I’m building some cabinets for the garage out of 3/4 plywood and my question is on mounting them to the wall. The wall is standard 2×4 construction covered with 1/2 dow foam board, and then covered by 5/8 drywall. There is no blocking in the wall for hanging cabinets! I’ll be storing the usually heavy stuff one has on the floor in the garage. Do you quys think if I place muliple 1×6 hardward (maple) boards horizontally on the wall and screwed into the studs, that I could hang my cabients as shown in the attached drawing without failure. Any other suggests other than to cut open the wall and add blocking?
Replies
With decent screws, It will work great.
This is one instance where I say do not use drywall screws.But, why does it have to be a maple 1x6? got a lot of scrap maple?Looking at the drawing, I see you are planning on putting a beefy cleat at the bottom to rest the cabinets on, why not just lag bolt that to the studs, sit the cabinets on it and use 3" cabinet screws to hit whatever studs you can in the backs of the cabinets....the cabinets do have backs, right? if not, just add a 3/4"x3" piece top and bottom.as a side comment, I usually put a "dust skirt" on cabinets like that. Something semi-sacrificial that can be replaced if it does get moisture rot but you still paint/seal all sides to prevent moisture wick. Leaving a space beneath a cabinet in a garage is just another place to accumulate dust and cobwebs.
Thanks guys for the input. The last time I hung cabients without block, much of my time was spent trying to find the studs. So I was thinking this method may make it easier to hang this heavy cabinets. Also, I have high hopes of cleaning and painting the garage floor. I wanted the cabinets off the floor So I could sweep and perhaps store long boards underneath.
Perhaps I'll try the french cleat. Instead of maple, do you see anything wrong with using 3/4 plywood for the horizontal pieces?
Thanks,
I've had good luck with plywood french cleats. Not sure there is a "magic" angle, I make mine 45˚ but I suppose 30˚ sounds like a good option too.
I just but a bunch of cabinets in my garage. I made them go all the way to the floor and put PVC trim around them and caulked the bottom edge. No need to ever sweep under these cabinets. Why would anyone build a place for dust to collect that's hard to get to?
And yes, plywood should be fine for the cleat. The primary purspose is to help the hanging process. You still have to connect them together. You could also shoot some screws into the bottom cleat once they're on the wall.
if saving time is the only reason I'm not sure it's worth it. Finding studs is a step that you will have to take either way and if you're only hanging one or two cabinets without the intention of moving them much or building other stuff for the french cleat system such as project light holders etc. then maybe just a healthy amount of #12 screws through your cabinet's strongback might achieve a satisfactory result with less matireals and time______________________________________________
--> measure once / scribble several lines / spend some time figuring out wich scribble / cut the wrong line / get mad
I'm planning to spann the whole wall, about 20 feet. So I'm looking to hang them quickly. The back will already be 3/4 plywood so I would not need any further reinforcement for the screws. Thanks for the help.
oh i misunderstood. French cleat sounds appropriate______________________________________________
--> measure once / scribble several lines / spend some time figuring out wich scribble / cut the wrong line / get mad
That would work fine, use structural screws like GRK, not standard drywall screws
or
incorporate the 1x4 into the back of your cabinets and then just make sure you hit the studs
Blocking is nice but I have had to install cabinets many times without backing and you just have to be sure to hit the studs.
Just build screw rails into the back of the cabinets and screw them to the studs ,, stronger then the 1 X 6 , I would use a 3/4" back rail and with the foam and the drywall I would use 3" fastaps er construction screws .
dusty
If you're already planning on putting a 1x4 on the back of the cab, why not use a french cleat?
you beat me to it with the french cleat. If i remember correctly it's a 30 deg. bevel that is the magic number?______________________________________________
--> measure once / scribble several lines / spend some time figuring out wich scribble / cut the wrong line / get mad