Wood movement and vanity base

[Rob Blaustein]

What wood do people use for the approx 5" high frame/base upon which you place your floor cabinets? I'm building a bathroom vanity out of veneered ply, and I just bought a bunch of 2x8's from Home Depot which I have started to rip to the appropriate width for the frame/base. But something occurred to me--seasonal and humidity related wood movement. I think these 2x8's are pine, and when I look this up on my LV wood movement wheel, it predicts a range of movement of 1/16" (assuming a change of 5% humidity) to 1/8" (for a 10% swing). The vanity will fit into the end of the bathroom, with its back flush with the wall, and the sides within 1/2" from the side walls (I will scribe the face frame to cover any gaps). The top will be stone with a backsplash that I assume will be caulked where it meets the walls with some silicon-type material. A movement of 1/8" seems like it might mess that up. Am I worrying too much, or would I be better off ripping some pieces of plywood to use for that 5" high frame/base? If so, do people face join two pieces of ply together to make it 1.5" thick (the vanity will be about 6 ft wide) or is 3/4 width ok?

[tod evans]

rob, s.o.p. is to run your box ends to the floor.(ply) and if you have an exposed end cover it with a panel. unless you`re blessed by the homebuilding gods you will need to shim under the cabinet ends to bring the unit level, for this i use cedar shakes instead of pine builders shims, they`re a little less likely to rot in a moist enviorment....02 tod

[Jamie Buxton]

I use 3/4 plywood, mostly to ensure that I don't encounter the issue you're thinking about. Like Tod, I expect to shim the base to get it level, and then drop the cabinet boxes on top.

[Rob Blaustein]

rob, s.o.p. is to run your box ends to the floor.(ply) and if you have an exposed end cover it with a panel. unless you`re blessed by the homebuilding gods you will need to shim under the cabinet ends to bring the unit level, for this i use cedar shakes instead of pine builders shims, they`re a little less likely to rot in a moist enviorment....02 tod
Thanks Tod and Jamie--always good to hear from the pros. Tod--if you run your boxes to the floor and have a toe-kick, do you put a shelf in at that level. For a number of reasons I've decided to go the frame route, with a plan to shim it level, and then put the joined boxes on top of it.
Rob

[tod evans]

Thanks Tod and Jamie--always good to hear from the pros. Tod--if you run your boxes to the floor and have a toe-kick, do you put a shelf in at that level. For a number of reasons I've decided to go the frame route, with a plan to shim it level, and then put the joined boxes on top of it.
Rob

rob, set your bottom shelf flush with the top of your bottom rail.....02 tod

[Mark Singer]

Most of mine don't go to the floor...I either use metal or wood legs and a French cleat

[Jim Becker]

When I did my kitchen, since my cabinets were made from sheet goods, I made the base supports from the same materials and put together with pocket screws. From this experience, I can tell you I'd do it this way again, too. Leveling the separate base before setting the cabinet boxes on top was far easier and eliminated the need to cut out for toe kicks in the cabinets...which was also more efficient from a materials usage standpoint.

When I do the cabinets for our future home addition, I'll also use this method for any cabinets that actually touch the floor, but may also consider the adjustable legs like Mark mentions as well as some cabinets that don't even go to the floor...who knows?