I am a new builder and only have a few basic builds under my belt which include a table pedestal, a mantel and a storage cabinet. So, I am still very much learning with every build. If you are a beginning builder, these learnings might help you too!
Build on Site (if a precise fit is important)
Since I am shy on experience, I am still doing a lot of measuring along the way to ensure proper fit. In my recent cabinet build, I began work in my garage and then worried I would assemble the whole cabinet and it wouldn’t fit in the space where it was to be installed. In the end, I hauled the half built cabinet over to the rental property (and, some of it dismantled in the trip) to ensure it fit. The good news is — I did measure properly. The bad news is – I had to reinstall the shelves and about killed myself carrying the big cabinet. (OK, maybe I am being dramatic. Picture below shows the size of this beast. I started this in my garage.)
Joinery (Remember the joinery when selecting materials)
I am a one trick pony when it comes to joining two boards together and stick with a Kreg jig and pocket holes. In this build, I thought I could use thinner material for the shelves and later realized the material wasn’t thick enough to use pocket hole screws. I used another way to attach the thinner shelves, but it would have been easier to use 3/4 plywood for the shelves and pocket holes. Rookie mistake, but not the end of the world.
Inset Doors (consider the back panel)
This project had two cabinet doors which were intended to be inset. I was very proud that two doors frames I built fit the opening of the cabinet box. However, I did not consider the 1/4 depth of the plywood back panel and the door bumped up against the shelves and were not properly inset by 1/4 inch. 🙁 After making some inquiries and research, I found a few potential solutions. (There are probably many more).
- Inset the back panel – I could have used a router and created a 1/4 inch channel on the cabinet door frame and inset the cabinet door back panel into the channel.
- Reduce the depth of the shelves – I could have trimmed the depth of the shelves by 1/4 inch to allow for the thickness of the cabinet door back panel when closed.
- New doors – I could have made new doors to lay outside of the base frame.
Now, the “do it right the first time” approach would have been to allow for the 1/4 back panel when measuring/cutting the depth of the interior shelf. That would have been simple. But, as I had already attached and caulked the shelf in place, it would have been messy to take these out (#2 above). I had already built and caulked the doors, so this too would have been too messy to remove and build a channel with a router (#1 above). So, I built new doors. Building the doors was easy, however the wood was warped and did not lay flat against the base frame. Sigh, (It could have been something else beside warped wood, but when built — it just didn’t lay flat.) (Picture below shows the top cabinet door not laying flush in the inset.)
Wood
This is an obvious one — select material that isn’t warped and suited to purpose. As I mentioned above, I should have purchased 3/4 plywood for the shelves and saved myself a lot of headache with joinery.
Also, I learned I need to be more particular in selecting wood for the project. I noticed this with the door frames not laying flat. Also, staring right at me was a board I installed with a big knot hole and I didn’t notice it until I was painting. (Picture below. Trim board by the ceiling.)
This was a fun project and should have been pretty straightforward — but, what’s a project without some lessons along the way. I’ll be that much smarter on the next build.
Hope this gives you all some inspiration that these projects are doable! And, fun!
