Attaching an apron under a cabinet

[Rob Blaustein]

I'm trying to figure out the best way to attach a 2" apron to the underside of some wall cabinets for a kitchen. The cabinets are Euro style and the boxes are made from 5/8" melamine with a painted veneer. We got the cabinets from friends who just redid their kitchen after only 5 years and they gave us their old cabinets. My plan is to use poplar for the apron and paint it to match (the painting is my wife's dept). A sketch of the cabs is below. The apron will be even with the front and side faces of the cabinets so they will be recessed behind doors and side panels. The two ways I thought of are pocket screws and glue (Roo glue I'm guessing) or glue and just toenailing in brads. But I'm not sure how easy it would be toenail those brads without them coming through. And I'm not sure how well pocket screws would work with the type of core that melamine is. Any thoughts?
--Rob
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[David DeCristoforo]

Drill and counterbore screw holes through the apron stock. If you are careful with your planning, the screw will bottom out in the counterbore before it pierces the inside if the deck. Plug the counterbore with wood plugs (or Bondo) and paint.

[Matt Ocel]

Rob -

When I did installs for Big Orange we would screw down from inside of cabinet.
We would do that with any aprons, light rail, crown filler, etc.

[Rob Blaustein]

David--that's similar (I think) to the pocket hole approach-I was just wondering how well those screws would hold. The pocket screws would be less visible and not require plugging so would be easier.

Matt--I actually thought of that one too, but was hoping to avoid adding yet more screws to the inside (in addition to the ones attaching the cabs to each other and the ones attaching to the walls). But in a pinch I could do it that way.

[David DeCristoforo]

Well if you want to use "pocket screws", go for it. Either way, you are not going to have to worry too much about holding power. A half inch of penetration into the melamine deck is going to be more than sufficient to secure the aprons. It's not like you are dealing with a lot of weight or anything.

[Joe Scharle]

Pocket screws (coarse thread) will work fine and will be quick. Do a little research at Kreg and you'll be good to go.

[Jim Becker]

I would use the "drill down from above" method using trim-head screws driven by hand to insure that they ended up flush with the lowest shelf. With the doors off, it's easy to clamp the pieces in place and you can pre-paint them. Once they are screwed on you are done. Glue the miter if there is a corner and if you have a pinner, use that to hold it together. Otherwise, use painter's tape as a clamp on the miter.

[Peter Stahl]

I vote for the drilling from above method too. Counter-sink screws and they'll be flush with the shelf. Close the doors and you don't see the screws.

[Steve Flavin001]

3/4" x 3/4" cleat inside the apron flush with the top edge and screw upward through it into the bottom of the cabinet. The advantage to this is that you have no screw heads to be seen, counterbored or plugged from either beneath or from inside the bottom shelf of the cabinet.

[Jim Becker]

Steve the cleat will work nicely, but might interfere with positioning lighting behind the apron, depending upon the type of lighting.

[Rob Blaustein]

Thanks for the great suggestions. The cleat idea is interesting--will have to check to see if it would interfere with lights, as Jim suggested (one of the reasons I'm putting the cleat on). In that method would you attach the cleat to the apron first and then attach that to the case or vice versa?

Hadn't thought of using trim head screws. If I used them I could use white ones and they would be less visible. So those of you who suggested drilling from above--just wondering why you chose that over pocket screws which should be pretty easy. Jim, I know you've used them a lot for face frames--any reason why you wouldn't use them for this?
--Rob

[Jim Becker]

Rob, in all honesty, for this kind of thing I think it would just be easier to use the trim-head screws from above since all the drilling and fastening is pretty much done in "one step". (Clamp, drill, screw) The pocket screws would certainly work, but they may not have as good a holding power, depending on what the cabinets are made of. (Plywood...great. Melemine or other thermo product with MDF or particle board core...not so good)

BTW, I really like the lighting that my contractors put under my cabinets in the addition. LV that is pretty much a thin and narrow strip that holds the wire in place and Xenon bulbs just clamp on. Very easy to hide behind even a smaller apron and great light.

[Paul Simmel]

I just don’t see the problem with drilling down from inside for the fronts, but on the ends that wont work, will it?. For the ends. boring up from the bottom of the apron with trim screws should be no problem at all since your screw will be missing the deck and entering the bottom of the end panel.