Fixing Kitchen cabinets to the Wall

mjk_2

Hi,

My OH ripped out our old kitchen a couple of months ago. After a burst of enthusiasm when he fitted the new sink progress has ground to a halt... so I'm having a go. I'm reasonably practical, but I've never done anything like this before!! I've managed to build and fit some (flat pack) base cabinets ok, but now I need to do the wall cabinets. The plan is to make them myself out of conti board. What I really don't have much of an idea about is how to fit them to the walls. The walls in question are solid brick walls, so what sort of fixings etc do I need? Also, do I need to put backs on the cabinets or not? And if they don't have backs, then how do I fix them?

Any tips at all would be much appreciated, as you can tell I'm not very knowledgeable about this sort of thing!!

Or should I just write to "DIY SOS"???!!!

griff.

You need a drill with a masonry drill bit in it, to make a clean hole into the brick – and at the right size. The size depends on the size of the screw and the wall plug/fixing you’ll be using – so probably best to speak to your ironmonger and get the same size that for all of this job. I’ve shown the kind of fixings you could use by using the screwfix site.

I find it easiest to put a strip of straight wood on the wall that will support the cabinets when you are putting them up. You need to make sure the strip is level, and that the screws you use to attach it to the wall will hold fast when you are putting the wood up. So you need a spirit level, a strip of wood, and some screws and wall plugs

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?cId=100063&ts=88103&id=11793

Drill the strip with some holes, roughly a couple of inches apart, put it up against the wall where it’s going to go, level it, and use a nail through the holes to mark the position of the holes for the wall.

Drill the holes in the wall with a masonry drill bit, put the wall plugs in, then put the strip back up and put in your screws.


For the fixings on the cabinet, use something like this

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?cId=A332898&ts=87806&id=73906

attach the the fixing to the cabinet using the two holes. I would attach the fixings to the inside back edges of the cabinet, about 2 inches from the top on either side, and 2 inches from the bottom on either side. Then hold the cabinet up to the wall (resting the cabinet on the supporting strip you’ve just attached to the wall) and mark the position in the middle of the two longish holes of the fixing onto the wall. Take down the cabinet and drill the holes in the wall.

Put these sleeve anchors into the wall (having removed the screw from them)

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?ts=87658&id=13190

hold the cabinet back upto the wall, and screw the bolts in. You can adjust the position slightly using the vertical and horizontal strips of the metal fixing to get a level finish for the cabinet.

Backs on cabinets tend to be purely cosmetic these days, so yes you can put them on, put unless they are built as part of the integral strength of the cupboard, do not rely on them for fixing ability – use the sides of the cabinet instead.

If you like, you can leave the supporting strip in position, to give extra strength – it depends on whether it can be made unobtrusive by painting etc. If you take it away, you will also need some filler to fill in the holes you made.

mjk_2

Wow! Thanks for such a detailed reply Griff. I think I'll give it a go, exactly as you've described. The supporting strip seems like a really good idea - I've been worried about the cabinets falling off the wall!

One quick question (sorry if it's dumb) how do you insert the sleeve anchor? Does it screw straight into the wall, or does it need a plug?

Thanks again for all the advice.

mjk

griff.

Glad to help...once you've drilled the right size hole in the brick, the sleeve should be easily tapped in with a hammer. It forms a metal surround, that expands slightly, and therefore grips tightly, within the hole when you put the screw bolt in. If you are going to keep the strip in place, you might want to consider using the same kind of strength of screws/plugs on it as well...

Just remember to get the drill bit size that matches the screws though ! That's important ! If you make the hole too big for the plug/sleeve, it'll just pop out, and if you make it too small, you'll have to thump it with a hammer, weakening the hole as it goes in !

Hope that helps, and best of luck

plumb1_2

IMO, use http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?cId=A332898&ts=11568&id=13954

and drill the wall, use red rawplugs and 2" 10's screws

And deffiantly put backs on the cabinates, it will give them strenth, and will make them square, use 3mm ply, glued and pined.