Saw this hack job at a kitchen remodel last Tuesday

I was helping a buddy with a cabinet install and the previous guy had shimmed every single upper cabinet with these random door shims stacked 3 or 4 high. He even used a piece of cardboard on one side to level it. I mean, we all need to level stuff, but stacking flimsy shims like that just creates a wobbly mess over time. After 6 months of settling they were all gonna sag and crack the face frame. Why do people go for quick cheap fixes instead of just cutting a proper wedge shim or using a leveling system from the start? Has anyone else walked into a job and had to rip out someone else's lazy shim job before you could even start?

2 comments

2 Comments

craig.parker3mo ago

Man I feel your pain on this one. Walked into a job just last month where the guy had shimmed an entire kitchen island with these cheap plastic shims and a folded up beer coaster. Looked alright from the outside but you could rock the whole thing with one hand. Had to tear out three days of someone else's "good enough" work before I could even start doing it right. It's like these people forget that cabinets gotta hold weight for years, not just look level for ten minutes. Drives me nuts when corners get cut just to save a few bucks and ten extra minutes of work.

webb.val3mo ago

Caught another guy last week who used leftover drywall scraps to level a base cabinet. Felt solid when you pushed on it but give it six months and that paper's gonna soak up moisture and crumble. Then you've got a 300 pound granite slab sitting on nothing but hope and prayers. @craig.parker you ever run into the guys who think liquid levelers on plywood subfloor are some kind of magic fix? That stuff's for tiny gaps, not filling a half-inch dip under a cabinet run.