separate base and set the box on the base.

Thanks [member=10147]jobsworth[/member] , I got it done with the TS55, my wife's specs were "No legs"  [smile]

 

[Jungle8888]

Looks like maybe the face frames are flush to the cabinet sides, so you would have to cover /hide the edges of scribed panels. How easy would it be to remove the toe kicks? - make new trims pieces for the front and sides, set the front to the floor and scribe the sides back to the wall.

A little off the subject, but here is a make-up station from a few years back (before digital cameras) - laminate top with a drop at the work area.

Thanks [member=65072]tomp[/member] , I glued everything up with titebond II and have a bunch of pocket and trim screws.  I just finished scribing them and they are almost flush to the floor.

Job well done on your make-up station!
Question/opinion, the cabinets are ~36" tall, per my wife's specs with a 28" opening, with a drawer in the middle(same height as the top drawers of the cabinets).  This is so that she could be standing up and do her woman stuff like hair blow drying and she is planning to get a tall chair if she needs to sit.  Would it be better to have a drop in the middle?

Thanks,
Paul

 

[tomp]

[member=67315]Jungle8888[/member]

Thanks for the kind words. After all this time, I'm not sure how tall the cabinets were - seems to me we used to make them a few inches shorter than kitchens (maybe 29-1/2"?) but they seem to be the same now - but I'm thinking that underneath the work surface is 4-1/2" lower than the main surface. If you put a drawer under that - and I would think for make-up and so forth that it should be more like a pencil drawer depth - you'd have to see how much is left to the floor. If you're going with quartz, you would need a framework underneath for support (the laminate top was self-supporting), maybe on the sides and back, with a plywood shelf to provide support. It may be good to mock something up and have your wife sit there, see what she thinks about the design before you build it.  Never got any feedback from the customer on the vanity, other than she liked it. The area was made for sitting - we put in the curve so the customer could get closer to the mirror - but no feel for how high the seat would have been. With a 31" top height and the 4-1/2" drop, the height under the counter would have been around 26-1/2" about right for a regular chair with wheels, looks as you might wind up around the same with 36" top height and the deeper drawer.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

 

[Getmaverick]

Looks like a good place for shoe mold.

 

[sheperd80]

I would scribe in a 1/4" toe skin and apply to the front and maybe the inner sides if needed. Or a small shoe base. This is typical for cabinets as they almost never sit level on any floor. I would not waste my time trying to scribe the base of the cabinets.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[Bob D.]

Scribing to the floor will work, but will that 1/2" cause you any problems? It will in affect lower the top by that 1/2". Will there be a drawer in the knee hole? If that doesn't present a problem when sitting in a normal height chair, or whatever chair or stool will be used, then good. Just something to think about.

 

[Jungle8888]

I would scribe in a 1/4" toe skin and apply to the front and maybe the inner sides if needed. Or a small shoe base. This is typical for cabinets as they almost never sit level on any floor. I would not waste my time trying to scribe the base of the cabinets.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

Thanks [member=62796]sheperd80[/member] , with the TS55, it was a breeze, only drawback was the dust it created since there was no support underneath.