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Getting some free cabinets
- Thread starter daddycreswell
- Start date
rcktsled
Well-known member
How much weight do you plan on putting in them? It looks like they have a 1/4" plywood back with a particle board hanging strip which clearly failed. You could glue and screw in new 1/2" plywood backs and screw thru that into studs. Or use the existing 1/4' backs and put in a solid wood or 3/4" plywood hanging strip. If you want to get fancy, hang them on French cleats.
Voi
Well-known member
I would get rid of the thin back and add some plywood cleats to the upper and bottom back. Whether they fit between the sides or over the sides depends on how the cabinets are built.
Post more pictures once the cabinets are down.
Ideally the upper cleat can be attached over the sides and be beveled and then hung on a matching cleat that is attached to your wall. If you can do this and use 3/4" stock your cabinets will be an inch and a half deeper.
Post more pictures once the cabinets are down.
Ideally the upper cleat can be attached over the sides and be beveled and then hung on a matching cleat that is attached to your wall. If you can do this and use 3/4" stock your cabinets will be an inch and a half deeper.
Cyberbear
Well-known member
When I was in the business I would install a solid wood (pine) 1 x 3 nailer strip at the top inside of the cabinet. Make very sure you attach the backs onto the old cabinets very well, these are going to take all the weight. Then securely fasten the nailer into the cabinet, try to use screws wherever you can. If possible, I'd also glue the backs to the cabinets, better than just screws, especially if these cabinets are made of vinyl coated particle board. I also used sheet metal screws in place of wood screws, they are hardened and hold better. Use a long #12 hex washer head screw to mount the cabinet to the wall hitting all the studs you can. If the cabinet was going to support more weight than normal, I'd put a nailer under the cabinet bottom edge, the last thing you want is a loaded cabinet crashing down on everyone. We have quakes where I live.
gnpenning
Well-known member
After beefy them up with any of the above or other method I would use french cleats to mount to the wall. This will spread the load out more evenly.
CJ7VFR
Well-known member
When I was in the business I would install a solid wood (pine) 1 x 3 nailer strip at the top inside of the cabinet.
All the cabinets in my house have the same type of thing in them! This is VERY good advice, and is a pretty inexpensive piece of insurance that your cabinets will stay up even if you over fill them with stuff!
I bought my house 5 years ago, and from what I can see, the guy who owned it before me really beefed up all the cabinets using this method.
He did this to the kitchen cabinets, the two bathroom cabinets, the cabinets he put in the garage (which are old kitchen cabinets) and even the cabinets he put up in the basement.
He used screws everywhere to mount them also.
He must have figured that people will always try to cram more stuff into a cabinet than they should, and the ones he installed are very strong.
Jim