Before you buy kitchen cabinets, measure every wall at several heights, check corners, find the floor's high point and check walls for plumb; older Duluth kitchens are rarely true. Then pick stock, semi-custom or custom, plan filler strips and each appliance's clearances from its installation guide, and inspect every box on delivery before the old kitchen comes out.
Measure the room you have, not the room on paper
A cabinet order is only as good as the measurements behind it, and in a house built before 1950, one tape measurement per wall isn't enough. Plaster walls bow, corners drift off square, and floors settle. Take the room down to what's there before you shop.
Measure each wall at three heights: just above the floor, at counter height and up where the wall cabinets will hang. Plaster walls can vary by more than you'd guess across those heights, and the smallest number is the one that has to fit. Check each corner for square with the 3-4-5 method: mark 3 feet along one wall and 4 feet along the other, and the diagonal between the marks should be exactly 5 feet. A corner that's off will open a gap at one end of a countertop run, which a filler or scribe has to close.
Then find the floor's high point. MasterBrand's installation instructions note that houses become unlevel from settling and shifting, and call for checking the floor with a level to find the highest point along the cabinet walls, then drawing a level line 34-1/2 inches up from it to set the base cabinets (MasterBrand). Everything else gets shimmed up to that line, so a floor that drops toward an outside wall means taller shims and a toe kick that has to be scribed. Hold a 4-foot level against each wall, too: a wall that's out of plumb tips wall cabinets forward or leaves a tapered gap along the side of a tall pantry.
Mark everything that's fixed: window and door openings with their trim, radiators, heat registers, the sink drain and supply lines, gas line, outlets, switches and any soffit. In Duluth, installing cabinets needs no building permit, but work affecting more than half a sheet of drywall does, and moving plumbing or adding circuits brings in the trade permits (City of Duluth FAQ). Superior exempts replacing cabinets without changing the layout (City of Superior).
Stock, semi-custom or custom: what the grades mean
Stock cabinets come in a fixed menu of sizes and finishes, often straight from a store's shelf or warehouse, so they're usually the quickest to get and often the least expensive. The trade-off is fit: gaps between the last box and the wall are closed with fillers. Semi-custom lines offer more sizes, depths, finishes and modifications, such as a shallower wall cabinet over the refrigerator or a deeper box for an end run. Custom cabinets are built to your room's dimensions, with the longest lead time. Plenty of older kitchens do fine with stock or semi-custom boxes and well-planned fillers; custom earns its price when walls are badly out of square, ceilings are uneven or the layout has odd angles. Whichever you buy, we can install cabinets you order yourself.
| Check | How | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Wall lengths | Measure each wall near the floor, at counter height and at wall-cabinet height | The shortest measurement is the one the cabinets must fit |
| Corners | 3-4-5 test: 3 ft and 4 ft marks should be 5 ft apart | Out-of-square corners leave tapered gaps at counter ends |
| Floor level | Level along each cabinet wall to find the high point | Base cabinets are set from the high point and shimmed up to it |
| Wall plumb | 4-ft level held vertically at several spots | Out-of-plumb walls need shims or scribe molding |
| Openings and utilities | Windows, doors, trim, radiators, drains, gas, outlets, soffits | Boxes may need cutouts, fillers or a different size |
| Appliances | Model numbers and installation guides in hand | Opening sizes and clearances decide the cabinet sizes around them |
| Delivery | Every box checked against the order and for damage | Problems surface while the old kitchen still works |
Filler strips, corners and appliance clearances
Fillers are the strips of matching wood that make cabinets fit a real room. MasterBrand's instructions say fillers are required where cabinetry sits against a wall or next to a deeper cabinet, and that they give door pulls and knobs room to clear, can be scribed to a wall that isn't straight, and help center cabinets around a window or size an appliance opening. Plan one wherever a cabinet meets a wall, especially if a door or drawer opens toward it; a drawer that hits the wall trim or the next cabinet's handle is the classic mistake.
Blind corner cabinets need the same care. The same instructions note that a blind corner has to be pulled far enough from the side wall that its door clears hardware on the adjacent cabinet or appliance, which changes the dimensions of everything down that run.
Appliances set their own rules, and the installation guide for your model is the one to follow. GE's guidance for ranges, for example, calls for at least 30 inches between the surface units and the bottom of an unprotected wood or metal cabinet above them, or 24 inches when the cabinet bottom is protected with the millboard and sheet-metal layer it specifies, and recommends checking the installation instructions for your specific model (GE Appliances). Download the guides for the range, hood, dishwasher and refrigerator before you order, and size the openings around them. New circuits for an island or under-cabinet lighting are done by a licensed electrician under an electrical permit; see lighting and electrical.
Delivery day: check every box before demo
MasterBrand's instructions start with checking that the cabinets and accessories received agree with the order and aren't damaged, and not removing the existing cabinets or plumbing fixtures until you've confirmed the correct products are on hand. Open each carton, match it to the order, look for crushed corners, cracked face frames and scratched doors, and count the fillers, panels, toe kick and molding. Our advice is to keep the boxes indoors in a dry, heated room rather than a cold garage or damp basement until install day. A missing wall cabinet found now is a phone call; found after demo, it's a kitchen without a sink.
National cost guides put cabinet installation labor at about $50–$450 per linear ft, according to HomeAdvisor, while Fixr puts it at $50–$200 per linear ft. Those are U.S. ranges for labor, not the cabinets and not our price. Your flat written quote, approved before work starts, is the real number. Our kitchen remodeling page covers the rest of the project, and sink and faucet work is done under the required permits.
How do you measure a kitchen for new cabinets?
Measure each wall at three heights, near the floor, at counter height and at wall-cabinet height, and use the smallest number. Check corners for square with a 3-4-5 triangle, find the floor's high point with a level, and check walls for plumb. Then mark windows, doors, trim, radiators, plumbing, gas, outlets and soffits on a sketch, and add your appliance model numbers before you order.
What are filler strips on kitchen cabinets?
Filler strips are matching pieces of wood that close the gap between a cabinet and a wall or another cabinet. They let standard-size boxes fit a room that isn't a standard size, give doors and drawers room to open past wall trim and handles, and can be scribed to follow a wavy plaster wall. Plan a filler anywhere a cabinet meets a wall.
Should I choose stock, semi-custom or custom cabinets?
Choose stock when your walls are reasonably straight and budget and speed matter most, semi-custom when you need odd sizes, depths or finishes, and custom when the room is badly out of square or has unusual angles. In many older Duluth and Superior kitchens, stock or semi-custom boxes with well-planned fillers and scribing fit well. Measure first, then decide.
What should I check when kitchen cabinets are delivered?
Check every carton against the order and for damage before the old kitchen comes out. Look for crushed corners, cracked face frames, scratched doors and missing hinges, and count the fillers, end panels, toe kick and molding. Cabinet maker MasterBrand says not to remove existing cabinets until the correct products are on hand. Keep the boxes indoors in a dry, heated room until install day.
Send your sketch, photos and the cabinet order through our contact page, or call or text (715) 919-7956, and we can check the fit before you buy. Every install gets a flat written quote you approve before work starts.