[bakerhouse]

We have most of the kitchen hung now, but I'm confused about what to use for fillers.

We've left 3/4" between the base & wall cabs and the walls, as well as 3/4" between the ceiling and the tops of the wall cabs.

1) Sounds like Deco Strip is to be used for the gap between the ceiling and wall cab tops. Brad nail it from the top/inside of the cabinet?

2) Base cab/wall gap, should I cut down a cover panel so it fits flush to the wall? Screw or brad nail to the wall cabinet?

3) Wall Cab and wall gap: should I cut down cover panel or can deco strip be used?

I see some mention to people using the toe kick material for fillers. What's the best way to go????

Thanks.

[LoneCrow]

Normally use them in order of following preference;

1. Deco strip if you don't need to do any trimming .. just cut to length.
2. Toe-kick/plinth if you need to cut to width. make sure the finish matches your door finish correctly ...there may be minor tone/wood grain difference.
3. Cover panel if all the above is unsuitable.

Alot may depend on the size of the gap, but the preference is obviously the least effort or most cost effective options first (assuming the appearance is the same)

Good luck!

[Chuck]

Lone Crow's answer is right on as to choice of materials. For gaps up to about 2" wide, deco strips are my first choice. They are longer than the cover panels, and thicker than the plinths and c/p (3/4 vs. 5/8 or 12" thick), and finished on two sides. If the gap is between 2 and 4 1/4" wide, then I go to plinths; wider than 4 1/4", I use c/p, or look for a a better way to use the space (wine cubby, etc.).

1) The deco strip works perfectly for this application - 3/4" thick on a finished edge. You can use brad nails, but I like 1 1 /4" drywall screws because they are easier to remove. Of course, my next mistake will be my first, so why don't I use nails? (Winky smiley isn't big enough here - so just imagine massive wink)

2) The cover panels are designed to be about 1/2" longer than the depth of the respective cabinets. In theory, this is so that the "gap" between the doors/drawers is covered. But it also provides you with a 1/2" scribe strip, so that you can custom fit the panel to your wall. Install the c/p full width, and scribe if necessary or desired.

Again, 1 1/4" (1 1/8" for non-Abstrakt white panels) drywall screws are my hardware of choice.

3) As noted above, the wall c/p are designed with extra depth - what you do with that is up to you.

[bakerhouse]

Thanks for the help. One more question:

Floor to ceiling is 98.5", cpanel is 91", we are going for the ceiling mount (no above space) look. How would you tackle the height difference? I can mount the cp so it is flush to the ceiling and leave the 7.5" at the bottom to deal with, or flush to the floor and have to deal with the gap at the top.

[Chuck]

Your best (though slightly more expensive) option is to use a 3x8' panel - this would give you 96".

But my suggestion would be to go with the regular high panel installed to the ceiling and then adding a 7.5" piece at the bottom - you are less likely to see that filler piece installed low.

[bakerhouse]

Thanks Chuck, that's what we are planning to do. I would have ordered the longer panel if I was aware of it.

I hung the last cabinet a few minutes ago (12am) and they are coming to measure our countertops tomorrow. I can see the light!

[TSund]

Are there instructions for installing cover panels, etc, or is this better left to more experienced carpenters than we?

I see references to "ripping" a cover panel, which I presume means cutting it to size. Sounds tricky, is it?

Which side of the back of a peninsula should have the "finished" edge? Should it go to ground or to a toe-kick? Also....the back of the peninsula will meet a 4 drawer shallow cabinet facing out into living room. Any cover piece advice gratefully accepted.

Also...for electric stove installed in peninsula, do we use "oven panels" on either side for insulation? to floor? Edges showing on one side or both?


errgh!? so confused...

THANK you for help!!

[psigal]

The cover panels are sort of a universal mystery. You could go crazy with them and cover every exposed cabinet side floor to ceiling. They are useful in eliminating mitered outside corners, however.

IMO, though, they're the main drawback of the Ikea system, because none are really long enough for tall ceilings, so you're going to have an awkward joint somewhere.

And the wall cabinet cover panels are WAY too short. Tallest is 42", so you've got to rip (cut vertically) a fridge or tall cabinet panel, wasting a lot of material.

As for going to the floor or stopping at the plinth, we elected to stop at the plinth. I didn't like the look of totally covered sides.

[TSund]

THX for the reply. Where did you have mitered joints?

And...on your toekick back of peninsula/island, did you have finished edge at the bottom? Or does it not much matter?

THX

Terri

[Chuck]

There should be an instruction sheet included with your panels, but basically you're running 4-6 screws through the inside of your cabinet and into the panels. It's about as basic an operation as you'll come across in the kitchen installation process.

If all of this is done correctly, there shouldn't be any mitrered joints - only overlapping edges. If you do have mitres, you're doing something wrong.

The panel system isn't perfect, especially because they are not solid to the core, so that whenever you cut a panel, you need to figure out how to "hide" that edge. But they work, and with just a few limits, do what they're intended to do. When you have a cut edge, try to "bury" it as best as possible - have it go against a wall, butt it up against or overlap it with a finished edge, hide it under a counter top overhang, etc.