Setting a level line for a kitchen fit

[ihtspam]

Hi all, thanks again in advance for any replies, you lot have answered many questions for me in my quest for a habitable house.

I have read that the best way to level up kitchen base units is to draw a level datum line across the walls. You then line up the tops of the kitchen units with the datum line which ensures the worktop sits snug and level on the tops of the base units.

My question is....

Which part of the floor should I measure from for the datum line. The highest part of the floor, or the lowest?

Any other tips for a first time kitchen fit would be great too!

Again, thanks in advance

Jim

 

[Symptoms]

Jim - how much is the floor out? We always work from the high point; remember you can shim out any gaps (low points). Invest in a cheapo laser level for ease of creating the datum, also useful for getting the tiling right.

 

[ihtspam]

Thanks for the reply Symptoms.

It's pretty wobbly. The base units will be sitting on Yorkshire stone flagstones. I have tried using a laser, but was only holding it up against the wall, its amazing how much the line wobbles! What I may do is build up a unit, put the legs at the mid point, level it up at the floor high point, then rest the laser on the unit to get the line on the wall.

Does this sound sensible?

Thanks again in advance

Jim

 

[Symptoms]

jim - most of these lasers have a hanging eye that enables the unit to be hung on the wall via a nail/screw thus avoiding 'the wobbles'. Your plan of assembling one unit and projecting the laser across the top is as good a plan as any. Tip - uneven stone floor ... ditch the cheapo plastic cabinet feet/legs and swap them for metal ones, say in chrome, and make a feature of them; scribing the plinths (kick plates) to an uneven stone floor isn't easy and never looks 'right'. If cost is a factor, half the number of chrome legs needed by using the cheapo plastic ones at the back where they won't be seen and use the chrome tackle at the front.

 

[ihtspam]

Those are brilliant tips, thanks Symptom

 

[IJWS15]

Think about how high you want the work surface as well.

SWMBO is only 5' 2" so ours are set slightly lower than normal.

 

[ebee]

One thing about levelling and what to use to strike a level.
You can get some remarkable machines that are pretty accurate but some are very expensive and usually have another drawaback that line of sight is required.
A simple. cheap, easy to use without line of sight level is ..... A Water Level - Basic accuracy is excellent so long as you observe it properly you can get almost "Bang On" , many lasers etc are based on spirit level and have differing accuracies (say 0.5mm per m for example, which can end up out of level on more than a very few metres) and rely on line of sight but a water level is cheap and can even be used in different rooms to get the same level in all rooms if required and you don`t need to empty nearly everything out of the room to use it properly, it will even take into account the curvature of the earth too which is probably only important if you are bridge building etc.

A little care needed to prime it and care not to knock it over and spill it, nobody like a wet carpet. But dead cheap and accurate.

 

[foxhole]

One thing about levelling and what to use to strike a level.
You can get some remarkable machines that are pretty accurate but some are very expensive and usually have another drawaback that line of sight is required.
A simple. cheap, easy to use without line of sight level is ..... A Water Level - Basic accuracy is excellent so long as you observe it properly you can get almost "Bang On" , many lasers etc are based on spirit level and have differing accuracies (say 0.5mm per m for example, which can end up out of level on more than a very few metres) and rely on line of sight but a water level is cheap and can even be used in different rooms to get the same level in all rooms if required and you don`t need to empty nearly everything out of the room to use it properly, it will even take into account the curvature of the earth too which is probably only important if you are bridge building etc.

A little care needed to prime it and care not to knock it over and spill it, nobody like a wet carpet. But dead cheap and accurate.

Only 17or so years too late .

 

[ebee]

Only 17or so years too late .

Why 17 years or so too late? The info I gave could be useful at anytime, irrespective of when this tread was started, that is not relevant is it? Physics has not changed so much has it?

 

[stevie888]

Time for OP to redo the kitchen anyway.

 

[ebee]

Time for OP to redo the kitchen anyway.

Well said that man