Hanging a cabinet from a single stud

[bacarl]

Turning to the GJ experts for a little advice here...

I'm hanging a single wall cabinet in my laundry room. It's 24" wide and is situated such that there's only one stud behind it (about 11" from the edge, so, close to centered). Since there's only the one cabinet, it doesn't have any neighbors to screw into like you'd find in a longer run of cabinets. The only thing I can think of to install it securely is to screw into the stud at the top and bottom as usual, then put maybe four heavy duty drywall anchors (two top, two bottom). Anyone have any suggestions?

Here's where the cabinet is going. Yellow tape marks the bottom and left edges of the cabinet; blue tape marks the stud. Electrical will be behind/inside the cabinet.

 

[BD1]

You could fasten plywood to wall to match cabinet height. Cut plywood wall to wall and fasten to studs and then cabinet to plywood.
How much weight is gonna be in there ? Toggle bolts would be a easier option.

 

[srmofo]

French cleat into the stud with long screws. Couple of drywall anchors near the edge to stabilize it. Lowessells some nice wall anchors that are like zip tie toggle bolts. To be honest the toggle bolts would probably hold just fine unless you are storing steel in that cabinet. A French cleat is just much easier to hang level when working by yourself

 

[ryan t]

We have several kitchen cabinets being held by only one stud and have had no problems.

 

[p912s]

Swing by Lowe's and get some of these to put in. One o two would be all you need to make sure it stays flat on the wall.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_118084-10337-50425_0__

 

[machine_punk]

I think a couple of 3" screws into the stud (even better would be small lag screws) would probably be enough. 4 more toggle bolts would give a sense of security.

Of course, all this depends on what you are storing there. I wouldn't fill it with gold bars, but the normal laundry detergent and 'Stuff' should be fine in there.

I usually shoot for attaching stuff to studs, but modern toggle bolts and drywall fasteners are rated for quite a bit of weight and I've never had a problem with them.

Kev

 

[Nick Ferry]

Picture of what has already been mentioned. I would go with the French cleat with good screws/lags into the stud, and one of these on each end. They work great. Good luck. Post some pics of what you end up doing.

 

[Nick Ferry]

Behind the scenes view

 

[passatryde]

I second That! I've hung TVs with those... They're awesome

 

[bacarl]

Great responses, thanks so much guys. The lag screws + Togglers option sounds like a good one.

I must not be imagining the French cleat option properly... how would I do that without ending up with the cabinet standing off the wall by the thickness of the cleat material?

Let's assume I used a 1x4 for the cleat. The way I'm imagining it, the cabinet would be mounted 1" away from the wall, sandwiching the cleat between the cabinet and the wall. Is that right...?

 

[djjsr]

A single stud should hold it fine but what material is the back of the cabinet? If it's a good hardwood cabinet, ok. But if it's a cheap particle board back, not ok.

 

[bacarl]

It is a good hardwood cabinet, fortunately. Speaking of which, what's the correct term for the thicker, horizontal pieces of wood at the top and bottom of the cabinet back that you run screws through?

Also I forgot to mention, I'll only be keeping detergent and "stuff" in there as machine_punk suggested; no metal and definitely no gold bars

 

[niget2002]

It is a good hardwood cabinet, fortunately. Speaking of which, what's the correct term for the thicker, horizontal pieces of wood at the top and bottom of the cabinet back that you run screws through?

Also I forgot to mention, I'll only be keeping detergent and "stuff" in there as machine_punk suggested; no metal and definitely no gold bars

Hey, don't rule out the gold bars... you never know what the future may hold

 

[shoot summ]

It is a good hardwood cabinet, fortunately. Speaking of which, what's the correct term for the thicker, horizontal pieces of wood at the top and bottom of the cabinet back that you run screws through?

Also I forgot to mention, I'll only be keeping detergent and "stuff" in there as machine_punk suggested; no metal and definitely no gold bars

Nail strips.

As mentioned, with a good cabinet I would use a good screw in the top and bottom strip into the stud, then a drywall anchor on the other side.

For what you are doing the screws will hold just fine, the anchors will give you that extra assurance.

The job built cabinets in my "50's house are only held up by nails, in some instances it is like your situation. There are no drywall anchors used.

 

[Kevin54]

It will hang off of one stud with no problem, but if possible put one screw in at the top and put one screw in at the bottom. The further apart the better. You figure, most of the load is going to be download and it's not going to be heavy enough to pull out of a stud at the top. The one at the bottom also helps to reduce the download factor, but it also keeps it from turning one way or another.

 

[kbs2244]

What is going to the left of the cabinet?
The brute force way would be to cover the area with plywood, paint it, then fasten the cabinet to it.
But a 1x2 across the entire wall at the bottom level will cause a place to set it on.

 

[bacarl]

Thanks again for the great suggestions, guys. Super helpful.

kbs, there's nothing going to the left of the cabinet; I need the wall space there for coat hooks and such. I read about using plywood, but I'm pretty **** and having a big hunk of plywood across the wall, even a painted one, is no good. But your suggestion did spark an idea... the hooks themselves will be mounted on a piece of wood across a couple studs, so maybe I can somehow utilize that for the cabinet too. I'll have to noodle on that one.

 

[ddawg16]

It will hang off of one stud with no problem, but if possible put one screw in at the top and put one screw in at the bottom. The further apart the better. You figure, most of the load is going to be download and it's not going to be heavy enough to pull out of a stud at the top. The one at the bottom also helps to reduce the download factor, but it also keeps it from turning one way or another.

Kevin explained it best....

Basically, most of the force is shear...if the screw/bolt at the bottom is strong enough, then the top screw is only there to keep the top from pulling away from the wall.....the bottom screw is most likely holding 80% of the weight.

Typical cabinets will have a strip of solid wood on the bottom and top....that is what is holding things up.

 

[egdede]

What is going to the left of the cabinet?...But a 1x2 across the entire wall at the bottom level will cause a place to set it on.

Thanks again for the great suggestions, guys. Super helpful.

kbs, there's nothing going to the left of the cabinet;...the hooks themselves will be mounted on a piece of wood across a couple studs, so maybe I can somehow utilize that for the cabinet too. I'll have to noodle on that one.

Put 1 board across to use both as a cleat and as a board for coat hooks. A board across the bottom wouldn't interfere with the coats.

 

[machine_punk]

I just remembered that Ace hardware stocks a 'metal french cleat' for mounting flat against a wall (imagine it made with metal bar stock, instead of thicker wood). I think they even have a small level vial built in, to make sure you are level.

Anyway, I'm sure you have several good ideas to try. Looking forward to seeing how you actually choose to do this.

Kev