French Cleat Question...

[Derek Arita]

I have a completed cabinet that I want to attach to a wall. It will mount over a toilet. I want to use a French Cleat, but the back of the cabinet is assembled. Can I simply attach the cleat to the back of the upper cabinet and hang it on a corresponding cleat, attached to the wall. I know I'd have to include a spacer board on the bottom, rear edge to keep the cabinet plumb. Will this work?

[Jay Yoder]

I have hung utility cabinets just the way you proposed. Nary a problem. The only time I don't like to do it that way is when the side, and therefore the french cleats are visible. If you were going to hang it this way from the start, you can recess the back in the depth of the cleat which will allow the cleat to remain hidden. The negative with this scenario is that you lose a bit of cabinet depth and it makes building the cabinet more difficult.

[Charles Wiggins]

It will work fine if you don't mind the offset from the wall. It would be preferable to inset the cleat on the cabinet for appearances sake, but if you use a spacer at the bottom it isn't necessary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lUmvbi4rmw

[Derek Arita]

It will work fine if you don't mind the offset from the wall. It would be preferable to inset the cleat on the cabinet for appearances sake, but if you use a spacer at the bottom it isn't necessary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lUmvbi4rmw

Thanks for the help. I've always seen cleats inset as you say, however the I had already assemble the cabinet, so that isn't possible. The cabinet is going between two walls, so it will not be visible from the side. Next time I'll know to consider how the cabinet is to be installed, before I build it. Thanks again!

[Jamie Buxton]

If you don't want to jack the cabinet away from the wall as much, there are metal french cleats available. Here's a link to a 2"-long one at Rockler, but with some googling you can find them up to 6 feet long. Z-clip or Z-cleat are good search strings. http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=30872

[Jim Neeley]

If you're not planning on frequently removing and replacing the cabinet < :) > you may consider putting a single screw through the back of the cabinet and into the "spacer". This will prevent the cabinet from being indavertantly (earthquake, kids, etc.) lifted a bit and falling.

Molding can also be applied around the cabinet perimeter to hide the space behind. Heck, you could even make it yourself! :)

[Phil Thien]

I ran a French cleat the width of the bathroom wall. Hanging on the clear are a cabinet above the toilet, and also the mirror (I just ran a French clear on the back of the mirror, too).

I took this approach because several of the studs in the room are turned on their side (don't ask, I didn't build the house), and their spacing wasn't ideal for mounting a cabinet.

To mount the cleat to the cabinet, I added a nailing cleat on the INSIDE of the cabinet, at the top, and then glued and screwed the French cleat from the back, through the back of the cabinet, and into the cleat on the inside of the cabinet. I did it this way because the cabinet's back is only 1/4" thick, so I wanted something more for some screws to grab into.