Alcove Units – Best Solution?

paperclap

Hi all,

In our living room, we’ve got two alcoves either side of the chimney breast.

They're both around 30cm deep by 160cm wide. On the back wall, both have a double socket.

On the left, we’ll be having a TV, Xbox, that sort of thing. On the right, we’ll be having a stereo system.

My thought was to create a base from 38mm by 63mm timber, and scribe to the floor, so the top is level. Then, create an MDF carcass to sit on top. Then, filler strips on the sides. Painted all white.

The issues I’m having are…

How can I prevent the MDF on top from sagging over a span of 160cm? Having said that, I still may use plywood as the top layer (or as an additional top layer over the MDF) and leave it exposed (treated, not painted), as it looks nice. Twill this be stronger than MDF, but may still sag over the 160cm span?

In the centre, at the front, I may add in a vertical strip, effectively acting as the door stop. Would this give any amount of noticeable support to the top layer, to prevent sagging?

With a carcass structure, how can I have the plug socket at the back, without having to cut out an ugly hole? Have seen a few guys place a plastic back box in the back panel, then wire the socket there, effectively bringing it forward a bit. Not sure if this is advisable?

If I scrap the carcass route, and opt for a skeleton route (wooden battens and whatnot, attached to the surrounding walls), will this be stronger than an MDF carcass? I didn’t really want to do this, as didn’t want primitive battens on show on the inside. Maybe I’m being too picky.

Sorry for the many questions (that have probably been answered before!). New top all this, and don’t want to screw it up… given the price of wood!

Thank you in advance.

ThisIsWeird

Hi PC.

I think it would help if you posted a pic of what you hope to achieve - what style of unit, etc.

I 'cheated' when I built mine as the units only have fronts, made out of framed 24mm MDF, and one shortened side - the one that goes back towards the chimney breast. I'm pretty sure that what you see inside the units are the original walls - but how would anyone know?!

I left out back panels for a couple of reasons, the first being the obvious saving in time and work. But the other was that I literally couldn't afford a mm of lost depth as I have an old HDD recorder that needed to fit in there, and I didn't want the units coming out any further. As it turned out, I still ended up digging a wee square recess into the wall plaster to accommodate the exiting HDMI cable, to allow the player to sit more comfortably inside the unit. Shhhh.

My unit fronts are therefore joined directly to the wall and - via that short return side - to the breast side.

Yes, the original low-mounted sockets were then too close to the new cupboard floor for the plug cables to clear, so I, er, cough, turned them upside down... You can do whatever solution you want, from moving them, to mounting a multi way extension socket to the underside of a shelf inside, with a short plugged lead to an existing socket - again pretty much completely out of sight. (I needed one of these too, 'cos so many devices).

My unit top is, I think only 12mm MDF, but I have a timber batten spanning underneath to support it (possibly one going back to front too).

paperclap

Thanks!

I did chuckle the minute you said you’d turned your socket upside down, ha!

What was the span and depth of your top layer?

travis-powers

https://woodbin.com/calcs/sagulator/

 

You can use this to work out if your span is too much, you have to scroll down for MDF and ideally use the MDF MD
 personally I would add a face frame with a vertical drop which would stiffen up the carcass.

paperclap

Thanks, I’d done that. And the results didn’t look great.

travis-powers

I just edited my post, but if you make a face frame with a vertical drop it will stiffen it up a lot

paperclap

It’s the vertical drop (in the centre) that would do 90% of that stiffening, wouldn’t it?

paperclap

After more thinking, this is what I think may work?

ThisIsWeird

paperclap said:

What was the span and depth of your top layer?

1100mm wide x ~350mm deep. I've just looked - I haven't fitted a support rail, and it's perfectly fine. 350mm deep isn't much, tho'.

ThisIsWeird

paperclap said:

After more thinking, this is what I think may work?

You could land a Jumbo jet on that. Lawdie!

What size is your top? And how will you finish it? Ply won't necessarily give you the best surface to paint on. MDF with a mini foam roller will give you a superb finish.

ThisIsWeird

A photo, please, of what it is you wish to end up with.