Hanging wall units on plasterboard

gazfocus

We are in the process of fitting out kitchen and are about to fit the wall units but some of the units are going on an internal wall. What would be the best plugs to use to ensure the cupboard doesn't come crashing down when loaded?

Thanks

AlexMac

Assuming your walls are plaster-board (as opposed to early 20th Century 'lath and plaster'), any decent builders' merchant or DIY shed will have plaster-board fixings - either plastic or the heavier duty metal toggle type; eiter will compress and open up or grip against the backside of the plaster board. Just match the size of the hole, fixing and screw and don't use over-long screws; 1.5"+/ 350-400mm are plenty long enough. To be really safe, you could screw a thin batten of wood along the wall below the units as well as attaching it with the usual top corner fixings supplied with the units; not a bad idea as it makes putting them up easier and you won't see it as the bottom of the unit is usually well below eye-level

cyclonebri1

gazfocus wrote: »

We are in the process of fitting out kitchen and are about to fit the wall units but some of the units are going on an internal wall. What would be the best plugs to use to ensure the cupboard doesn't come crashing down when loaded?

Thanks

Short answer;

Not enough information.

You need to clarify if this is a studded wall with plaster board each side, knock on it, measure the door reveals do the sums to get the wall thickness etc.

Or dash and dad, plaster board "glued to block walling leaving a void of 10 to 20mm behind.


The latter is the easiest, just use frame fixers for the units, they'll work.

If a studded wall and you hit a complete void you have an issue.
I would have no wall units in my house suspended on cavity fixings full stop.

If planning this from scratch a builder would either use plywood as a backer board in these areas or put a line of cross studs/noggings at the height the wall unit fixings need to be. Given that all evidence will be above or at the rear of wall units I would break into any stud wall and retro fit timber to anchor the cabinets.

Take into account the weight of a 1000mm unit with a tesco's trolley's worth of spaghetti and beans on board, don't mention the children goes without saying.

jayyar66

As cyclonebri1 says, DON'T rely of hollow wall fixings! Either frame fixings for dot & dab or noggins if its a stud wall.

aliasojo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1792233

http://www.abbeykitchens.co.uk/carcase-support-systems/wall-fixings/cabinet-hanging-rail-150kg-loading-capacity-2m-long-steel/prod_2482.html

yoyoegg

No more nails? :think:

cyclonebri1

yoyoegg wrote: »

No more nails? :think:

:eek::eek::eek:
No, no more "no more nails".;)

You must fix through plasterboard into some thing substantial, plaster board is simply a thin skim of finish onto paper, don't use any form of glue.

gazfocus

yoyoegg wrote: »

No more nails? :think:

lol no more nails for a kitchen cupboard full of food/mugs/etc??? Don't think so...

Thanks for all the advice. The guy fitting our kitchen is going to get some advice to but is thinking about trying anchor's like these.

The wall appears to be metal studs so either way it's not going to be an easy task.

cyclonebri1

From the metal stud comment it's pretty clear that there will be nothing in the correct position to pick up the fitting points

Any fixing that are simply anchored into the plasterboard itself are going to be very suspect.

If it were me I would plan the thing out on the wall, then remove the plasterboard that is behind the units and put noggins in place, they can still be fixed to metal studding, then board over with ply, Not too expensive and will never shift.

Now I'm not a kitchen fitter, I'm an engineer. I can tell you that if you put a full length support under the unit in addition to whichever way you fix to the wall, that support is taking almost all of the vertical load, mine have a nicely contoured oak strip to match the doors.

Just an idea.

gazfocus

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

From the metal stud comment it's pretty clear that there will be nothing in the correct position to pick up the fitting points

Any fixing that are simply anchored into the plasterboard itself are going to be very suspect.

If it were me I would plan the thing out on the wall, then remove the plasterboard that is behind the units and put noggins in place, they can still be fixed to metal studding, then board over with ply, Not too expensive and will never shift.

Now I'm not a kitchen fitter, I'm an engineer. I can tell you that if you put a full length support under the unit in addition to whichever way you fix to the wall, that support is taking almost all of the vertical load, mine have a nicely contoured oak strip to match the doors.

Just an idea.

Thanks for your suggestion. I have suggested using some of the cornice under the cupboards to support the weight but then there's still the matter that the it will be attached to plasterboard only. Will it matter?

So would the best bet be cutting out some of the plasterboard and fixing some wooden battons to attach the cupboards to?

DaftyDuck

gazfocus wrote: »

Thanks for your suggestion. I have suggested using some of the cornice under the cupboards to support the weight but then there's still the matter that the it will be attached to plasterboard only. Will it matter?

So would the best bet be cutting out some of the plasterboard and fixing some wooden battons to attach the cupboards to?

Any batten strip beneath the cupboards will cross studs at some point, and can be firmly fixed there. The load will be evenly spread across the batten. If, as well, the batten is fixed firmly to the cupboards, any downward thrust from any one (heavy) cupboard would be shared between all top fixings of all cupboards.

{It's been a long night with a cold.... hope that makes a little sense!}