Wall cabinets above L shaped workbench

[garrett1812]

Minor detail, but hate doing work twice when I change my mind.

I am building an L-shaped workbench in the corner of this wall. It will extend 108" on the wall with the door (coming to the end of the 2 gang outlet with the single gang box horizontal just above it). I originally planned on 3x 36" wide cabinets, but now I have 2x 36" and 1x 30" wide cabinets. No cabinets will go on the short wall.

Should I installed the cabinets right against each other, centering over the workbench, or shifted to one side or the other? Or space them out so they span the full 108" but have 3" gaps between the cabinets in the center?

 

[ChaseDE]

I would mount them tight and to the corner myself. I like to keep "things" away from the doorway as much as possible as to avoid banging/brushing/bumping into those "things" when going into or out of the doorway.

 

[garrett1812]

The end of the cabinet and workbench will be around 3 feet from the door. There will also be a tall cabinet separating them.

 

[ChaseDE]

I see now, that's good. If that is the case it is up to you I guess. For symmetry I would space them equal to the bench top and put 3" wide or whatever filler pieces in the gaps on their faces....I think.

 

[garrett1812]

Unfortunitally filler strips won't work, or at least be easy, because of the cabinet shapes.

There will be 2x of these (30" tall) and 1x of these (24" tall).

I am pretty sure I want to center the drill Kobalt cabinet between the two Seville. But not sure if I want to make them flush at the bottom or top.

 

[Jackfre]

"tight and to the corner" will make that corner cabinet really difficult to deal with due to the return portion of the L bench.

 

[Brown Dog ADV]

"tight and to the corner" will make that corner cabinet really difficult to deal with due to the return portion of the L bench.

Nice looking shop!

Long time listener, first time caller... Thought I should chime in on this one as I have twenty five plus years in cabinetry and kitchen design.

Jackfre brings up a great point, especially when you consider the left hand door on the 36" wide cabinet held tight to the corner will be in your face when opened, if the work area on the return wall is deeper than 18".

Depending on how you see yourself using the 30" wide drill cabinet, I would suggest you consider holding it tight to the corner (top or bottom alignment is a personal preference) and then install the two 36" wide cabinets over the work area with open shelves built in between the two cabinets to make up the additional 12" of space.

I would also suggest you use 2.5" pan head or lag screws to secure the wall cabinets to the studs to insure they stay up.

 

[garrett1812]

Thanks all for the input. I think I will mount them right together but shifted to the left, leaving a 6" gap between the end of cabinets and the adjacent wall. Will have to figure out something clever to do with that space.

 

[Falcon67]

This is what I did in my L

 

[tarmy]

I would either leave a slot 6" wide for card stock...or tools like a fish reel or something odd shaped.



This is my solution to the corner cab. I build my cabinets myself...so in these deep corners I put long thing like my chain saw with a 36" bar...

 

[gahrajmahal]

I'm with the Dog on this one. I do like Falcon's solution too, I plan to incorporate more "art" into my workspace. Space around the man door is very valuable.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Short wall would be a great place for a whiteboard/dry erase board.

The 6" gap would be perfect for a couple small shelves to hold dry erase markers/ pencil cup or note pads.

 

[lilscorpion]

Don't really like the idea of having 3" between them unless you can get 3" filler panels that match the finish. If not, and you have a color that contrasts nicely with the cabinet color, make some fillers yourself and call them racing stripes. If you had 3" fillers, do you have something you could hang in that space? I have a fancy CNC machined 36" ruler/straight edge that would fit nicely in that filler.

 

[Brown Dog ADV]

That is what I think can be the best part about designing "your" own personal work area...

If after you use it for the intended application and find it no longer works as was originally planned you can always "remodel" the area to whatever is needed to better suit you and the task you intend to use it for.

Be sure to post photos of the finished area.

 

[ChaseDE]

you also have the option i guess of building some heavy duty french cleats and sliding them around temporarily till you find what you like then locking them in.

 

[Nowater]

Consider putting a small filler next to the corner to make the door on the cabinet in the corner much easier to open and close.