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cantilever counter

wane | Posted in General Discussion on March 12, 2009 09:47am

Question,

.. I was thinking about cantilevering a bathroom counter by bolting 2 steel rods to the side of 2 X 6 studs and drilling corresponding holes for the rods in a slab of wood.  The idea is to provide wheel chair access.  Anyone done this before, or can calc how thick the rods would have to be to keep it from sagging?  With only 5″ in the wall would it support a 21 inch wide counter top??  I’m thinking flat stock would be stronger than rods (?) but didn’t want to cut slots in the bottom of the slab .. opinions (and engineers) welcome .. thanks in advance.


Edited 3/12/2009 3:14 pm ET by wane

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Replies

  1. Righty_Tighty | Mar 12, 2009 11:21pm | #1

    Huck's done a great looking one here:

    http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=108649.666

  2. jackplane | Mar 13, 2009 01:28am | #2

    I would not use flat stock, nor allthread, nor rebar. Square or tubular stock would be stronger. Or use angle iron embedded in a thicker than normal countertop.
    The pic fabove should give you some ideas.

    Expert since 10 am.



    Edited 3/12/2009 6:28 pm ET by jackplane

    1. wane | Mar 13, 2009 03:22pm | #6

      Yur' right .. hadn't thought about that yet, was thinking round stock just 'cause it would be easy to drill the hole in the back of the counter top .. thanks

  3. Jed42 | Mar 13, 2009 01:42am | #3

    Will the top go to a wall on one side, or will this be strictly hung off the back wall?

     

    No Coffee No Workee!
    1. wane | Mar 13, 2009 03:23pm | #7

      just hung off the back wall ..

  4. andybuildz | Mar 13, 2009 02:23am | #4

    Something like I did for this BBQ island top I made?? (see slide show below)http://picasaweb.google.com/andybuildz/BBQTILETOP?feat=directlink

    And also this vanity I did?

    Did em both the same way pretty much...3/4" steel L brackets I had made up bolted to the wall and into the island top...into the vanity top. (bathrm slide show below)http://picasaweb.google.com/andybuildz/KAYLINMASTERBATH?authkey=Gv1sRgCOeRvIurhaPE3gE&feat=directlink

    View Image

     

     

     

    http://www.cliffordrenovations.com

    Why do I keep...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7ZkQC0riwc

    http://www.ramdass.org

     


    Edited 3/12/2009 7:24 pm ET by andybuildz



    Edited 3/12/2009 7:25 pm ET by andybuildz

    1. wane | Mar 13, 2009 03:25pm | #8

      nice work, that's some sink, your counter is kind of like a torsion box?, there was a fireplace hearth like that a while back, I may have to add the extra depth, but hoping I can get the counter to look more like an unsupported shelf ..

  5. ponytl | Mar 13, 2009 04:50am | #5

    when i use to build commercial kitchens and bars this was a pet thing i allways tried to do....  remove all legs  on sinks///barsinks.... icebins.... and hand them off the wall.... sure made cleanup easy and the places just stayed cleaner...

    what i did was use 1/4 thick x 3" wide flat steel stock about 30" long that would bolt to the side of a doubled wall stud......  and welded angle iron  brackets out from the flat....

    I've never done this but i would if i played with it....  I've considered drill'n  5/8 holes into the center of a stud  and glue'n 5/8 cold rolled steel stock into the hole where it went into the wall 5" of so (would have to be a 2x6 wall)  and let it come out of the wall 14-16" to hold a sink top or shelf...  i've done small shelfs this way but never large stuff...

    good luck and let us know what you do

    p

    1. wane | Mar 13, 2009 03:31pm | #9

      thanks for the encouragement, your second thought was exactly what I was thinking about, only I was going to bolt tubing to the side of the stud and slide the steel bar into that .. I think I'll try a mock up this weekend, see how much flex & give there would be in a setup like this ..

  6. wane | Mar 13, 2009 04:26pm | #10

    plot thickens, looks do-able, just found this ..

    http://stage.zesco.com/products.cfm?subCatID=1015&PGroupID=010809DK03

  7. wane | Apr 20, 2009 07:45pm | #11

    so here's what I came up with, rather than trying to drill holes and support with steel pipe, I just ran a 2 x 8 (some nice dry salvaged stuff, no more shrinkage) horizontally across the back of the wall, another across the front.  The front supports from underneath, the back across the top.  I left some room in case it ever sags, I can add a shim across the back to re-level it.  I wouldn't sit on it, but it'll take just about anything else, very firm.

    1. User avater
      PeteDraganic | Apr 21, 2009 05:31am | #12

      glue those blocks in place too... while you can get to them.

      <!----><!----><!----> 

      I refuse to accept that there are limitations to what we can accomplish.        Pete Draganic

       

      Take life as a test and shoot for a better score each day.          Matt Garcia

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