How To Cut Holes For Electrical Boxes In Ikea Kitchen Cabinets
Master the Art of Precision: Learn how to cut perfect holes for electrical boxes in your IKEA kitchen cabinets!
Cutting holes in the back of your IKEA kitchen cabinets for electrical boxes may seem daunting, but fear not! It is pretty simple if you follow our expert tips.
This step-by-step guide will walk you through how to cut holes in your cabinets for electrical boxes with ease and precision — all without sacrificing the cabinet’s structural integrity or aesthetic appeal.
Watch the full video tutorial below, or keep reading to learn more.
Tools Needed to cut holes for electrical boxes
You only require a few essential tools, and these tools are necessary for other aspects of the kitchen installation process as well.
- Laser level
- Masking tape
- Pencil
- Measuring tape
- A cutting tool
Step One: Create a Baseline
For example purposes, I will walk through this process for an electrical box in drywall on a wall where a big pantry cabinet with a built-in oven will be installed.
The first step is to create a baseline from which you can take measurements. First, put a piece of masking tape on the wall perpendicular to the floor. You will want to place this tape outside the area where the cabinet will be installed. That way, you can see the tape even when the cabinet has been hung on the wall.
Next, set up your laser level to make a line at the top of the electrical box. Use your pencil to mark that line on the masking tape. Next, move the laser level to the bottom of the electrical box and mark that line on the masking tape.
Once you have made those marks, measure from the left edge of the electrical box to a vertical line you have made on your masking tape. Note that measurement. Repeat these steps for the right edge of the electrical box to that same line on your tape.
If you install a wall cabinet rather than a pantry cabinet, you can do this with tape below the electrical box placed horizontally as well. In that case you do not need to measure as you will project the location with the laser in this direction too.
Step Two: Hang the Cabinet and Mark Your Measurements
Once your cabinet is installed in its final location on the wall, position your laser to create a horizontal line aligned with the mark on your masking tape, denoting the top of the electrical box. Place a piece of masking tape and make a pencil mark where the laser line shows on the back of the cabinet. Repeat this for the bottom pencil mark.
Next, use your measurements of the left and right sides of the electrical box from Step One. Put a vertical piece of tape inside the cabinet where each edge is.
Step Three: Make Your Cuts
Once you have everything marked out on your masking tape, use an oscillating tool or your preferred tool to cut out the shape of the box in the back of your cabinet.
If you have followed these steps exactly, you should now have a perfect opening in the cabinet that is precisely where the electrical box is in the wall.
Bonus Tip: How to Cut Holes for Electrical Boxes in Base Cabinets
If you work with a base cabinet, you can follow this same procedure with a minor tweak. Instead of using a piece of masking tape as your baseline, measure from the top of the cabinet rail, and transfer the measurements inside the cabinet once installed.
Follow these easy steps, and you will have a precise cutout in your cabinet in front of your electrical box every time!
PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS
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Swing like a winner.
The oscillating tool is one of my Top Ten favourites because it is versatile and lets me do cuts in-situ whenever needed.
Apart from making cuts when making holes for plumbing, I use it for cutting holes for electrical boxes, shortening the suspension rail, cutting holes for vent hoods, and cutting baseboards while in place, to mention a few applications.
Spoil yourself with new blades.
If you buy blades for the oscillating tool at the hardware store at $25 a piece, we tend to use them until they are way past the end of the ability to produce a decent cut without smothering us in black smoke.
These blades are so cheap that I replace them as soon as the first smoke appears, and with a cost of less than a buck a blade, it will not break the bank.
I cannot say that they will last as long as the well-known brands, but they will outperform any of those regarding cost per foot of cutting.
Go Green and save batteries
This is the third laser level I bought since I started to install kitchens, and hopefully, the last. It uses the same battery as my power tools and can run for a long time on a full charge.
This one has a green laser light, making it much easier to see the lines in broad daylight.
It is not a cheap tool, though, but I would have saved quite a bit of dollars if I had bought it, to begin with, instead of purchasing more affordable options twice.
Since I use the laser for a lot more than just checking ceilings and hanging rails, it has been money well spent for me.
Put it up and forget about it.
Before digging in and spending money on this pole, I clipped my (first) laser to a few suspension rails resting on something high in the corner of the room. Sounds time-consuming and complicated, right? Well, it was.
Also, I had to figure out an alternative way to position the level when installing the last suspension rail.
Now, with this pole, I put it up in a favourable position, and it just sits there during the entire installation, allowing me to move my level up or down easily.
What...not a DeWalt?
Let’s face it. There’s not much to a measuring tape. No, there isn’t, but I picked this specific tape for one particular reason, the colour.
When 99% of my other tools are yellow, spotting a yellow measuring tape quickly is pretty hard. The red colour stands out. 1-2-3…there it is.