The 2018 FHB House is a net-zero energy, high-performance home in California’s Sierra Nevada foothills designed to meet the goals of the California 2020 initiative and comply with the most progressive energy code in the country. The project combines a very tight, well-insulated envelope, cutting-edge mechanical systems, and unique material choices, all wrapped up in a one-of-a-kind modern design.
How-To
A Houseful of Cabinets and Built-ins
Flat-pack cabinets and parts provide a lot of style options.
The 2018 Fine Homebuilding House has a lot of storage—all of it cabinet-based. There are no closets in the bedrooms. Instead, cabinets are used to create built-in storage. There are also kitchen cabinets, a wall of storage cabinets and drawers running the width of the house along the front-entry hallway, and more storage in the mudroom. To simplify all of the ordering and installation of these cabinets, Mela and David relied on CabParts in Grand Junction, Colorado. They ordered all of the cabinet boxes and drawer parts from CabParts, as well as most doors and drawer fronts. But in situations where they had a special piece of locally milled wood, they could fabricate doors, end panels, and drawer fronts for the boxes.
The CabParts cabinets are shipped in flat packs and clearly labelled. When every room has several cabinet boxes, and some rooms have a dozen or more, it’s much easier to manage on-site storage with flat boxes than with fully built cabinets. It’s also easy to move them around the site without damage to the cabinets or walls. Cabinet boxes are available in both dowel-and-glue and Confirmat screw formats.
All-plywood boxes (including the back) make for a rigid box. The insides of the cabinets are all prefinished.
Kitchen cabinets are assembled and in place. The hardwood drawers are dovetailed. For these cabinets, Mela’s dad, Dan Guyer, will make the drawer fronts and end panels from wood that he milled.
The mix of cabinet styles is visible through the kitchen: black oak for the kitchen cabinets in the foreground, painted Shaker style at the back left, painted full-overlay doors around the fridge, and plywood paneling visible in the background.
Setting all of the cabinet boxes along the front-entry hallway. Lots of storage here!
The Euro-style, full-overlay doors from the supplier match the modern plywood paneling in some other areas of the house.
Install necessities: Some Titebond glues, a tape measure, a binder of cabinet locations, a bucket of shims, and some screws.
Titebond’s Instant Bond wood adhesive is handy for cabinet assembly, including applications like these fastening backers.
Fine Homebuilding Recommended Products
Plate Level
A plate level allows to you plumb walls accurately because it registers off the plates without touching potentially warped or twisted studs. This one can reach the plates on 12-ft. tall walls.
A Speed Square or rafter square can help you cut rafters, measure angles, and accurately guide your saw for straight and angled cuts. It's a must have.
String lines — sometimes called dry lines — are invaluable for straightening walls and a million other things. The reel makes it easy to stretch and wind the string.
Love the helpful articles. Doing most of my own house upgrades and have found tons of useful knowledge. Kitchen n dining room remodels going on with slab repairs, drain replacements, electrical upgrades, and on n on.... but with FH help I’ve tackled most myself with pro results. Cabinets are in my garage waiting for new floors! My online subscription is so worth it! A friend gave me bundles of past copies of FH but got lost in a move. So glad I can go back and access copies online, great job guys/gals!
The 10-in. Jobsite Saw PRO has a wider table, a new dust-control port, and a more versatile fence, along with the same reliable safety mechanism included in all SawStop tablesaws.
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently
say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
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Love the helpful articles. Doing most of my own house upgrades and have found tons of useful knowledge. Kitchen n dining room remodels going on with slab repairs, drain replacements, electrical upgrades, and on n on.... but with FH help I’ve tackled most myself with pro results. Cabinets are in my garage waiting for new floors! My online subscription is so worth it! A friend gave me bundles of past copies of FH but got lost in a move. So glad I can go back and access copies online, great job guys/gals!
wonderful work