How to Build an Oven Cabinet

Measurements & Design

• 1

  Inspect how your current kitchen setup looks. Determine where your oven ought to be located. The chosen spot should be in accordance with universally accepted design and safety standards for kitchens. Star Craft Custom Builders provides a copy of these standards; you can check them in the References list. Study these to double check whether the position for the oven cabinet is a good one. If your oven uses electricity, the position should be within easy reach of a power outlet as well.

• 2

  Consider the other features your cabinet ought to house, apart from the oven itself. The Kitchen Cabinet Depot suggests you think about your personal storage needs. Decide whether another appliance (such as a microwave oven) should be housed within it, how many storage cabinets it should have and how tall the cabinet can be (without putting storage areas within back-breaking reach). Look at the height of any existing tallest cabinets in your kitchen (e.g., refrigerator cabinet). Decide whether adopting the same height for your oven cabinet will be acceptable to your needs and in keeping with aesthetics or safety standards.

• 3

  Draw detailed 3-D line diagrams of your desired cabinet’s design in a notebook. These diagrams should provide both close-up views of cabinet details as well as the overall look. Make sure the diagrams are large enough for you to make measurement notations and corrections later. If you’re not comfortable creating 3-D line drawings, download and print a sample diagram of an oven cabinet provided in the Resources list. Alternatively, create your own diagram using the Google SketchUp site.

• 4

  Study the user’s manual and installation specifications of your oven unit. Every built-in oven has very specific storage size and safety requirements you must follow. Requirements include numerous details, such as dimensions for its mounting hole, the cabinet’s depth, the distance of the power outlet, minimum plywood thickness, minimum distance from the floor, etc.

• 5

  Draw and write down all the oven’s required dimensions into your diagram.

• 6

  Check how level the floor is in the spot you've selected. The Taunton Press Fine Home Building site provides an example of how differences in floor level can be detected for a cabinet of any size. Make a small pencil mark on a nearby wall to indicate which part of the floor is higher or lower. Measure and note the actual level difference in your notebook beside your cabinet diagram.

• 7

  Measure the cabinet’s final intended height at the higher portion of the floor. Note down the actual measurement onto your diagram. If your kitchen floor in that area is slightly tilted, compensate for this later on by adding tiny shims at the bottom of the finished cabinet where it touches the lower portion of the floor.

• 8

  Measure out the final intended width of the cabinet and note this.

• 9

  Draw or note additional measurement and carpentry details in your diagrams. Details should include measurements for creating wood joints, hardwood frames, plywood panels, cabinet doors, etc. Include all the smallest details, such as cabinet handles, hinge sizes and positions, braces, number of screws, nailed areas, etc.

• 10

  Draw the cutting diagrams for softwood lumber and plywood in your notebook. This is a plan for cutting wood more efficiently, with as little waste material as possible.

• 11

  Purchase all the plywood, lumber and other building materials you need, based on all your diagrams.

Building

• 12

  Create the box frames or the cabinet’s “skeleton.” Measure and cut out all the softwood lumber. Depending on your carpentry skill, cut the corners of the frame for the particular wood joint type you’d like to use. Nail and glue the hardwood pieces together by these joints. Attach all joint braces. Cut and nail in all wood braces. Secure the metal braces with screws.

• 13

  Cut out all exterior body panels and interior shelving from the hardwood-grade plywood. Assemble the body of the cabinet according to plan by nailing the panels and shelving to their respective positions within the frames. The Canyon Creek Cabinet Co. advises you to pay close attention to how you assemble the interior shelving that will house the oven itself. The oven’s support shelf should be well-screwed to the adjacent end panel, and the top shelf should be level with the oven’s “cut-out” front.

• 14

  Create the cabinet doors. Cut out all front cabinet door panels from the remaining hardwood grade-plywood. Attach these to the front of the storage “box” parts of your cabinet’s design by securing them with hinges. Attach the cabinet doors’ handles.

• 15

  Drill suitable holes in the back of the cabinet and in the back of the oven shelf to accommodate any electrical cord or gas pipe that your particular oven unit uses.

• 16

  Lightly sand down the surfaces of the cabinet. What you’ll apply next will depend on the type of finish you’d like to have for the cabinet’s exterior and interior. For a more natural wood look, apply varnish. For a glossy painted finish, apply a primer coat and two undercoats of flat paint and a top coat of gloss paint. Let the cabinet dry completely before moving it to the kitchen and installing the oven in it.