Cabinet/box installation question

[Anna]

Thought I'd take a break and ask here before I punch a hole through the wall.

I'm trying to build a narrow storage cabinet for DVDs, CDs and pocketbooks by building 5 smaller boxes and will join them all with a common face frame. I've already had to install and uninstall three times because:

1. #(*&$@ wall is not plumb.
2. (*&$#^ wall is not flat.
3. @#*&$^ floor is not level.

Finally came up with a game plan to get around those obstacles and have successfully, more or less, installed the first four boxes (plumb, level and all that).

I'm having a problem with the last one, though. The edge that butts against the next box protrudes by about 1/16". I have 3/4" sides plus a 3/4" nailing strip behind the cabinet back that's flush with the sides.

Any suggestions on how to get this to fit? The three options I've come up with are to either plane/scrape/sand the back to fit against the wall, sand the wall flat (hubby got conniptions at that suggestion), trim the front edge (abutting the other box) so that it's flush with the rest of the boxes. I'm thinking there's probably an obvious solution that's simpler.

Thanks for any help.

[JR]

Here are some ideas:

Cover the whole shebang with a face frame.

Start over, installing the "protruding" one first, then shimming out all the others to match.

Run the box through the table saw, taking off 1/16".

Learn to like it, as is!

[backpacker85]

Will the assembly be attached to the wall/floor, or freestanding?

If attached to the wall, assemble it so the face is flush, shim it out so it's plumb, and treat the wall/cabinet joint with trim (small 1/4 round?).

Not the best solution, but maybe easiest.

[Anna]

Yeah, I guess I'll have to uninstall AGAIN. I think I need to take classes on how to do these things. The theory part looks easy, it's the practical portion that really gets me.

I'm screwing them to the floor AND the wall. Is that not the right way to do it?

[BrianWillan]

Hindsight is 20/20 file

Anna

In the hindsight is 20/20 file...

Why did you choose to do it as 5 smaller boxes instead of 1 large unit? As you see getting that many small things to fit properly is really trying your patience at this point.

Most professional cabinets are built as large units that have filler strips on the edges to allow them to be scribed to uneven/unsquare/unlevel surfaces. The main function of trim is not always decorative either, it is to hide gaps. ;-)

Once you do have this all installed, post a picture of the finished product.

Cheers

Brian

[cabinetman]

Anna

I posted this thread a while back. It may answer your questions. If not, I'll go into it further or make other suggestions.

[Anna]

Brian, I make it this way because of limitations on the size of my "shop" and limitations on what I can handle safely alone. I also don't have a truck, so I have to get the lumberyard to cut my sheet goods into quarters to fit in my Civic. This particular project is 110" long by 36" high, and there's no way I can get that into the house as a single unit by myself. At the time, dividing this into 5x 22"-by-36" pieces made sense.

Until I realized what everyone meant when talking about walls not being plumb and straight (and floors not being level). It's my first "real" cabinet and I had no idea what to expect building it.

CM, thanks for the tip. That'll come in really handy for the next project.