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Installing a single kitchen cabinet takes about 1.25 hours for professional installation, with an average kitchen usually requiring about 25 to 35 hours of labor to install a full set of cabinets. Custom work can easily take two or three times as long, including the time to design and build the cabinets.

Local cabinet installers who specialize in home remodel finishing work typically install cabinets. You can hire a general handyperson to install most cabinets, but it’s typically recommended to hire a cabinet specialist when installing custom cabinets. If you order your cabinets through a big-box retailer, they often supply the labor as part of the project cost.

The cost of kitting out the average kitchen runs anywhere from $1,340 to $38,400. “Kitting” means to package everything together and is another way to refer to full kitchen remodel costs. In terms of a kitchen, this means remodeling all the cabinets, floors, countertops, appliances, and fixtures at the same time.

Always hang the upper cabinets before installing the lower cabinets. If the lower kitchen cabinets are installed first, it can be challenging to work around them. Plus, if tools or materials are dropped while hanging the upper cabinets, the cabinets already installed beneath them may get damaged.

Base cabinets for kitchen islands and breakfast bars are attached to the floor (down to the underlayment and subfloor). This keeps them from shifting as you lean on them. The cabinet installer uses basic wood screws to secure these cabinets to the floor. However, cabinets that run along a wall don’t need to be fastened. Instead, the contractor secures them to studs in the wall.