SOFFIT cabinets

[jlckmj]

I have been asked to share my soffit cabinet build, so here goes.

I wanted my cabinets enclosed to eliminate dust and dirt from getting on the contents. I got tired of cleaning things as I took them down from my last garage.

I started by building the dividers for the cabinet, they are almost 4 foot high on the long side, and 2 ft. deep, made out of 11/16 plywood. I used 2x2's on the bottom for shelves, the backside for mounting into the wall, and top for mounting to the ceiling. As you can see, I ran most of my electric inside the cabinets staples to the walls, leaving extra wire. I put the romex into conduit and then dropped the conduit down from the cabinets, so I have some flexibility with where the box ends up.



I mounted the dividers to the wall studs, and ceiling truss's with 5 in. 5/16th lag bolts.



I then used a dado blade to hog out a 3/4 inch wide by 1/2 in deep slot on the edge of a 2x4 for the doors to slide in. On the top 2x4 I hogged out about 7/8ths in so I could slip the door panels up and into it and then swing the doors into the bottom dado.



Once the top and bottom 2x4 rails were mounted to the front of the dividers by screwing into the 2x2's, I started mounting 2x2's onto the wall, and 1x2's onto the backside of the rail for the bottom shelf to sit on.



With the bottom shelves installed, I placed the doors into the tracks that I made in the 2x4's. I used 1/4 in melamine for the doors, they slide decent enough in the grooves, seem to be sturdy enough to keep from bending and warping, and they reflect a lot of light.



Once that was done we painted the bottom rail and bottom side of the cabinets the same color as the wall. I will paint the top rail white to match the ceiling the next time I have the white paint out.

All in all, the cabinets are very strong, I hung from the bottom rail after they were all screwed together, and I am pushing 300 lbs. I don't anticipate putting that much weight in them as the bottom is already about 7 foot off the floor.



Just a little different twist on something numerous people on this site have done.

Jim

 

[usmc_noma]

Good how to. Family Handyman did a how to on the exact cabinets a year or two ago. The ones I have are similar except I haven't put on doors yet. You never can have enough storage. Especially when it moves the items up high off the floor.

 

[nine4gmc]

great job and excellent use of space!

 

[rburke65]

Yes.....a great pictorial. Thanks.

 

[Rex_A_Lott]

I found this on a search, I really like the way you did the write-up, Thanks for taking the time to do it.
I also read the Family Handyman article, and I think your method seems a little easier to me, the way you assembled the dividers before putting them on the wall.
Since its been 3 years, are the doors still holding up OK? I like the way they were chosen to reflect the light.

 

[Blazinzuk]

I agree with Rex. I am a newbie to wood work. Even a couple pics are awesome for a beginner.

 

[kelpaso1]

Great project that I may do to my new to me garage when I move in a couple months. I am not an experienced wood worker but looks like something I can handle. Couple questions- I assume you glued and screwed the 2x's to the plywood, and, are you going to put handles on the doors? Anyway thanks for the write up and pics

Also did you notch the shelves at the back for the 2x2's at the wall? Do you have a pic of the inside showing this?

 

[Richard Cranium]

Great use of space. Up high on my walls is the only space I am not using right now.

 

[mitusa]

Great use of space!!!!

A couple of questions...

1. Are those Dynaco a25s?

2. Do you wear sunglasses inside??? Just kidding.....I'm at that age when the more light the better.

Again, Great idea and thanks for sharing!

 

[jlckmj]

I found this on a search, I really like the way you did the write-up, Thanks for taking the time to do it.
I also read the Family Handyman article, and I think your method seems a little easier to me, the way you assembled the dividers before putting them on the wall.
Since its been 3 years, are the doors still holding up OK? I like the way they were chosen to reflect the light.

To answer your question,
YES they are holding up just fine. I measured from the floor to the bottom of the track about every 6-8 foot when I hung them, and they have not dropped at all, and some of them are really loaded up.

Couple questions- I assume you glued and screwed the 2x's to the plywood, and, are you going to put handles on the doors?

I did not glue them, the panels are just screwed to the 2x2's. I have not put handles on, they would just get in the way of opening and closing the sliding doors. I have recently purchased some brass thumb hole inserts that I will put in the doors so I have somewhere to push and pull the doors.

Also did you notch the shelves at the back for the 2x2's at the wall? Do you have a pic of the inside showing this?

Yes, I did notch the bottom back corner of the dividers, then the notch sits on the the ledger board.

Do you wear sunglasses inside??? Just kidding.....I'm at that age when the more light the better.

NO sunglasses, I did the lighting after seeing a thread from Veno on this board. Do a search for " CLF " (he put the wrong initials in the thread line) It is a great thread to alternative lighting on the cheap.

Jim

 

[Capt Chrysler]

Nice job on the build. One question, is it OK to run Romex in and open area like the cabinet?


Capt. Chrysler

 

[jlckmj]

I see no problem with running romex through the cabinets, it is stapled to the wall and then run into the conduit then the conduit drops out of the bottom of the cabinet.

Notice I said "I see no problem?" I am sure there is someone that will find a fault with it, but in my feeble mind it is perfectly safe. With that said, I am certainly not an electrician.

Jim

 

[haddixjl]

Old thread I know but, how wide did you space the braces? looks like 4' apart?

 

[Alchase]

I have done variations of the Family Handyman cabinets in my last three houses. They are very configurable. I use dual tracks mounted on top with sliding doors.
In my current house I have them over my work bench, and over were I park the cars.
The over Work Bench cabinets are
11 ft total width, 32" tall, 23" deep, three sliding doors
Over the vehicles are 16’ total width X 40” tall X 24” deep, three sliding doors on the left and two on the right.

You can make them basically any size you wish. Just ensure you hang them on a stud and joist.

 

[haddixjl]

Thank you