How To Install Filler Between Cabinet And Wall

If you're anything similar me, y'all ofttimes observe yourself tripped up over the details (as well known every bit losing All the Sleep). You fret over upcoming dinner plans, your grocery list or, in this example (and for usa, most cases), your current project du jour. The garden apartment has come leaps and bounds since we first shared the initial walkthrough, and we're getting to the point where our lists are much shorter simplymuch more detailed. Spackle. Sand. Caulk. Fix the drain. Install the lights and the switch plate covers and scrub the floors. Of class, this is a good thing – no, agreat thing! – because it means we're finally able to see the low-cal at the end of this long, winding tunnel!

1 of our nearly contempo nit-picky-and-incredibly-necessary details, still? The kitchen fillers, cover panels and toe-kicks. The cabinets are in, the counters are in-progress and we're picking upwards tile for the backsplash later this week. But! Nosotros can't really stick a fork in the cabinet install until nosotros perfect the imperfect. Those small i″ gaps along the walls need filled, the bright white cabinet boxes need panels and their legs need a toe boot to hide behind. I told Scott that I experience like the final fillers and trim are ane of those details that seem to magically happen, only at that place'southward little explanation of how in the globe they really get done! The devil is in the details, and today, we're going to become into it.

When we ordered our IKEA kitchen, the salesperson helped us determine the proper amount of panels nosotros'd need based on our room layout. We were given an eight′ side console for the refrigerator, a couple of pocket-size 15″ x 3′ panels for the uppers and one perfectly sized 24″ x 30″ panel for our 1 exposed base cabinet:

We started there, since it was by far the easiest. With every chiffonier, IKEA provides a handful of screws that are used to attach the cabinets together, or in this instance, to attach whatsoever necessary panels. For every side panel, nosotros used four screws – two in the top corners and two in the lesser corner. The screws go directly through the cabinet box, but with the teaching that we avert those ubiquitous pre-drilled holes. This allows the screws to bite nicely into the woods-slash-particle-board.

The cover panels for our upper cabinets were slightly trickier only considering they required cuts. After tightly clamping the panel to the chiffonier and ensuring level, we drew a faint pencil line where we'd demand to remove the excess, and Scott used a circular saw and a directly edge to create a nice, straight cut.Tip: Blue tape volition help to preclude the terminate from chipping during the process!

We turned the console upside down so that the finished border was revealed on the lesser, and it was secured in the aforementioned fashion every bit the panel on our base cabinet:

On the contrary wall, nosotros opted to use panels to cover the exposed white boxes in a higher place the sink. We considered covering the underside of the shortest cabinet, but since we'll also be installing a sconce there and none of the other undersides were getting panels, it felt like overkill. (Besides, ahem, we didn't have enough leftover panels – ha!) We used our concluding remaining panel to make two cuts – one for each side – once again, making sure that the finished edges were along the lesser:

Next, it was on to the fillers! The fillers are the item I was maybe the well-nigh nervous about, but with a bit of patience and careful measuring (and Scott's tin-do mental attitude!), we were super happy with the results. Using leftovers from the fridge side console, nosotros had more than enough to make full all the gaps where the cabinets didn't quite meet the wall.

To first, we measured each gap in three places – top, center and bottom:

The first filler we did was by far our widest – a upshot of using the recommended xxx″ broad upper above a 36″ base of operations cabinet to prevent the upper from touching the (future) vent hood. Every bit a result, we used flake woods to create a slug that the filler could safely rest against. Using our nail gun, we attached the scrap to the wall and ran a thick line of constructive adhesive along it:

Scott used his circular saw on all the cuts, and once we had our first filler to size, we used brusque i.25″ nails with our nail gun to attach the filler to the chiffonier. The gun was angled ever-then-slightly towards the back to prevent a rogue blast from poking through the front of our stop slice. (And yep, we held our breath with everypopular!)

Nosotros continued with this same method around the room, although none of the other fillers needed a slug, every bit they were generally one″ or less. Once all the fillers were in place, I followed upwards with a line of caulk for a seamless finish. (Aah, caulk. The glue that holds this one-time house together!) After running the dewdrop of caulk and smoothing with my fingers, I used a clammy paper towel to go over the filler pieces themselves so that no reside remained on the grey. The visible caulk that'southward left volition become painted the same colour every bit the walls:

Finally, we could terminate up with the toe kicks! You might remember that IKEA base cabinets accept iv.5″ legs that can be adjusted to accommodate united nations-level floors – a saving grace, truly. We cutting the toe kicks to the proper width on our miter saw, and then we used the IKEA provided clips that slide into a groove along the back. These clips can be easily adjusted to the left and right, and they attach directly to the legs. For exposed corner pieces, at that place are small caps that tin be snapped on then that no raw cuts are visible:

We completed the fillers, panels and toe kicks over the course of 2 weeknights, so as per usual, all my nervous fretting over the details was for cypher. 1 of these days, I'll acquire! (But probably non anytime shortly.)

You may have noticed fresh baseboards and butcher blocks counters creeping into some of the photos! Some of the base will demand quarter round to complete the look, which we'll be slowly knocking out over the grade of this week and next weekend. The countertops are almost done (they still demand a few more coats of Waterlox), and we'll be sharing that procedure with you before long!