How to Frame Wall Openings for Cabinet Doors

Use a stud finder to locate the studs in the wall where you intend to create your wall opening. Select two adjacent studs to use as the outside edges of your wall opening and mark their position on the wall in pencil.

Consult the blueprints for your home to be sure there are no pipes or wires running through the wall between the two studs you have chosen. If you do not have access to the blueprints, cut a small panel out of the wall using a drywall saw and look inside the wall.

Draw the outline of your wall opening on the drywall in pencil. Use a ruler and a level to keep your lines straight. Draw two vertical lines aligned with the inside edge of the two adjacent wall studs and connect them at the top and bottom with two horizontal lines.

Align the tip of the drywall saw with one of the horizontal lines near its middle. Tap the handle of the saw gently to drive the tip of the blade through the drywall. Move the blade in and out of the drywall in a slow sawing motion, cutting along the horizontal line.

Repeat this process, cutting along all four lines. Remove the resulting drywall cutout from the wall to complete the wall opening.

Measure the width, depth and height of the wall opening using a measuring tape. You will use the overall width and height measurements of the space to cut your cabinet door.

Cut two pieces of 1/2-inch plywood to the width and depth of the wall opening using a circular saw. These boards will be the top and bottom panels for the frame inside your wall opening. Cut two pieces of 1/2-inch plywood using the depth measurement of the space and the height measurement, minus one inch, for the side panels.

Slide the top panel horizontally into the wall opening between the studs and position it flat against the top of the wall space. Insert the bottom panel horizontally between the studs so it is flush against the bottom of the wall opening. Drive nails from a nail gun through the edges of the panels into the back wall and wall studs to secure them in place.

Insert the side panels vertically into the wall opening between the ends of the top and bottom panels. The side panels should be flush against the wall studs. Drive nails from the nail gun through the side panels into the wall studs and into the top and bottom panels to complete the frame.

Cut a sheet of 1/2-inch plywood to the total width and height of your wall opening for your cabinet door. Install two metal hinges on the underside of the cabinet door along one edge. Position the hinges about two inches from the top and bottom corners.

Hold the cabinet door up against the door frame, aligning the edge where you attached the hinges with the corresponding edge on the frame. Screw the hinges to the side panel inside the framed wall opening using 1-inch wood screws to attach the door.