Get out your cabinet installation design plan and Check for heights and layout. If you are in the planning stages see the Kitchen Design First page, and specifically the Cabinet Design Layout page at the kitchen remodel guide book.

The first thing to visualize is the heights of the cabinets relative to the finished floor and the ceiling. Start by using a 6' level , (figure 1). Put a mark on the wall at 34-1/2" from where the finish floor will be at that highest point in the floor. Always bring the cabinets up to what the finish floor will be to make sure the appliances fit well. Base cabinets are 34-1/2" high.

Next set up your rotary laser to mark a line all the way around your kitchen. I really like the rotary laser as a tool because your guaranteed perfectly level cabinets all the way around even in a very large kitchen(figure 2). The cabinets must be shimmed up perfectly level and not follow a slope in the floor. If the cabinets are not level your appliances will look funny, your back splash will look funny, and round things will roll off your counter!!

Lets now determine the height of your upper, or wall cabinets. 18" is normal, but different things can determine the heights of the uppers. If you have a tall pantry cabinet, or a refrigerator panel this will often determine the height of your wall cabinets.
 
If you just want your cabinets to go all the way to the ceiling, or your crown molding all the way to the ceiling, measure off your level base cabinet line and determine the lowest point of your ceiling.

Figure the height of your wall cabinets with, or without crown molding, and put a mark on the wall at the lowest point in the ceiling where the bottom of the wall cabinet will be. Draw a level line around the kitchen for your uppers. You could also draw a line at the top of your wall cabinets to guide the tall cabinets and refrigerator panels.

Now look at your cabinet design plan and start laying out the placements of all the cabinets with plumb lines. Mark the size of all the cabinets on the wall(figure 3). Also mark where the fillers go, and size and location of the appliances. Pay special attention to places where cabinets are centered on something like the window over the sink, or a specific appliance placement.

lastly mark where all the studs are located. Find the studs with a stud finder , and the test the location by hammering in a finish nail. Think about your under cabinet lighting at this stage, and check if the wires coming out of the wall just under the bottom shelf of the cabinet. For more information and ideas about under cabinet lighting visit Best Under Cabinet Lights, and for an under cabinet Installation guide click here Installing Under Cabinet lighting.

By putting your cabinet plan on the wall you become very prepared to start confidently hanging cabinets. The exact heights of both the base and wall cabinets are set. You will have also found any problems in the cabinet plan early, something that seems to happen most of the time.

There are some special considerations for islands and peninsulas on the kitchen Island Page.