Expert: Jamie Yocono - 5/28/2008

Question
I have wall to wall carpet in the finished portion of my basement. I would like to install several pre-assembled base cabinets on two intersecting walls. Can I lay MDP or some other wood product on top of the capret and underlying pad, and the set the bottom of the cabinets on that, or do I have to cut the carpet and start with the cement floor?

Answer
Frank,

Ideally, you would want to remove the carpeting under the cabinets, to ensure that they are sitting on solid ground. I guess that's why you're suggesting that you lay down some MDF (is that what you meant by   MDP?) before installing the cabinet.

I have two thoughts about that. I'm just playing devil's advocate here, but what if you had a flood in your basement? Or a drain backed up? Not only would the carpet be soaked, but the MDF would, too. And the MDF could soak up and swell, possibly even making those cabinets lift up a bit.

On the other hand, once you get the cabinets leveled, you're supposed to attach them to the wall to permanently install them. So if they're attached properly, they should move at all.

So - on one hand, if you install them the right way, laying them over carpet might be OK. But basically, you should always plan on a "worst case scenario" happening, which would be a flood.

I have a better suggestion.

There are things called adjustable cabinet legs. They are adjustable from about 4" to 6" tall, and mount under your cabinet. Then, with the twist of the leg, they get taller or smaller, to adjust for uneven floors. I've used these for years, they used to be fairly pricey when I first used them, maybe $4 each, so a set at $16 made me wince, considering that I would used about 10-20 sets per kitchen. But now they're pretty common, and available in plastic as well as metal. the last time I bought them, they were maybe $1.00 each.

A few different companies make them - the best known is Camar, made by Peter Meier, but now Blum makes some, too. Here is a link to see a Blum leg: http://www.specialtysupplies.com/blum-cabinet-levelor-p-3904.html

The adjustable cabinet leg would allow you to go back from time to time and adjust the cabinet slightly.

Another benefit of using an adjustable leg is that the cabinet is sitting up off the ground, should you have that water issue I mentioned.

So - my best advice - if you really want to mount the cabinet over the top of the carpeting, I suggest that you use adjustable legs under it, so that should something occur, your cabinet is A) off the ground and B) able to be adjusted to an imperfect floor.

OK, I hope this helps. Write back if you need more answers.

Jamie Yocono
www.wooditis.com
Las Vegas, NV