Leveling cabinets on sloped garage floor

[JackShephard]

What are your tips for leveling cabinets on sloped garage floors? I'm planning on building a cabinet/shelving unit that will span close to 6 feet so the slope of the floor will definitely play a role.

These are options I've considered:

#1 Build a platform that lays flat along the slope of the floor, but then has a level top -- anyone done this before? if so, tips?

#2 Secure the unit to the wall up off of the floor to take the slope out -- not too excited about this idea because I don't want the open, dead space underneath

#3 Lay the unit along the floor and then add a "riser" to the bottom of the end of the end that drops, then slap on some trim or a kick plate in order to hide the gap -- not sure about the "floating" area that would be created between each end

 

[tgb]

You could take a board and place it on the floor the length of your cabinet then mark it with a level line and build your cabinet base to that slope.

 

[joecon]

I used 2x4s set on the floor like a kick, level on top scribed to the floor on the bottom.

 

[LB-1911]

What are your tips for leveling cabinets on sloped garage floors? I'm planning on building a cabinet/shelving unit that will span close to 6 feet so the slope of the floor will definitely play a role.

These are options I've considered:

#1 Build a platform that lays flat along the slope of the floor, but then has a level top -- anyone done this before? if so, tips?

#2 Secure the unit to the wall up off of the floor to take the slope out -- not too excited about this idea because I don't want the open, dead space underneath

#3 Lay the unit along the floor and then add a "riser" to the bottom of the end of the end that drops, then slap on some trim or a kick plate in order to hide the gap -- not sure about the "floating" area that would be created between each end

You should find this previous thread informative

Level base frame for cabinets on sloped garage floor?

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103475

Good Luck

 

[NIS240SHU]

My garage floor slopes at the standard 1/4" per foot and I needed to level about 10 feet of Lista Storage Wall units. I bought leveling mounts from zorotools.com and it made it a lot easier. They're available at a lot of industrial suppliers.

If you're talking about wood cabinets, you can add a threaded insert to each cabinet's base and thread in a leveling mount. This can get expensive if the individual cabinets are short, but you might be able to screw two or three cabinets together and use the levelers every other cabinet.

Two tips if you go this route:

- Pay attention to the weight rating of the mounts so you don't overload them.

- Make sure you get leveling mounts that are short enough on one end to not jack up the short side and get long enough ones that will allow you to level the cabinets on the high end.

 

[Slednut]

I did number 3, I built the cabinets (these are 12 feet wide) leveled them, and scribed the trim along the bottom. You can see how the base trim gets taller as it gets closer to the doors.

 

[pattenp]

I made a 2X4 base and used screw adjustable legs to level and installed the cabinets on the raised base.

 

[Jbullfrog]

I have a 13' cabinet that I shimmed level and then cut the trim to fit.

 

[jmlcolorado]

Another option is to install them across the back wall.
I had mind level across my sloped floor, but in 8' there was a 2" difference from one side to the next. Just screwed with my head too much.

Ended up setting them across the back wall and leveling front to back with a 2x4 across the front at a toe kick.

 

[rsanter]

One option is to mount to the wall leaving enough room underneath ( say a foot ) so you can store jack stands and the jack

Bob

 

[Lippyp]

If you leave a space underneath either make sure it's open or sealed as its just the kind of space that our small furry rodent friends like to live in!

 

[nolimits76]

I did number 3, I built the cabinets (these are 12 feet wide) leveled them, and scribed the trim along the bottom. You can see how the base trim gets taller as it gets closer to the doors.

One option is to mount to the wall leaving enough room underneath ( say a foot ) so you can store jack stands and the jack

Bob

These 2 options make the most sense. If you don't have much slope, Slednut's method works well. If you have too much, it looks funny IMO.

Also, don't underestimate the value of having that foot or so of floor space for odd ball stuff as rsanter pointed out. Just remember to make the space large enough to be useful and to provide easy access for cleaning. Alternatively, some guys have made boxes with wheels so they could easily slide stuff under the cabinets.

 

[Jim B]

For the cabinets across the back wall of my garage I built a 2x4 frame topped with plywood as a base. I leveled the base with lots of wooden shims (like the ones used for setting a door frame plumb) then cut the shims off flush with the front edge of the frame and bolted the finished cabinets to the wall studs. I haven't built my bench along the side wall yet but I think I will start with the same frame setup but level, scribe and trim the 2x4 that runs parallel to the wall so it sits level.

 

[ekraft84]

I had pretty significant slope and was worried about the toe-kick looking weird, but you can hardly tell.

You can see my build thread below for some pics, if interested.