A new set of cabinets is a significant investment, even if you save money by buying RTA cabinets. And if you did choose RTA cabinets, you might worry about messing up your investment during the assembly process. You don’t need to be a carpenter or even a handyman to assemble and install RTA cabinets, but not everyone has the confidence in their skills to feel secure about taking on this type of project. If you’re nervous about building your RTA cabinets, or if you do feel ready but just want to make sure you’re fully prepared, this is the article for you.
In this guide, I’ll cover a bit of the step-by-step, but since we already have a downloadable set of instructions as well as other resources, the main focus will be on preparation, tools, and other things you need to know to help you build your RTA cabinets like a pro.
A Quick Introduction to RTA Cabinets
In case you’re still in the early learning stages of your cabinet purchase, I’ll briefly explain what RTA cabinets are and why so many people choose them. RTA stands for Ready-To-Assemble, and RTA cabinets are sold and shipped in flat packs to be built onsite.
The RTA format is popular for several reasons. The most obvious one is price. RTA cabinets cost much less than the exact same cabinets pre-assembled, because there’s no labor cost involved for the assembly. RTA cabinets also cost less to ship because their flat packs are a lot smaller and easier to maneuver than assembled cabinets. You could stack a whole set of RTA flat packs on a pallet, but you could only put one pre-assembled cabinet on one without risking damage.
RTA cabinets are also popular because in some cases, they’re the easiest way to buy a particular cabinet style, if not the only way at all. Any cabinet supplier is going to have a lot more storage space for RTA flat packs than for fully assembled cabinets, whether or not they actually have a showroom for you to visit — and if they do have a showroom, they obviously don’t have unlimited space for every cabinet they might want to sell. Some cabinet styles come in several colors or finishes, and it wouldn’t make sense to fill half the showroom with the exact same style at the expense of others. There will usually be one or two sets maximum of the same style assembled for viewing, with the rest represented by cabinet door samples in the other available colors. So RTA cabinets have the advantage here because they’re more likely to be in stock without having to take up tons of space.
Overall, RTA cabinets are so popular because their price is lower and they are easier to buy and transport. You don’t have to wait for them to be built ahead of time, either, so there’s less of a delay between buying and receiving them.
Are RTA Cabinets Easy to Build?
RTA cabinets are called “ready to assemble” for a reason: you’ll be receiving all the cabinet parts ready to put together — not pieces of wood you need to cut and sand and polish. All that work is already done. Your role would be to attach the pieces with glue, nails, and screws, and make sure everything is straight before you do it.
With many RTA cabinet brands, you don’t need to supply anything yourself except the glue and some tools. The tools can often be rented if you’re not interested in keeping them around.
You will need to follow directions. This project is a commitment and mistakes can be expensive and impossible to undo. You also need patience; the glue isn’t going to cure faster because you want to finish the job sooner or because a deadline is approaching. For some people, these can be the hardest obstacles to overcome!
One last thing you should know about how easy it is to build RTA cabinets is that the higher-quality ones tend to be easier to build. Pieces that are cut straight and smooth without warping will go together a lot easier. Cheap “solutions” like plastic wingnuts you can tighten with your fingers may make it look like an easier project but these are ridiculously fragile and harder to build in the end because they’re so insecure. If you’re looking into RTA cabinets and you see hardware like this, go elsewhere. They might be okay for a semester in a college dorm, but they’ll do nothing for your home.
How to Build and Install RTA Cabinets
Surprise! You’re already a lot closer to understanding what you need to successfully assemble your RTA cabinets because of the mindset I talked about in the previous section. Having patience and paying attention to what you’re doing are just as important as the tools you can get from a hardware store, but mindset is something that can’t be bought. You’re reading this article because you want to learn how to build and install RTA cabinets like a pro, and a real pro is not going to do a rush job. They might be speedy, but for a professional this won’t come at the expense of quality of the work!
So what else do you need? Let’s start out with the other less-tangible things before we get to the tools and such.
Space, Time, and Planning for your RTA Cabinet Project
Space is one of the most important ingredients in doing a successful project: if you don’t have room to maneuver, you could make mistakes or cause damage that wouldn’t have been a problem if you’d had an adequate work area. You need a clean, flat area that you can walk around to reach from all sides. Cover this area with an 8-foot by 8-foot white dropcloth so you can easily see all the parts you lay out.
The work area itself doesn’t have to be a full 8-foot by 8-foot; it’s okay to have a smaller space as long as you’re comfortable and have enough room to lay everything out as needed. If you do want a full 8-foot by 8-foot work area, it will probably be the floor unless you have a large table, so you might want to get a small stool to sit on while you work. This will help protect your back and make your arms more stable during the building. There are some parts of the process where standing up and bending over would be easier, but plenty where you can sit down. If you do assemble the cabinets on a workbench or table, make sure it doesn’t have a wobbly leg or any other problems that could cause you to mess up, and be ready with a stepladder or stool if your table’s size means you’d need assistance to look straight down onto your work now and then. You may not need it, but if you’re short, it might be easier than stretching to reach across.
Remember that part of the appeal of RTA cabinets is that you build them onsite and don’t have to transport them very far. Your work area should ideally be close to the room where the cabinets are going to be installed, without being in the way. If you’re installing them in your own home and you’re lucky enough to have a nice workshop right there, that’s great! But if the floor is your only option for a work surface, that’s fine.
Regarding time, you need time to build the cabinets without having to rush, time to let the glue set before continuing to the installation, and time to do the installation itself, also without rushing. If you’ve never built an RTA cabinet before, try to allow yourself a block of hours for the first one so you can take your time to learn. You’ll probably finish building it sooner than you thought. Each subsequent cabinet will seem faster and easier than the last! Just don’t get complacent and start making easily avoidable mistakes. The glue will take 12 hours to set before you can install the freshly built cabinet, so you can start building the next ones during that time. Take a break if you need it and make sure you have sufficient light.
Planning is crucial for allowing the whole project to go smoothly and not getting in your own way as you work. If you haven’t measured your kitchen, do so according to our Kitchen Design Help guide — it has all the details for ensuring accurate measurements. Make your space before you get the cabinets rather than trying to move things around while you already have a stack of flat packs to wrestle with. Plan your schedule so you can work without a deadline breathing down your neck. Have your tools ready to go before you open the first flat pack and realize you forgot to get them. Get the old cabinets (if there are any) out of the way early on and keep the room clean. And know which cabinets you’re going to build and install in what order.
What Order to Install Cabinets and Appliances?
Assuming you’re doing a complete kitchen remodel, the first cabinets you’ll install will be the wall cabinets. Any debris or dropped tools during the installation could damage base cabinets or your countertop if you already had that in. It will also be easier to safely position a ladder without base cabinets in the way.
The right time to bring in appliances depends on your kitchen layout — you might want to bring in the refrigerator before you install the wall cabinets if you’re worried about banging into them with the fridge and causing damage, but your stove may need to wait until after the wall cabinets (and range hood) are up, depending on where it is in relation to the cabinets. You want to protect the stovetop from dropped items just as much as you would your countertop.
If you’re going to have a kitchen island with cabinets underneath in addition to base cabinets along the room’s perimeter, the base cabinets that will go against the wall should be installed before the kitchen island so you don’t have to go around it.
Your appliances should be in place before you start bringing the base cabinets in so you can avoid the risk of damaging your cabinets, and the countertop should be installed last for the same reason. The only “appliance” that sometimes goes in after the countertop is the sink, depending on the model — some are lowered into place in a hole in the countertop while others are installed beforehand.
Of course, there are some exceptions based on kitchen layout, but the most important thing is that you understand why these steps are usually taken in this order so you can make smarter decisions if you have to adapt the process to an unusual design.
What Tools Do You Need to Assemble and Install RTA Cabinets?
The list of tools you need might vary slightly depending on which supplier you get your RTA cabinets from. At RTA Kitchen Cabinets Online we ensure you only need to supply the absolute minimum by yourself. If you’re using another supplier, make sure you check up on whether they recommend anything in addition to this list. For our cabinets, these are the tools you need:
- A no. 2 Phillips screwdriver.
- A white rubber mallet.
- Titebond II glue.
- A compressor capable of a minimum of 80 PSI.
- 3/4-inch brads.
- An 18-gauge brad nailer.
To install the cabinets once they’re built, you will also need:
- A stud finder.
- A pair of levels: one 2-foot and one 4-foot.
- Cabinet installation screws (usually between 2.5 to 3 inches long).
- A drill/driver with an assortment of bits that will fit your cabinet screws.
- A pencil.
- A measuring tape.
- Shims (perfectly straight pieces of wood or other material to help you keep things level and evenly spaced).
- Optionally, a portable table to sit the wall cabinets on while you climb the stepladder.
These are all easy to find, and with the obvious exception of the glue, brads, and screws which are going to be consumed by the process, you can often rent these tools instead of buying them. Ask at your local hardware store about tool rental.
Instructions for Building RTA Cabinets
Before your cabinets even arrive, you can read the instructions to get a better idea of how this project will go. Our Cabinet Guidelines for Assembly PDF is a downloadable guide that explains the entire process with detailed steps and photographs: all you need in 7 pages. If you decide to print a copy, we do recommend printing it in color so the photos will read more easily, but you can also download it to an iPad or other tablet and keep it nearby that way. The important part is to have the guidelines at hand at all times. Familiarize yourself with them before you start, and continue to refer to them as you build your cabinets.
You may want to assemble the wall cabinets first since they’ll be the first ones you install. When you finish building each cabinet, move it carefully out of the way if you wish to continue assembling the next ones while the glue sets. Try to minimize moving freshly assembled cabinets until their glue has had a chance to cure for 12 hours. Do not attempt to install them until the glue has cured, or you risk damaging the glue bonds and weakening the cabinet construction.
Installing RTA Cabinets
You may have already taken care of a few of these tasks when initially measuring and designing your kitchen.
The first thing you need to do to get started with RTA cabinet installation is to find and mark the wooden studs behind your drywall. Use the stud finder to locate the studs and mark them lightly with the pencil, all the way from ceiling to floor. Make sure they’re straight, vertical lines by using the level.
Measure from your floor up to the height where the top of the base cabinets will be. This is usually 34.5 inches, but other heights do exist. Draw a horizontal line on your wall as a guide for the tops of the base cabinets (not the expected countertop). Use the level to keep it straight. Not all floors are perfectly even, so make sure you measure from the highest point of the floor. If you’re not sure whether your floor is even, carefully place some marbles or a ball near the doorway and see if it rolls. This will show you where any lower points are, so you can use process of elimination to figure out the higher points.
Draw another guideline along the wall representing where the bottoms of your wall cabinets will be. This depends on the height of your ceiling, but most kitchen designers recommend at least 18 inches between the top of the base cabinets and the bottoms of the wall cabinets. Remember that you may also have choices to make regarding the tops of your wall cabinets — are they going to touch the ceiling directly or will there be a gap, perhaps for lighting or for decorative molding? This is something you should figure out early on in the planning stage. Mark the highest point for your wall cabinets as well.
Take the doors off your cabinets to make installation easier. This is as simple as unscrewing the screws that hold the hinges on, and they’ll be just as easy to put back on later.
Start with the corner wall cabinet. You may wish to drill pilot holes in the studs before trying to drive a screw into them, so make sure you do so at the right height. You can accomplish this by measuring the distance between the top of the cabinet and any pre-existing pilot holes on the cabinet frame — most RTA cabinets have holes pre-drilled. Mark the locations on the wall with your pencil.
Make sure your cabinet is perfectly level and at the proper height, and that your pilot hole markings are in the right place. Then drill the pilot holes into the studs. You’ll attach the cabinet to the wall by mounting it with cabinet installation screws through the cabinet’s pilot holes and into your wall studs. Don’t overtighten any one screw; they should be secure, but you should tighten them all at about the same time so the work is done evenly by all the screws. Use shims to assist with perfect alignment.
Move along to the adjacent cabinet and repeat the process. Once all the cabinets are mounted, use the level again to make sure they’re perfectly straight and aligned with each other as well as your wall. Tighten the screws as needed and remove the shims. Don’t put the doors back on until all the wall cabinets are installed along with their inner shelves and you’ve added any fillers in between them, and a panel on the exposed end, if applicable. If you’re going to install knobs or other hardware on the doors, do it before you put the doors back on the cabinets.
Next are your base cabinets, and they follow the same process except it’s a little easier because they’ll be sitting on the floor (which offsets the difficulty of them being a bit bigger). You can leave the doors off until after the countertop is installed. Uneven floors are a fact of life in some homes so make sure your cabinet tops are level so your countertop will be level. You don’t want to duplicate an uneven floor angle onto your countertop.
Safety Advice for Assembling and Installing RTA Cabinets
You need to stay safe during this project because doing so will protect both you and your new cabinets. Here are a few tips for safety:
- Always wear safety goggles while building and installing your cabinets. Don’t underestimate the chance for a tiny splinter to fly off unpredictably and hit you in the eye.
- Be mindful of the limits of your strength and the weight of the cabinets. It’s better to ask for help than to end up getting hurt.
- When cutting open a package with a utility knife, always cut away from yourself.
- Wear shoes with a closed toe. They don’t have to be steel-toed boots, but you don’t want bare toes if you should happen to drop one of your tools on them.
- Don’t work when you’re tired or if your light is inadequate. Hunger, thirst, heat, and other types of discomfort can also be very distracting. Keep sweat out of your eyes.
- Wear a mask to prevent yourself from breathing any dust. It’s not just to protect your lungs, but also to head off any random coughing or sneezing that could cause you to make a mistake.
- Know everything about your walls before you get started. Not only the studs, but also the locations of all the electric, water, and gas hookups not just where they emerge for your appliances but also wherever they’re hidden inside the wall. If your walls are uneven or have any damage, you may still be able to proceed, but only if you know about it first and whether you can work with it.
- Have a first-aid kit nearby as well as a phone.
- I’ve already said this a couple times, but do not rush! Follow the instructions, pay attention to what you’re doing, and let yourself learn from the experience. By the time you’re done with this project, not only will you have a beautiful new set of cabinets, you may also feel like you’ve gained a new skill that you can retain for the rest of your life.
Are You Ready to Assemble and Install RTA Cabinets?
I hope that after reading this article you feel more prepared to tackle your RTA cabinet project. Maybe you even feel a bit excited — after all, there’s a certain amount of pride to be found in doing a job yourself, especially if it comes out so well that everyone assumes you hired someone to do it. Sure, once you break the project down to its individual steps, it doesn’t seem impossible, but some people will still be too intimidated by the idea. It might come down to something as simple as being afraid they’ll misapply the glue or fire the brads into the wood at the wrong angle.
You may have similar worries yourself. But by familiarizing yourself with the process and moving forward at a slow and steady pace, you’ll be fine. Each cabinet you build will be easier than the last one. You may even acquire a taste for it, but even if you don’t, it’s still a personally enriching experience to make such a difference in your own home.
At RTA Kitchen Cabinets Online, we can help you plan your kitchen from the ground up. You can contact us directly with your questions. Our blog and website are also packed with an ever-growing knowledgebase of information to prepare you for every step of planning, choosing, building, and caring for your new cabinets. Welcome to the family.
