Step 10: Install the Top.

installing the top of a columned room divider
Photo: Ryan Benyi
«»
Measure and cut two additional panels of MDF sized to sit flush with the face frame. Glue and nail them in place. This last layer serves as your cabinet top and as a nailing surface for the solid crown molding that goes on in Step 16.
Next

Related Content

Ask TOH users about Cabinets & Shelving
Discuss

Contribute to This Story Below

Add Comment

    More in Interior

    Tools List

    Close
    • 100-foot tape measure
      Tape measure
    • straightedge guide
      Straightedge
    • bar clamp
      Clamps
    • circular saw
      Circular saw
    • caulk gun
      Caulk gun
    • drill
      Drill/driver
    • Countersink bit
      Countersink bit
    • four-foot level
      4-foot level
    • pneumatic brad nailer
      Pneumatic brad nailer and air compressor
    • combination square
      Combination square
    • miter saw
      Miter saw

    Shopping List

    Close
    ¾-inch medium-density fiberboard (MDF)
    Get three 4-by-8-foot sheets for an 8½-foot ceiling.

    2x8 lumber to build the base

    Shims

    Solid crown molding to trim the capital and the cabinet top

    Baseboard molding

    ½-inch and ¾-inch quarter-round molding
    for the base cap and shoe molding

    1½-inch MDF screws to assemble the boxes

    2½-inch deck screws to install the base and the blocking

    1¼-inch brad nails

    Construction adhesive

    Wood filler and paintable caulk

    Primer and paint