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Installing Cabinet Toe-Kick Boards

January 2nd, 2010 Leave a comment Go to comments

The process of installing kitchen or vanity cabinet kick plates or toe kick boards is rather easy. The challenge is getting the void spaces next to the floor fitted correctly. Every time I install cupboards and then get ready to finalize the bases, by adding the kick, I am always hopeful that I will not have to scribe the final piece to a crocked floor. Fitting and scribing a board to make things look good can he time consuming. However, if there are voids, you must fit things correctly.




This method I am going to explain applies to base cabinets that have thin toe face boards that are about one quarters of an inch thick. Usually when this type of design is used the cupboards get installed first and then the 8’ long pieces of toe stock get cut to length and installed. No staples or screws should be used when installing the pieces of wood to the cabinet notched areas next to the floor.

How to Install Kitchen or Vanity Cabinetry Toe Kick Boards

Measure all of the toe base lengths and figure out how to cut them out of your stock parts so that you will have enough material to finish the job.

I generally begin by cutting the largest run of cabinet’s toe kick plate first. This is just a basic carpentry rule-you always cut largest to smallest.

Next, I hold the cabinetry base board part to the area where it will be installed and see how it fits the floor. If there are gaps over 1/32”- I always scribe the toe boards to the contour of the floor. Watch this video on fitting a base cabinet to a kitchen floor to learn what scribing is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ-KgQTr970

Once the pieces are fit to the humps and dips in the floor they are adhered by applying caulking to the cabinet runners and pushing the toe boards into place.

If this is done correctly, you should not need to shoot the boards on with staples, nail it or use screws in any way.

Many manufactures will include a small piece of L-molding that will cap off the finished end areas of the cabinet toe bass boards. Installing these final trim pieces is also done by using some caulking and pushing them into place.

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