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phoebe_zajac

Gap between counter and cabinets. Is it normal?

Phoebe
hace 4 años

Is it normal to have a gap between a counter and the cabinets? Our new counters in the bathroom and kitchen have this. I think it's too late to really do anything about it besides fill it with caulk, but I'm wondering if this is normal. Thanks.

Respuesta destacada
  • darbuka
    hace 4 años

    Had my contractor not shimmed my cabinets in places where the floor dipped, I’d have the same situation. But, he did shim, on both sides of my galley kitchen. Therefor, no gaps.


    Comentarios (26)

    • scottie mom
      hace 4 años

      Installer needs to shim and adjust. You don’t want that stone unsupported. Don’t lean on it until it’s done.

    • PRO
      Joseph Corlett, LLC
      hace 4 años

      It is normal to have gaps, but that's hack work. Have them install composite, not wood, shims please.

    • PRO
      Morningstar Stone & Tile
      hace 4 años

      To us, it looks like the cabinets were not installed correctly and are not level. You can see the widening gap from back to front on the 2nd image. Without properly installed cabinets you'll be hard-pressed to get the tops to sit correctly. Now, if this is a countertop swap and you're using existing, in place cabinets they may have settled and you'll need to have the tops shimmed. I do agree with Joseph that this is bad work. Good luck!

    • Phoebe
      Autor original
      hace 4 años

      Most of the counter is not as bad as that. That is a 7" cabinet with a spice pullout, and the floors and walls weren't level (this used to be a barn), so they did what they could with the cabinets. So I should ask them to add composite shims? Here are some more photos. Bathroom first, then showing some of the gaps going along the rest of the cabinets ending with that small one. The gaps in the rest, while not uniform, are fairly minimal.

    • Phoebe
      Autor original
      hace 4 años

      The rest

    • PRO
      Morningstar Stone & Tile
      hace 4 años

      It all starts with installing the cabinets so they are level. If not, you will be struggling to get level and true countertops. All existing homes (and barns) settle over time and nothing is ever truly plumb, even with new construction. Walls bow, homes settle, it's just the nature of the home evolution. So setting the cabinets is absolutely critical.

    • Phoebe
      Autor original
      hace 4 años

      If the counters are in, isn't it too late to do anything about the cabinets?

    • PRO
      Morningstar Stone & Tile
      hace 4 años

      If cabinets are existing then your countertop fabricator should have done a much better job and most likely this should start when they templated your tops to get exact measurements and variations.

    • Phoebe
      Autor original
      hace 4 años

      So, what can be done at this point?

    • PRO
      Morningstar Stone & Tile
      hace 4 años

      Not much, unfortunately. It all starts with the cabinets and installing them properly. It is not an easy task with an existing home that has settled and has dips in the floor, uneven walls, etc. And it appears you have frameless cabinets which don't allow for a piece of 3/8" scotia molding to run under to cover the gaps.

    • darbuka
      hace 4 años

      @Phoebe, are your counters soapstone?

    • Phoebe
      Autor original
      hace 4 años

      @darbuka yes

    • darbuka
      hace 4 años

      Thought so. I have soapstone counters, too.

      What variety? The look a lot like mine, Belvedere, which is one of the harder varieties.


    • Nancy in Mich
      hace 4 años

      I had a 60 year old ranch that was built with half the kitchen being added on after the basement was poured, so the sub builder just built a tiny, inaccessible basement out of concrete block next to it to extend the kitchen. It was a sub of identical 900 sq ft postwar starter homes and when you bought, if you wanted the larger kitchen, that is how they did it! It resulted in uneven settling. So 60 years later, when I decide to replace the built-in-place kitchen cupboards, I (luckily) decided to have the custom made cabs made a little taller, for my height and back. It was a good 5hing, for when the builder went to install them he had to trim the bottoms of the cabs on one end of the kitchen up to an inch to get them level.

      That is what your contractor does. He/she builds a level kitchen. Whether they start with removing subfloor and shimming it to be level before replacing the sub floor, or by shimming or cutting the bottom of the cabs to make them level, there should be a level surface there before the counter top people come in.

      Then when the counter top people come in to template the counters, THEY check for level. If the cabinets are not level, the builder should fix that by using shims or by cutting strips of wood to add to the tops of cabinet boxes to make them level and then finishing (paint or stain to match your cabs) the added wood. When the cabinet folks return with the finished counters, they are expecting the cabinets will be ready to receive them with minimal shimming needed.

      So, what part of this equation did you omit?

      If you have a contractor installing the kitchen, it seems it may be on him. What does he propose as a fix?

      If this is a DIY project, then I would advise you to do a whole lot more research on installing the cabinets. Or on placing floor joists. Maybe it used to be a barn, but the workmanship should be that of a house, now. If you want it to look like a pro job, you have to acquire pro level knowledge and skills.

      Do you have these counters firmly attached? Can they be taken off and set aside until someone decides how to fix this? Those gaps are not acceptable.

    • PRO
      Joseph Corlett, LLC
      hace 4 años

      "If the counters are in, isn't it too late to do anything about the cabinets?"


      "So, what can be done at this point?"


      " Have them install composite, not wood, shims please."

    • Nancy in Mich
      hace 4 años

      Joe, I may not be the only one who does not quite understand your suggestion. Since “composite” may be a noun or an adjective, are you suggesting a shim that is made out of a composite material, as in a composite shim, not a wood shim? Or are you saying that there is a material known a “composite” that can be squished into the gaps that can harden and then support the counter edge equally and later be paintedd

    • PRO
      Joseph Corlett, LLC
      hace 4 años

      Virtually non-compressive and much more dimensionally stable than wood.

    • weedmeister
      hace 4 años

      Wood shims will compress over time when the weight of the counter is put on them. Shims made of a composite materiel will not compress (much).

    • Nancy in Mich
      hace 4 años

      There you go, now I get it! I hope out original poster sees this.

    • Phoebe
      Autor original
      hace 4 años

      Thanks Nancy, I did. Is this something I can do myself? It appears that they used some sort of caulking type material instead of shims. Most of the cabinets are sitting fine, but for some reason that end cabinet isn't. It must be due to the fact that it was cut down from a 12". To those of you going over how to do it properly, it's too late to tear anything out, so I am just going to work with what I have. The floor under the cabinets is tile, so it would be difficult to get anything to sit perfectly. I will definitely use a contractor if I ever have another kitchen done. The cabinet installer was very highly rated, but apparently that wasn't accurate. Same for the countertops. This was in a small back house, so a contractor seemed overkill. You live and you learn. Thanks everyone for your help.

    • cpartist
      hace 4 años

      There was no excuse for the cabinet installer not to get the cabinets level. If you paid him to install them correctly, then that’s what he should have done

    • Phoebe
      Autor original
      hace 4 años

      @cpartist what would you do about it if you were me? They can't really take the counters out at this point so he can't fix them.

    • PRO
      Joseph Corlett, LLC
      hace 4 años

      The tops don't have to be removed for the cabinets to be reinstalled properly.

    • Phoebe
      Autor original
      hace 4 años

      Can you explain how that is done or send a link that does?

    • PRO
      Joseph Corlett, LLC
      hace 4 años

      There are probably not any links. I'd loosen the screws and drive shims under the cabinets. Total PIA, but if you're forced to do it by a customer, you'll never let another do it again.

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