What Should Be Finished Before Cabinets Arrive at an Austin House
Cabinets arrive on a truck, and the truck does not wait for the room. In an Austin house the delivery date gets set weeks ahead, and the crew finds out on the day whether the kitchen is actually ready for boxes. Most of the trouble on a cabinet job traces back to that moment: a floor not finished, a stub in the wrong place, a wall not painted, a door too narrow for the tallest pantry. The checklist below walks through the room in the order the crew walks it.
Is the old kitchen completely gone?
Demolition is done when the old cabinets, the soffit, the backsplash tile and any leftover blocking are out and the wall surface is bare or patched. In a house in Hyde Park or Travis Heights, that often means plaster repair where the old uppers were nailed on. Debris gets hauled before the new boxes arrive, since a delivery stacked in a hallway with drywall dust on every surface is a delivery that gets scratched.
Check the floor at the same time. Old adhesive, a raised patch of tile or a squeaking subfloor panel all telegraph through a base cabinet. A level run on a floor that dips needs shims and a scribed toe kick, and it is easier to learn that now than after the first box is set.
Has the rough-in been inspected and closed?
Rough-in plumbing and every electrical box should be roughed in, inspected and covered by drywall before delivery. The test is simple. Hold the cabinet drawing against the wall and read it: sink base centerline, dishwasher opening, range outlet, island feed. Each one should match a stub or a box that is physically there.
A stub that is two inches off the drawing is a stub that will cut a notch in a sink base. A box set for an outlet that the drawing puts behind a drawer front will have to move. Both are quick fixes with the walls open and slow fixes after the cabinets are in, which is why the walk-through happens before the truck, not during it.
Are the walls finished and painted?
Drywall taped, sanded and primed is the minimum. A painter who finishes after the cabinets are in has to cut in around every upper, and the edge shows. Many crews prefer a final coat on the walls before delivery, with touch-up left for the end. Tile backsplash belongs after the base and uppers are set, because the tile runs from the countertop up to the underside of the uppers and the countertop is not there yet.
Walls also have to be flat enough to hang on. A straightedge held vertically against the wall shows bows. A bow behind an upper cabinet either needs shims behind the cleat or a wall that gets skimmed flat before painting.
Ceilings deserve a look too. Uppers are hung to a level line, and a ceiling that slopes across the kitchen leaves a visible gap at the top of the run unless crown or a filler strip is planned for it. Older houses near Mueller and Bouldin Creek differ here from newer builds, so the ceiling is measured in the same visit as the walls.
Is the flooring decision settled?
Flooring goes under cabinets or up to them, and both are choices the household has to make before delivery. Hardwood laid under the base cabinets traps the boxes and wastes planks. Hardwood laid up to the toe kick leaves an expansion gap that the swings in Central Texas humidity will use. Tile is more forgiving, though a thick tile can raise the floor enough to change how a dishwasher fits under the counter.
Whichever the choice, the finished floor height under the cabinets has to be known. The installer measures from the high point of the floor to set the first line.
Can the boxes physically reach the room?
This is the one that catches people. A tall pantry carcass is more than eighty inches long, and a hallway that turns tightly near the garage door can stop it. Measure the path from the truck to the kitchen: doorways, stair landings, corners. If the boxes cannot make the turn, they are carried in sections or brought through a different door. Homes in Tarrytown and Clarksville with narrow original doorways are the usual case.
Protect the path as well. Floors, door casings and corners get blanket wrap or hardboard before the first box goes through.
Where do the boxes sit while waiting?
A kitchen full of boxes is a kitchen with no room to work. Delivery goes in the largest nearby room, usually a dining room or garage, with each box labeled by position on the plan. Boxes stay in their cartons until they are needed, because a sealed carton keeps edges safe and keeps the plywood box dry. Texas heat in a garage in summer is hard on finished edges, so a closed room with air conditioning is better than a hot driveway or a garage that bakes all afternoon.
Is the layout checked against the actual room?
Drawings come from measurements taken before demolition, and walls change after demolition. A final measurement with the walls bare is the check. Run the tape wall to wall in three places, then diagonally, then confirm the heights to the ceiling at each corner. A kitchen that was seven-eighths of an inch narrower than drawn is the usual reason for a filler strip being moved to the other end of a run.
Appliances matter at this stage too. Specifications for the range, the refrigerator and the dishwasher should be in hand, because the openings in the cabinet run depend on the real appliance, not a catalog guess.
Who else is coming in the next week?
A cabinet install runs several days, and other trades stop and start around it. The countertop templater usually comes after the bases are set and tied together. The plumber returns after the countertop for the sink and faucet. An electrician returns for under-cabinet lighting and appliance hookups. A schedule that puts the plumber back before the stone is set is a schedule that ends with a loose sink.
What does the final readiness walk look like?
- Old kitchen out, walls patched and primed, floor level or measured.
- Every stub and box found where the cabinet drawing says it should be.
- Flooring decision made, and the finished floor height known.
- Path from the truck to the room measured and protected.
- A dry, cool room set aside for boxes, with a labeled plan.
- Appliance specifications on hand and final wall dimensions measured.
When every line is checked, the crew can set the first box on a floor that is ready for it. A kitchen that passes this walk usually installs in a straight line, one stage after another.