Cabinets and drawers within a household serve as the best storage space. However, there are a lot of hardware like hinges, knobs or handles that need to be installed on them. It needs special care during installation as placing them wrongly would ruin not only your furniture but also your effort.
Knowing how to install kitchen cabinet handles yourself would save you the money of hiring a person to do it and your time. A major concern people have is that installing kitchen cabinet handles is very difficult. If you are among them, this article will help you learn how to install them with ease and perfection, step by step.
In most cases, these handles and other cabinet hardware come with an instruction manual. Therefore, it is always a good idea to read it to better understand the positioning and measurements of this cabinet hardware. Have a loot at some of the most popular kitchen handle.
So, let's not take more of your time and explain step-by-step how to install kitchen handles in this article.
How To Install Kitchen Cabinet Handles? Step By Step
If you are completely new to the process of installing the kitchen cabinet handles, then follow the below-listed steps of how to install kitchen handles on cabinets precisely:
Step 01: Positioning The Handles
It is the first and yet the most important step in installing kitchen cabinet handles. Wrongly fitted handles make it harder to open them and ruin their functionality. Therefore, it is always a good idea to follow the industry standards.
The best place to position them is at the top corner if it's a base cabinet and at the bottom corner if it's a top wall cabinet. However, the knobs on the drawers are placed in the horizontal and the vertical middle of each drawer face. It is placed on the side opposite the hinges to provide good leverage for opening them.
Step 02: Measurement And Marking
Installing the cabinet hardware could be easy if you follow the installation guide that comes with most of them. Most of the time, it needs to get screwed at two places, so they require two holes. This step includes measuring the location of these holes.
A general rule of thumb is to divide the height of a kitchen cabinet in 3 and place the handle in the top 1/3 of the height. The place of the hole is decided by measuring equal lengths from both the upper and lower ends of the 1/3 height of the cabinet.
Step 03: Checking The Fixed Centres
Once you have made the markings and measurements in the last step, it is time to check if they are right. The best way is to place them on top of the markings and see if they align with it. Each marking corresponds to holes, so keep that in mind when marking them.
After verifying the position of the kitchen handle, mark the fixing centres on the drawers or the cabinets. An important thing to note here is that there would be only one hole if you are installing a kitchen knob, unlike a kitchen handle, and only one hole is drilled in the cabinet or the drawer.
Step 04: Start Drilling
It is a sensitive part that could damage the wood if not done correctly. Therefore, It is best to start with a small drill bit, as it doesn't skid away and damage the wood. It will also provide a grip for the larger drill when it's time. To avoid any skid, keep your hand level with the cabinet and steady.
Since you have made a smaller hole, now is the time to make it bigger with the help of a drill bit that is the size of the screw you are using. It is mostly 5mm, but it is always a great idea to follow the instructions for the cabinet handles. This larger hole should be neat.
Step 05: Fit The New Kitchen Cabinet Handle
This step is a must to follow if you need to learn how to hang cabinet hardware. Since the kitchen handles have two screws, and you have made these holes in the previous steps. You can now insert the screws from the inner side of these holes so they poke outwards. From there, you can screw them to the handle.
A place where most of the people struggle is that they tighten up the first screw so much that they are unable to screw the other one. Thus, it is always recommended to screw the first screw gently. Then repeat the same process for screwing the second one. Once both the screws are done, you can then tighten them up.
Step 06: Cleaning
This is the final stage of installing the kitchen cabinet handles. Once you know they are properly installed, you can simply clean them. Always use a soft cloth to clean them, and avoid materials that are abrasive and have hard fibres.
For weekly cleaning, you can use a mixture of warm water and vinegar to clean kitchen handles (how to clean kitchen cabinet handles). It can be made at home with little effort and effectively removes stains and dirt from the kitchen hardware.
Conclusion
So, how to install kitchen cabinet handles? We hope you are now well-versed after reading the article. Some steps in fitting the kitchen cabinets are marking, making the holes, and then fitting them up. The right placement of the kitchen handles is vital for its proper functionality and aesthetics. Therefore, it is always recommended to follow a proper guide for installation.
FAQs
Where should kitchen handles be placed for them to be functional?
The kitchen handles, and even the knobs are installed on the side opposite to hinges. They are placed in the upper corner of the base cabinets and the lower corner of the upper cabinets. Their measurements vary with the size. Therefore, it is always recommended that you follow the guide that comes with this kitchen hardware.
What is the best drill bit for making holes in wooden kitchen cabinets?
The best type of drill bits to use for making holes in the wooden kitchen hardware is the Brad Point drill bits. They are used to make clean exit holes that are useful for installing cabinet hardware like kitchen cabinet knobs, handles or hinges. For installing them, the drill bits are usually 5mm in size. But it varies with their size.
How to install kitchen cabinet handles?
Installing the cabinet hardware is pretty easy as they require only drilling some holes and then screwing through them to fit the kitchen handles and the knobs. The steps you follow to install them are to measure the location, mark them, drill the holes and then fit the handles with proper screwing.
What size of screws to use in the kitchen cabinets?
If you want to know how to fit door handles and kitchen cabinet handles, then it is important to decide what type of screws to use for better fitting. In most cases, multipurpose flat head screws are used as they are excellent for fastening them to studs underneath the drywall or the wood, in the case of the kitchen cabinets.