[Nova_craft]

We took delivery of our kitchen on Sunday, and started right away at installation. Everything went well until it came time to do the cover panels on the ends of the cabinetts and over the stove. I am hoping you guys can give us a hand here since Ikea's 800 number wasn't much of a help.

We didn't find any screws to attach the panels in the boxes. Are there supposed to be screws there? Are they packaged separately from the covers?

If we don't find the screws, are they a special kind? Can we buy them elsewhere. I have read that using Metal screw and grinding the tips flat works well in MDF, is this adviseable? What size screws do we need?

When we drill the pilot holes, how deep do we go? the covers are 1/2" thick and the cabinets are 3/4" so I am guessing 1-1/8" but I fear the cover showing a dimple after I screw it.

Finally... where the cover panels get sandwiched between different sized upper cabinets (like over the stove), is it possible to get the barrel screws longer so that the cabinets are still attached to each other?

Thanks in advance for your help.
Chris

[climber_grrl]

Hi NovaCraft,

First off, Welcome to the forums. I'm glad you found us. We should be able to help you with all of your questions.

That being said I can only answer some of the ones you posed. Others should be coming along to give their opinions.

Yes. Cover panels come w/screws. There is a little cardboard package taped to the inside end of the cover panel "box". It's really easy to miss.

When I was drilling pilot holes for drawer glides I think I went in about 1/8". Is there some reason you aren't using the pre-drilled shelf holes for the pilots?

I don't think my DH used the screws provided. He used regular wood screws. I can't remember the size, but definitely don't go beyond 1-1/8. It will dimple if it goes in too far.

When we had to gang a 2 cabs w/a panel between we just used a longer screw we had a home. We didn't attempt to use the barrel screw.

	DH definition DH usually means Dear Husband (or, pick your own adjective starting with D).

	W definition W is a wall cabinet designation, as in W18, can be a stand-in for Wide, or when followed by a / stands for With.

[Nova_craft]

Originally Posted by climber_grrl

Hi NovaCraft,

First off, Welcome to the forums. I'm glad you found us. We should be able to help you with all of your questions.

Thanks! I appreciate it!

Originally Posted by climber_grrl

Yes. Cover panels come w/screws. There is a little cardboard package taped to the inside end of the cover panel "box". It's really easy to miss.

I'll be sure to recheck the boxes when I get home.

Originally Posted by climber_grrl

When I was drilling pilot holes for drawer glides I think I went in about 1/8". Is there some reason you aren't using the pre-drilled shelf holes for the pilots?

We were planning on using those holes as pilots, but thought we'd have to drill into the cover panels to get the screws started in them.

Originally Posted by climber_grrl

I don't think my DH used the screws provided. He used regular wood screws. I can't remember the size, but definitely don't go beyond 1-1/8. It will dimple if it goes in too far.

This is the meat of our concern. I think that if I pre-drill to 1-1/8 it will prevent the dimple. What woul dbe really good to know is what the length of the screws provided should be.

Originally Posted by climber_grrl

When we had to gang a 2 cabs w/a panel between we just used a longer screw we had a home. We didn't attempt to use the barrel screw.

We were thinking of doing that, but decided it would be easier to just clamp everything together into one big sandwich and drill through everything at once. Of course, if we don't have the longer barrel screws, this wouldn't work since the one cabinet could settle downwards onto the shaft of the screw rather than being supported by the barrel of the barrel screw. If we can't find the barrel screws we will likely do exactly the same as you did.

Thanks for all your Help!

[climber_grrl]

If you use self-tapping screws (the kind w/the sharp point on the end) you shouldn't have to drill the pilot the whole length of the screw size. Really that pilot is just so you don't split the surface when you start screwing. Since the cover panel is always screwed in from inside a cab, then you don't have to worry about anyone ever seeing the entry point of the screw.

We did the sandwich thing. My DH had lots of fun buying handfuls of clamps. It definitely helped.

You shouldn't have to worry about "settling". If they are uppers (and that was what I was imagining) then they will be tightly supported by the rails and hardware. If they are bottoms, then the legs will prevent them from "slipping". I was under the impression that ganging cabs together is really just to make them a single unit. It's not to secure them in their vertical position. Rails for uppers and screws for lowers are what really hold them in place.

	DH definition DH usually means Dear Husband (or, pick your own adjective starting with D).

	W definition W is a wall cabinet designation, as in W18, can be a stand-in for Wide, or when followed by a / stands for With.

[Nova_craft]

Thanks for the tips Climber_grrl.

Got home and found the screws in the pile of garbage. All the cupboards are now up andn looking good!

Tomorrow we pull off all the baseboards and old base cabinets and empty all the rooms in the house with linoleum so the flooring guy can do his magic, then on Friday we install the lowers... Here's hoping everything goes well!