Will This Wall Cabinet Stay Up?

[Jeff Wright]

The attached photos show a wall cabinet I just hung in the garage for my wife's china painting supplies. It is 31 inches wide, 16 inches deep and 32 inches high. It is made with poplar and soft maple, with 3/4 inch thick panel sides, top and bottom and shelving. The doors are made up of 1/4 inch maple ply. I drove two #12x3" screws through the upper 3/4 inch mounting strip and on into the studs in the wall.

My questions is whether these two #12 zinc wood screws are sufficient to hold the cabinet safely in place. Should different screws be used, such as 1/4 inch lag bolts instead of the #12 wood screws? Should I also drive screws through the lower nailing strip seen in the third photo?

I expect some fairly heavy china plates and bowls to be stored in the cabinet and I'd hate to have it come crashing down in the middle of the night (or day, for that matter!).

[glenn bradley]

I'm a big fan of French cleats with the cabinet side of the cleat surface glued in to evenly distribute the weight. I'm an amateur so I'll let our cabinet makers chime in with screw size and quantity as I usually go overkill.

P.s. Very nice looking cabinet. Good work.

[Gary Keedwell]

The attached photos show a wall cabinet I just hung in the garage for my wife's china painting supplies. It is 31 inches wide, 16 inches deep and 32 inches high. It is made with poplar and soft maple, with 3/4 inch thick panel sides, top and bottom and shelving. The doors are made up of 1/4 inch maple ply. I drove two #12x3" screws through the upper 3/4 inch mounting strip and on into the studs in the wall.

My questions is whether these two #12 zinc wood screws are sufficient to hold the cabinet safely in place. Should different screws be used, such as 1/4 inch lag bolts instead of the #12 wood screws? Should I also drive screws through the lower nailing strip seen in the third photo?

I expect some fairly heavy china plates and bowls to be stored in the cabinet and I'd hate to have it come crashing down in the middle of the night (or day, for that matter!).
Yes, it will stay up. A # 12 is a large diameter screw and it's shear strength is 66% stronger then a standard # 8 screw. I know guys who claim to use standard drywall screws without a failure. There has been volumes written on the proper screws for cabinet installations, Mc Feeleys cabinet installing screws are #10 X 3" long, so yours should do the trick.:)
Gary K.

[Chris Rosenberger]

Should I also drive screws through the lower nailing strip seen in the third photo?

I always put the same number of screws in the bottom nailer as I put in the top. You would not have to use #12s in the bottom.

[Steve Clardy]

Just to be safe, I would double up on your screws.
Put two more on the top side.

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You only have two studs there apparently.
When I run into that, I just double the screws up.
Two in each stud.

[Michael Schwartz]

The cabinets in our kitchen have been up for 20 years, and whoever installed them used drywall screws.

Rule of thumb, 2 screws in each cabinet into two studs. Generaly I will add two more screws at the bottom to hold it tight into the wall.

On base cabinets, I add an apron accross the back portion of the top corner, and I drill pocket holes in the locations of the studs. I screw through those with 2-1/2 inch pocket screws into the studs.

#12 screws are fine. I will generaly use "Cabinet Mounting Screws" which have a thin pan head, or 2-1/2" Pocket screws.

A method I frequently use is to screw two strips of 3/4" plywood to the wall, screwing them into each stud. I will temporarily install a strait line ripped2x4 ledger below the bottom strip to support the cabinets durring instalation. Then, I will pre drill holes into the cabinets, start the screw, lift them up, and screw them into the plywood.

I have physically tried to tear cabinets that I have installed on a wall with this method off and I have not been successful.

If I were hanging cabinets meant for really heavy stuff in a shop, I would use lag bolts for the heck of it.

French cleat is also a great system, and it really speeds up installation and makes installing cabinets by yourself easy.

[jud dinsmore]

like the other suggestions - i would add two screws to the bottom rail.

i've installed kitchens and baths (approximately 30) with #8, 2 1/2" drywall screws and haven't had any failures. i typically screw two screws into studs at the top and bottom rail.

if you're really worried about it falling, you could take down the cabinet, rip out a section of sheetrock behind the cabinet, and add a nailer (2x4) in between the stud bay. this would give you more places to screw to and if the cabinet never comes down no one will ever know about the missing sheetrock.


jud

[Paul Hendrickson]

I'm a big fan of French cleats with the cabinet side of the cleat surface glued in to evenly distribute the weight. I'm an amateur so I'll let our cabinet makers chime in with screw size and quantity as I usually go overkill.

P.s. Very nice looking cabinet. Good work.

I too am just an amateur, but my vote definitely sways to the French cleat. Super strong and super easy.

[Kyle Kraft]

I put French cleat all around my shop and garage for hanging all sorts of stuff...that way when the LOML wants to move something you simply lift it off the cleat and ask "Where would you like it?"

[Howard Acheson]

>> Should I also drive screws through the lower nailing strip seen in the third photo?

Definitely.

How heavy is the stuff going in them?

Don't you flat head or oval head screws. Use binder head with a flat washer.

In the shop I was involved with we probably hung 1000 cabinets a year. Cabinets that size would get four screws at the top sized so that they were at least 1 1/2" -2" inches into the stud. Then the bottom would get two screws. Folks really get p---ed when cabinets fall down.

[Gary Keedwell]

>> Should I also drive screws through the lower nailing strip seen in the third photo?

Definitely.

How heavy is the stuff going in them?

Don't you flat head or oval head screws. Use binder head with a flat washer.

In the shop I was involved with we probably hung 1000 cabinets a year. Cabinets that size would get four screws at the top sized so that they were at least 1 1/2" -2" inches into the stud. Then the bottom would get two screws. Folks really get p---ed when cabinets fall down.
:eek: With 6 screws in each cabinet...I don't think it will fall down.:eek: :rolleyes: :D

Gary K.

[Greg Crawford]

I'd say if you're not confident, make it stronger. Some good suggestions for that.

[David Epperson]

I've got a similar problem. I've got 2 cabinets I want to hang out in the shop, but it's a concrete block wall. Is there a good style anchor for this? Needless to say the drywall screw method will not work, and as it turns out neither do the expanding "molybolts" - the ones I found only have 1 or 2 threads in them and strip out very easily (I now have 4 useless anchors in the wall). And other suggestions? (The cleat idea is OK but then have the same problem of anchoring them as well as the open "vermin" collection space between cleats.)

[Chris Rosenberger]

David get some Tapcon screws. They work the same way wood screws do. You drill a pilot hole in the block & then drive the screws. You do need to a Tapcon bit for the pilot holes. The big box stores sell them.

[Jeff Wright]

David get some Tapcon screws. They work the same way wood screws do. You drill a pilot hole in the block & then drive the screws. You do need to a Tapcon bit for the pilot holes. The big box stores sell them.

The ones I have purchased for other projects included a drill bit for the tapcons.

BTW, thanks for all the great suggestions for hanging my cabinet. I've decided to add too additionial screws on the lower rail.