As mentioned, there are many types of kitchens that come in a variety of styles. Here we shall look at the installation of a typical kitchen with standard carcasses, a regular chipboard worktop, and ordinary white goods. For this example, we will assume that all of the pieces are present on site, and are of the premade variety. Flat-packed components that are sold by manufacturers will usually include instructions for the specific assembly. We shall take a close look at each of the components in turn, highlighting the critical recurring measurements and criteria at play. Note here that for most instances a kitchen plan will be available to some degree of detail highlighting where all the components are situated.

Base units

When installing kitchens or utility rooms, the first step is to layout and install the base unit carcasses. These units form the foundation for the worktop, and ultimately a reference point for the installation of the wall mounted units. Based on anthropometric data, the standard installation height for base units places the top of the worktop at 900mm off of the floor. This height provides an adequate work surface when stood up for an average height person. For rental properties and new builds, this is the standard height for installation of the worktops. This being said, when working directly for clients in homes, heights can be adjusted to accommodate those of different heights if desired. Worktops themselves can vary in thickness, from around 18mm stone at the thinner end up to around 60mm or more for some manufactured timber worktops at the thicker end. This thickness is going to dictate the height of the carcasses. In this instance, a standard 38mm chipboard worktop is being used. Reference marks are made on the wall in the location of the kitchen installation that is 900mm off of the floor finish. If the flooring hasn't yet been installed, the appropriate thickness must be accounted for. The flooring under the units is essentially wasted, as it will be hidden from view once the kitchen plinths are installed. As such, the flooring is usually taken up to the unit legs after the kitchen has been installed, with the plinth covering the abrupt end. This reduces the amount of flooring required, and is ultimately cheaper in terms of cost and labour. With a 900mm reference mark on the wall, the thickness of the worktop can be deducted downwards to establish a height for the top of the base units. Once this new mark is made, a laser can be used to establish this line around the room, and can be marked intermittently.  

The assembly of modern kitchen carcasses is cheap and affordable. In the past, these units would have been made from solid timber panels joined together with traditional joinery, such as dovetails or box joints. As manufactured timber products evolved, engineered sheet materials became a cheaper and less laborious material to assemble carcasses from. Currently, melamine-faced chipboard is the most widely used carcass material in the UK, and is typically 18mm thick. This material in itself is not the most strong and durable, but when assembled together in panels to form carcasses, the overall assembly is rigid and forms an appropriate base for lightweight use. Modern fastening systems such as dowels, pocket holes, metal fixing brackets, and set screws make up the bulk of a carcasses assembly methods, especially for flat packed kits. Typically, an upper and lower panel are sandwiched between 2 side panels, all connected through the use of dowels. The underside of the bottom panel features the mounting plates that receive the adjustable legs. The top panel provides a clean interior for the top of the inside of the unit, hiding the typically unfinished underside of the worktop. In some instances, a full top panel is replaced by a thin rail at the front of the unit that provides stability to the side panels. A thin hardboard/melamine sheet receives in dados routed around the back edge of the carcass, forming a solid back to the unit. Assembly methods vary between manufacturers, though this is a typical overview of common off the shelf units. An additional rail is generally present fixed at the upper back of the unit to provide stability to the rear of the side panels.  

A typical height for off the shelf carcasses is somewhere between 700mm and 750mm, depending on the brand. For the most part, these units are approximately 570mm deep. The carcass material and doors are typically ¾”/18mm chipboard that is faced with melamine or some type of plastic veneer. The 570mm depth of the units allows for an 18mm door to be placed on the face of it, with a small tolerance so as to prevent it from projecting past the front of the 600mm worktop. The standard width for units and whitegoods is 600mm, though different widths in increments of 100mm are available off of the shelf or flat packed unit kits. That being said, based on the overall assembly method of these units, any custom size can be created on site or through specialist manufacturers. These units are typically ordered as a part of fitted kitchens that occupy an entire set distance between walls. 

Common kitchen layouts

Once the height for the base units has been established, the spacings of the carcasses can be set out. Units are installed in varying combinations to include all of the machines and utilities that we expect within a kitchen. Most of the carcasses are installed as kitchen storage, either in the form of units with shelves, or units fitted with drawers. Single carcasses that feature shelves will be faced with 1 unit door mounted on cupboard hinges. Larger units can be installed that feature 2 doors that open in opposite directions on the same carcass. Other varieties include carcasses that feature a lower door, and an upper drawer. 1 of the units within the kitchen will house the sink. The worktop above this unit is cut out to receive the bowl of the sink, which drops into the unit below. This unit also contains water feeds for the taps, the waste trap from the sink, and will also commonly house the stopcock for the property, though this is not always the case. This sink unit might be a single carcass, though a wider double doored variety is not unheard of.

Similarly, worktop hobs are cooking appliances that are cut into the worktop, centred above a unit, with required utilities falling into the carcass below.

Tall units are available that occupy the space from the bottom of the base units to the top of the wall mounted units. These tall units, known as larder units, might sometimes contain an integrated oven or microwave. These appliances are made to slide snuggly between the side panels of common larder units, and are secured in place through the front of the appliance into the edges of the side panels.

For full sized cooker hobs and other standard white goods, spaces are left between the carcasses. Where access to the top of the appliance is required, such as a cooker hob, the worktop stops either side of the appliance. For other white goods such as small fridges, washing machines, dishwasher, and tumble driers, the worktop sails right over the gap and covers the top of the appliance. It’s not typical for these gaps to be larger than 1 appliance wide at a time, as the worktop requires adequate support.

Where these white goods are intended to be discrete, integrated options are available. Models that feature support for cupboards doors are available, so that when closed the appliance is hidden, and the space that is occupied appears to be another unit. Each appliance is slightly different, but will typically feature mounting holes on the inside of the door that can be used to attach a cupboard door.

Adjusting the feet

As standard, base units come with screw adjustable feet. These feet vary in length again depending on the manufacturer, but are somewhere around 100mm at their shortest, with some brands extended up to around 200mm. These feet in combination with the approximately 700mm-750mm tall unit carcass puts the top of unit at about 800mm-850mm before the legs are adjusted for height. This is close to the correct height for the installation of the worktop. The legs receive into mounting blocks that are screwed to the bottom of the unit carcasses, and can be twisted in situ to raise or lower the units. With these feet attached and the unit in place, we can lower or raise the unit to meet our level line in the room. When doing so we must also adjust the front feet to ensure the unit is level in both directions. The unit carcasses generally come without the legs attached, as they can be prone to snapping during transit. Once all of the legs have been attached to the carcasses, the units are ready for installation.

Fixing the units

As each unit is wound up to the correct height in the correct spacing, the can be secured to the wall with mechanical fixings. Typically, right angled mounting brackets are fixed to the wall that are then fixed to the inside of the side panels of the carcass. Thee backets should be fixed to the wall with plugs and screws into masonry, or regular timber screws into studwork. In timber frames kitchen rooms, solid blocking should be provided in the studwork before plastering at appropriate heights to provide fixings for the base units and wall hung units. An alternative method is using adjustable spacers in order to screw through the back rail and into the wall behind. Units that sit next to each other should be screwed together through the side panels with the fronts of the units flushed up together.

Worktops

Once all of the base units are fixed to the wall in the correct layout in accordance with the kitchen plan, the worktops can be installed. Worktops come in a variety of different materials, each of which are available in a selection of thicknesses and widths. The common width for worktops is 600mm, though deeper or less deep options are available depending on the criteria. These other widths are often in 100mm increments depending on the supplier, with 300mm, 400mm, and 500mm commonly stocked. The most common worktop materials include laminate chipboard, stone, and laminated timber. Each material offers different qualities and characteristics, each at different price points. In this instance, the illustration displays a standard 600mm deep, 38mm thick chipboard core worktop.

For expensive designed kitchens, the worktops can sometimes be delivered cut to size, with sink and hob apertures, as well as any routing work possibly having been performed at the factory - though this is dependent on the supplier. For regular site built kitchens, worktops are often purchased from the supplier in standard lengths, and cut to size on site. These lengths can then be routed out and shaped as desired. 

When installing worktops, returns in the layout of the kitchen are very common, being present in most kitchens. This is where the direction of the units and worktop changes direction at a 90 degrees angle, typically around the corner of a room, though this return can sometimes project into the room to create a breakfast bar/dining area. Where these returns occur, the different lengths of worktops must be joined in some fashion. Depending on the aesthetic of the kitchen as well as the material that the worktops are made from, the method in which the worktops are joined can vary. These joints are known as butt joints, mason mitres, and full mitres. Here is an explanation of the why’s and how’s of each method respectively.

Butt joints are the quickest and easiest to assemble, though the appearance of the joint once completed depends on the material. For this joint to be seamless without any additional hardware, the profile of the front edge of the worktop must be square. This allows the square cut on the end of the worktop to butt tightly up to the front of the other worktop. Adhesives and mechanical fixings are used to reinforce the joints. Butt joints are the most cost effective in terms of material, as they produce the least amount of waste. Butt joints can still be used for worktops that feature a rounded edge, though a corner joint strip must be installed to overcome the round, which can look less visually appealing.

Mason mitres are a type of joint that allow the two worktops to come together with minimal waste, whilst overcoming the profile of the front edge of the worktop. This eliminates the need for a corner joining strip. A router and appropriate jig is required for the formation of this joint, which can make it inaccessible for homeowners or 1 off kitchen fitting requirements. Fully raw contact between the two surfaces. A recess is cut into the front face of the first piece of worktop, to overcome the profile on the front edge, leaving a clean and straight edge. The same profile is then cut on the end of the other worktop, so that that pieces fit tightly together. Adhesive can be applied to the inside of the joint, with specialist worktop connecting bolts being installed on the underside of the joint, routed into the material of each worktop.

Full mitres are seen far less commonly in modern kitchens, and serve no real benefit over a standard mason mitre. This joint sees a full mitre cut on each end of the worktop. This method requires more material as both lengths of worktop reach all the way to the corner.

Where worktops stop and start either side of a white goods space, such as for an oven/hob, the worktop is left a few millimetres proud of the side panel of the carcass below, with a metal end cap typically being installed to hide the raw chipboard edge. These end caps are installed wherever a raw edge is exposed; alternatively an edging strip can be applied to overcome this same issue. Worktops made from solid material such as wood or stone can be shaped to have an integrated return on the abrupt ends, creating a smooth transition and eliminating any cover strips.

Once all of the worktops have been cut to length and the joints have been dry fitted, the aperture for sinks and hobs can be cut before the worktops are fixed in place. These components should be centred within the unit space that they occupy, and spaced appropriately across the width of the worktop to prevent any thin strips remaining at the front or back once the waste is removed. Some appliances are sold with templates included in the packaging that explain how the layout should be performed. For those that do not, the appliance can be placed on the worktop upside down, and positioned in the correct place. The outside of the appliance can then be traced. For most appliances, the aperture will be cut approximately 10mm inside of this perimeter mark, to ensure enough material remains for the lip of the appliance to sit on the worktop. That being said, some appliances sit flush with the worktop, and so the manufacturers instructions should be adhered to. The waste can be removed for a circular saw, track saw, or jigsaw - whichever is most comfortable for the user or appropriate for the material. Once the waste has been removed, the appliance can be dropped into the hole, and the provided fasteners can be used to secure it in place.

Belfast sinks are another component that are often implemented into modern kitchen designs. These sinks are deep porcelain bowls that sit directly on top of a lower unit. This unit may directly support the sink, or support a small section of worktop that the sink sits on. The sink is positioned in a vertical position so that the main worktop sits directly on top of the lip of the worktop. As such, the worktop is cut out to accommodate the profile of the sink. To do this, the process is as follows. Position the Belfast sink into place on the low unit in its final resting location. Take the appropriate length of worktop and sit it on the surrounding units so that it also is in its final resting location. The outside of the sink can then be traced onto the underside of the worktop. If the sink is tight in between the units, a combination square can be used to take the lines faintly up the face of the worktop for a later reference. The worktop can then be removed. Place the worktop upside down on a set of benches or back on top of the units. The reference lines can be used to align the sink upside down on the bottom of the worktop. If the sink features a large outlet, we may be able to reach inside the sink and trace the inside profile onto the worktop. If this is not the case, the outside of the sink must be fully traced on the worktop. The sink can then be removed, and using a ruler, the inside perimeter of the sink can be drawn inside the outside perimeter mark, inset from the outside the thickness of the sink wall. In either scenario, the internal set of marks an then be cut. Using a circular saw and a rail, or a track saw, the waste can be removed. Due to the radius of the blade, the corners of the waste must be removed with a handsaw. If the corners are rounded then a jigsaw must be used to remove the waste. At this point, the waste is removed and the raw edges can be sanded or moulded with a round over bit and a router. The sink and worktop can then be placed back into position again and fixed as normal.

Note that the position of the sink may be fully encompassed in the worktop, or set flush to the front of the worktop.

Once all of the cutting and shaping is performed on the worktops, they can be secured in place. The most common method that is used involves fixing brackets attached to the inside of the side panels of the carcasses, and screws that go up through to secure the worktop to the top of the units.

Islands and breakfast bars

Islands and breakfast bars are free standing components within a kitchen layout that provide additional worktop space away from the walls of the kitchen room. These components are free standing units that have worktops mounted on top of them. In many instances the worktops are deeper than usual, and often protrude over the units to allow for a seated usable surface. These protrusions typically serve as a dining area. Power can be provided to these islands under the floor to allow for white goods such as built in fridges to be installed. In higher end kitchens, seamless stone assemblies may include a sink in the large island worktop. Cooking hobs are also commonly seen included in the island worktop. The overall assembly is the same as regular unit and worktop installation.

Wall mounted cupboards

With the worktops fitted and secured in place, a reference surface is established to work off of for the installation of the wall mounted cupboards. These cupboards can of course be installed before the worktops, but sequentially they are typically installed afterwards. Standard medium sized wall units are 720mm tall, and are positioned vertically on the wall with a distance of somewhere between 400-500 mm from the top of the worktop. Once again this height can be determined by the customer, though in many kitchens, the wall units sit on top of 3 rows of 150mm tiles installed upwards from the worktop, forming a splashback that is approximately 450mm tall.

Wall units generally follow the layout of the base units below, with an extractor hood ordinarily being installed between the wall units above the hob.

The depth of common wall units are roughly half the depth of the base units at 300mm, though this is manufacturer specific. This decreased depth provides adequate room for standing persons to work at the worksurface without hitting their head on the units. These units can be purchased in a variety of off the shelf widths to accommodate different layouts. Other standard heights such as taller 900mm units can be purchased from most retailers.

To fix most modern wall hung units, an adjustable cleat system is used. Small brackets are fixed to the wall using screws into timber pickups or plugs and screws into masonry. These brackets are set out and installed on a level laser line to ensure the units are hung straight and in the correct orientation. Matching hook mechanisms are present in the top two corners of the units that receive into these cleats once installed on the wall. The unit is lifted up onto the cleats and seated in place. Screws on the face of the mechanism can be loosened or tightened to pull the unit tight onto the cleats. Screws on the underside of the mechanisms can be adjusted to raise or lower the hook. These can be used to level out the unit on the wall to achieve a perfectly level finish.

Multiple units installed next to each other can be screwed together as the base units are. They may also be fixed into a built-in extractor fan, or a full height base unit to provide additional stability.

Finishing the units

With all of the carcasses installed for both the base units and wall mounted units, as well as the worktops having been fitted, the drawers and doors of the units are ready to be installed. With most modern kitchen sets, whether they are flat packed or custom built from a manufacturer, all of the mounting holes will be drilled out at the factory - saving us a lot of work on site. When making bespoke units or wardrobes from finished materials using internal kitchen ironmongery, laying out the mounting holes in the correct alignment can be an arduous task, requiring the use of specific layout jigs.

Drawers

Drawers are a staple within a modern kitchen for effective storage, and something that we probably take for granted. That being said, based on the modern manufacturing methods, the installation of these drawers is very easy. Drawer boxes are sold by most big name DIY stores as well as most kitchen suppliers. These drawer boxes are typically fully assembled with the appropriate sliding rails attached to them out of the box. They come in a variety of widths and depths to accommodate different width units and layout within the units. For units that feature drawers, a typical layout includes 1-2 deeper drawers on the bottom of the unit, with 2-3 more shallow drawers on top. When purchasing assorted kitchen components from any DIY store or kitchen supplier, the units will often have an array of mounting holes drilled into the two inside faces of the unit. These mounting holes are drilled at specific increments down the two faces in order to accommodate any particular layout of drawers within the unit. For designed kitchens, holes will only be drilled where required for the intended drawers to be installed.

With the drawers and mounting rails to hand, the installation process is very simple. Attach the rails to the inside of the units in the correct vertical position, ensuring that the rails are facing the correct direction to receive the drawer. The rail may be attached to the unit using supplied screws (often around 15mm long), or with supplied plastic pins. These pins receive through the holes in the rail and expand in the mounting hole of the unit, securely fastening the rail to the unit. With the rail in place, the drawer can be slid into place, with the receiving rail on the drawer sitting in the rail on the unit. The specific mechanism may vary between brands, but either way the assembly will be intuitive.

For designed kitchens, the drawers will most likely arrive with the drawer faces installed from the factory. For assorted kitchen components, the drawer boxes and drawer faces are typically sold separately. In some instances, the drawer's faces will simply click into the drawer boxes. Other varieties require the faces to be screwed to the drawers boxes through the inside of the box. An adjustable mechanism on the mounting bracket of the drawer box can be used to align the drawer front.

Doors

Doors are another component that are very easy to install within a kitchen assembly, provided that the correct mounting holes are already supplied. Both the base units and wall mounted units receive the same type of doors within a kitchen, making the overall installation very easy. The doors are available in many different finishes from the suppliers, in a range of widths and heights to accommodate the different sizes of units. In most modern kitchens, the unit doors are mounted with adjustable cabinet hinges, in an “overlayed” orientation. This means that the closed doors sit over the face of the carcass behind it, with only a small section of the unit visible in the clearance margin of the doors. Other less common orientations include “half overlayed” - with the doors partially covering the units, and “inset”, with the doors sat inside the unit, flush with the face of the unit. Single doors that sit over a unit are typically 4mm shorter in width than the width of the unit, to allow for a 2mm margin down each side of the door. Double doors that are fitted onto a unit are typically the width of the unit, less 6mm, divided by two. This allows for a 2mm margin on each side of the door, as well as between the two doors. For example, for a 600mm unit with a single door, the door will come out at around 596mm in width. For a 600mm unit with double doors, each door will come out at around 297mm each. These specific measurements are dependent on the manufacturer, and the correct sized doors will be available for the units provided by the supplier. That being said, these formulas are important to consider when ordering and making bespoke units/wardrobes on site. Through the use of made to measure material suppliers, custom units can be made to any size required, and as such will require appropriate seized doors.

The doors themselves are mounted on cupboard hinges. These hinges consist of a mounting plate that is fixed to the side of the unit, and a round face plate that is inset into a recess in the back of the door. Cheap hinges of this kind are often one piece, requiring the door to be screwed onto the unit as the mounting plate is secured. Higher quality modern hinges often come in two parts, with the spring loaded door piece clicking over the unit mounting brackets. This means that with the two pieces fixed to the two components respectively, the door can be simply clicked onto the unit. As such, the door can also be easily removed by releasing the clips. These premium hinges may also feature a soft close mechanism in the door mounting plate, preventing the door from ever slamming shut into the unit.

When purchasing doors and units from kitchen suppliers, all of the appropriate holes will be predrilled for the hinges to be attached to, making the installation very easy. A 35mm hole is bored approximately 10mm deep into the back of the door at the top and bottom. These holes receive the mounting cups in a snug fashion. Small 15mm screws can then be used to fix the cup to the door, through the use of pre drilled holes. Matching mounting holes on the inside of the units receive the mounting plates. Depending on the model, the hinge mounting plate may be attached to the units with small loose screws, or larger screws that are captive within the mounting plate. With the two components installed securely, the door can be clicked into place.

With the door in place on the unit, adjustments can be made to the hinge in order to correctly align the margins of the door with the unit. The mounting plate on the inside of the unit features slotted receptacles for the screws. These screws can be loosened slightly to adjust the vertical position of the door about 3mm both up and down, provided the plate was fixed centrally to begin with. The rear set screw on the face of the hinge can be turned to move the door in or out in relation to the unit. This is used to align the door vertically in the other direction, so that it is flush with the surrounding doors or drawers. The forward most set screw on the face of the hinge can be turned to adjust the lateral position of the door when facing the closed door. This is used to achieve a perfect margin down the sides of the door in relation to the other door and units. By playing with all of the adjustments on both the bottom and top hinges of the door, we can ensure that the door is perfectly aligned with the other unit doors. 

Handles

Once the doors and drawer fronts are fitted, the handles or knobs can be fitted. For most kitchens, these pieces of ironmongery serve as the primary method of opening the units, though some styles of kitchen include doors and drawers with integrated rebates in lieu of traditional handles. This offers a more sleek design, though typically at an additional cost. As it stands, most suppliers of kitchen materials offer the doors and shelf fronts without any pre-drilled holes for the handles, to allow for any type of knob or handle to be fitted. The drilling and installation of the handles is down to the kitchen installer. For modern kitchens, the most common type handle fixing used is a threaded bolt that enters from the back of the door or drawer front, with the threaded handle or knob being threaded onto the exposed bolt. These bolts may be supplied at a length suitable for use with 18mm kitchen material out of the box. In other instances, due to the intended versatility of the handles, the provided bolts may be longer than required, with multiple disruptions in the thread down the shank to allow for ease of cutting with snips to the correct size.

When installing the handles or knobs, there exists no universal hard and fast rule about the exact location of the hardware on the material. That being said, for base units, the hardware is installed at the top of the door, with the opposite being true for wall mounted units. Instead, we must make a decision based on the aesthetics and functionality of the final installation. With a position decided upon, the only consideration is to keep every door and drawer the same within the kitchen layout in order to achieve a professional outcome. Many different styles of door and handle exist, but here are some examples of layouts to help demonstrate the thought process behind the positioning of hardware.

For flat doors, the location of the handles should be somewhere between 1” and 4” from the bottom and sides. Aesthetically, mirroring the margin around the edge of the door looks the smartest.

For doors that feature visible rails, the hardware should be installed centrally within the rails, with an even margin around the edge of the door.

For small drawer fronts in this fashion, the hardware should be installed in the centre of the front. For larger fronts in the same style, the centre is also a good choice, as well as matching the upper margin of the smaller shelves.

To drill the holes, simply use a drill bit that is 1mm wider than the diameter of the threaded shank of the bolts, to allow the bolt shank to pass easily through the hole. Oversizing the hole too much will allow the head of the bolt to pass through the hole and potentially ruin the door. Care should be taken when drilling the location for the hole as we only have one attempt without ruining the door. A combi square or a jig can be used to make repeated markings for holes in the same space on different doors. When installing handles specifically that have 2 bolts, the perfect alignment must be ensured, otherwise the handle will look pissed in relation to the fine margins of the doors. Handles that feature 2 mounting bolts are measured by their “drilling centres”. This is the distance between the two mounting bolts, and not the length of the total handle.

Shelves

Within both the base and wall mounted units, shelves are typically installed to allow for increased storage space. In most instances, these shelves are height adjustable due to their mounting mechanism. A series of holes are drilled in the sides of the units at the factory. These holes accommodate metal pegs that allow for shelf clips to be installed in the units. With 4 clips installed, shelves can be placed in the units at any height to accommodate different layouts. These shelves and clips are removable at any time, even after installation, allowing for home owners to customise their kitchen space as they desire.

Drilling custom mounting holes

When mounting custom cupboard doors on custom units or wardrobes, the mounting holes may have to be drilled out on site. Most concealed hinges are designed to a universal size, despite the functional differences between brands. In this modern age, jigs and templates are available for next to nothing off of the internet. These jigs can be used for marking out the locations for the holes, and can even be used to drill the holes. Examples of thee jigs can be seen in the illustrations.

The cup hole on the door is 35mm in diameter, and is positioned approximately 22.5mm from the edge of the door to the centre of the hole. The mounting plate on the inside of the unit is located directly across from the centre of the hole. The two predrill holes for the mounting plate are positioned 37mm in from the edge of the unit, spaced 32mm apart from each other, split centrally 16mm away from the central line.

Plinths, cornice, and pelmets

Plinths are lengths of material that are cut down to length and installed under the units to hide the legs, bridging the gap between the underside of the unit and the floor. The plinth can be cut to length to accommodate any length of unit runs. The plinth is attached to the assembly with clips that are screwed to the back of the plinth. The clips then click onto the legs of the units, allowing for a secure yet removable fixing.

Cornice and pelmets are two types of moulding that are installed within a kitchen to give a finished look - aesthetically capturing the wall mounted units in a moulding sandwich. Cornice is a moulding that is installed on the top of the units, adding flare and depth to the overall look of the kitchen. This moulding is often wider and more complex than pelmet moulding. Cornice is mitred where it returns, and is secured to the top of the units with hidden screws.

Pelmet is a moulding that is installed around the underside of the wall mounted units. This moulding is often only a few inches in depth, and typically not that complex of a moulding. This moulding is also mitred around any returns, and is secured to the underside of the units with hidden screws. Under unit lighting strips may often be fastened directly to or directly behind this moulding to provide additional lighting to the kitchen. Both of these mouldings are cut and installed as any moulding would be.