Blocking in the wall for cabinets and toughening sheetrock.

[Lelandwelds]

Back in the early 1990s, I worked in the rush to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. I hung grab bars and mirrors, installed toilet partitions and wider doors, demo concrete and poured ramps, moved walls, and all kinds of "unintended consequences " of complying with the law. It was fun for a little while.

One of the most common tasks was hanging something that wasn't there before. One of my methods was to split lengthwise a piece of metal stud and screw it in the wall cavity. I would screw a piece of plywood flush with the edge of the stud wall. The supplies were everywhere on the typical jobsite.

Anyone have a better method to back up drywall or mount stuff on new construction? I use metal and wood studs.

 

[kaiser715]

We are building a new house now. I went in a couple of weeks ago, and put up blocking everywhere I thought I'd want it. Did it on our current house when we built 15 years ago, and it has paid off. Blocking in for towel bars, robe hooks, shower curtain rods, curtain rods at every window, grab bars, over-toilet cabinets, etc, etc. Cut to whatever the (wood) stud spacing is, and popped in with framing nailer. Well worth the time.

I measured up from subfloor, down from ceiling framing, and in from nearest corner to each end of the blocking, wrote it with a sharpie on the blocking, then came in and shot (hi-res) pics of everything. So, when ever I hang something, look at the pics for that room, see where the blocking is, and zoom in to pull the measurements.

Re-used ots of cut-offs on the jobsite....a lot of blocking came from cutoffs from the floor framing, and I cut up the remnants of one truss that dropped off the crane when they were swinging it in.

 

[Lelandwelds]

Yes, that is the old reliable standard. Anyone know the new shiny method? I seen guys add extra metal studs and weld or screw flashing-like steel in place. Any slick method?

I have seen odd stuff like flexible wall track and wiggle wood. I have seen triple layer diagonally braced Polygal used in place of large windows. I have seen water drain through pervious concrete. I have seen translucent concrete. I have carried a concrete block on one shoulder which measured 2ft x 4ft x 8 in. There must be a fancy way to add blocking everywhere in two bands around the entire garage.

 

[wssix99]

Just cut out the drywall wherever you are putting up cabinets with a zip tool and replace it with plywood. Leave a little overlap for where the cabinets cross the transition and you have a solid mounting where you can drive screws in any location for the cabinets.

Very easy, totally solid, and you don't have to hunt and poke behind the wall for mountings.

 

[mrramsey]

I've inset 1x4's around kitchens etc at the appropriate heights for cabinets and such. I like wssix99's idea for a retrofit and will use it in my current garage renovation.

 

[firebirdparts]

Framing lumber may be old school but a screw sure does bite into it. It seems a wonderful material for hanging stuff.

 

[kgordon]

If its behind cabinets, cut out a rectangle all the way and screw plywood in. If the studs are open, screw in 2x4 or 2x6's inbetween studs.

Another option for some items are the zip toggles. They are rated for over 100lbs each though they are not cheap.

 

[Falcon67]

If its behind cabinets, cut out a rectangle all the way and screw plywood in. If the studs are open, screw in 2x4 or 2x6's inbetween studs. .

What I'd do, either ply or OSB. FOr the shop, the cabinets I used came with steel hangers that screwed to studs 24" OC. Since the walls in there are all OSB, it wasn't really a problem picking a spot either way.

 

[wssix99]

I've inset 1x4's around kitchens etc at the appropriate heights for cabinets and such. I like wssix99's idea for a retrofit and will use it in my current garage renovation.

I should have given my wife credit for this one/method. It's all her idea and the way she does cabinets on all her projects.

 

[6768rogues]

On commercial projects with steel studs, I have seen a steel plate screwed across stud faces for mounting grab bars and urinals. I have also seen wood blocking used. My son owns several student occupied houses in the nearby village where there is a state college. When I remodel a bathroom, I cover one wall with plywood and then wallboard over it. Then I can hang accessories anywhere on the wall. They have yet to punch a hole in one of those walls, but a few fists might be hurting. One of the landlords puts plywood behind the wallboard on all his walls, and he has very little wall damage.

 

[Jim_No_Garage]

In house #1 we gutted the kitchen and ordered new cabinets. With the kitchen plans in hand I placed 2x4 blocking across the top and bottoms for every wall cabinet and the top of the base cabinets.

My buddy the carpenter comes to install all of the cabinets and I tell him about the blocking. He then goes on to screw everything to the studs - he didn't use a single piece of the blocking I spent the weekend installing.

Jim