Hanging Wall Cabinets

[Mark Bolton]

The whole strength when hanging issue (for uppers in particular) still rests on the material used for the construction of the walls and backs of the cabinets and how the backs are attached to the boxes

Oddly enough we have pulled down some of the most dog poop cabinets you could imagine. Particle board. Hot glued together. A lot of them assembled dry with only a surface applied hot glue fillet between a back/side back bottom, stretchers, and so on. Stapled plastic corner blocks that look like they may be a hair thicker than a milk jug. And many of them were strong as a tank. They would have hung for years. I think makers and installers tend to over estimate hanging.

My issue with continuous backers for fastening is not for strength its for speed. We can cut in two nailers in no time (doesnt have to be super clean) and the rest of the install is mindless.

I wouldnt be worried about one of our uppers falling off the wall if it only had a single fastener (or for a narrow cab having no fastener whatsoever and relying on the adjacent cabs for its hanging). But the few minutes to cut in a nailer sure does make the install a lot simpler. You just poke a pre-drill 1.5" in from the left and right of every interior and run. No stud finder, no measuring, no allowing for face frame overlaps, you just hang.

I couldnt argue with Justins install practices for a minute. Good work. But I would much rather install a backer than every rely on a plastic drywall molly for install. I think he, and I, in that situation, would just skip the molly all together lol. When a bank of cabs is screwed together at the face frame, 4-6 screws on the average run would hold the whole thing to the wall.

[Justin Ludwig]

I couldnt argue with Justins install practices for a minute. Good work. But I would much rather install a backer than every rely on a plastic drywall molly for install. I think he, and I, in that situation, would just skip the molly all together lol. When a bank of cabs is screwed together at the face frame, 4-6 screws on the average run would hold the whole thing to the wall.

I only use that method to assist those narrow cabinets from racking away from the wall. They get screwed to the adjacent cabinet(s) with 2 on top and 2 on bottom. Those narrow cabinets are always for spices or some pullout option and they usually stagger in depth (16" deep next to a 12 or 14). Otherwise, I would just extend the adjacent cabinet to a width that works.

The idea of cutting sheet rock and replacing it with ply seems overkill. Unless I knew the cabinets were going to double as a pull-up bar for an athlete! I don't dispute the efficacy, just the time and cost.

[Mark Bolton]

I only use that method to assist those narrow cabinets from racking away from the wall. They get screwed to the adjacent cabinet(s) with 2 on top and 2 on bottom. Those narrow cabinets are always for spices or some pullout option and they usually stagger in depth (16" deep next to a 12 or 14). Otherwise, I would just extend the adjacent cabinet to a width that works.

The idea of cutting sheet rock and replacing it with ply seems overkill. Unless I knew the cabinets were going to double as a pull-up bar for an athlete! I don't dispute the efficacy, just the time and cost.

Agreed that its more more work. We've just been in so many situations where your layout misses a bit or a stick isn't where it seemed. Taking a skill saw and cutting the drywall for the ply takes about 15 minutes. Pull the piece out, pull/drive any screwsor nails, screw the ply, and done.

Much easier on new construction when you just have horzontal blocking.

[Charles Lent]

On a relatively flat wall, or one that you can shim, the aluminum version for French Cleats work very well and are incredibly strong and they are only about 3/16" in thickness when installed. I hang the upper cabinets from these and then just add a screw in the bottom back of each cabinet to keep it from being lifted off the French Cleat. These cabinets are also aligned and screwed together at the front or face frames. You just have to be certain that these aluminum French Cleats are straight after installation on both the cabinets and the wall and shimmed where necessary,

Charley

[Dave Sabo]

Im not a fan of hanging rails unless your walls are straight as an arrow which is extremely rare.

this is EXACTLY the type of wall in which a hanging rail system excels. How long is is it going to take you to find the high point(s) on the wavy wall and figure out which cabinet to install first and the size of shims needed for the backs of the cabinets going into the low spots ?

Or or are you going to install the cabs, and remove each of them to add in the shims necessary.

Or, are you one of those installers that just leaves out the shims and or installs the run wavy to match the wall and hope the hinges have enough adjustment to make up for the sins ?

The real upside to the rail is it eliminates the need for a helper or a cabinet lift or blocks , etc....