Kitchen Wall Unit Brackets

[Richard Conway]

Hi all,

Am having a bit of trouble with the kitchen refurb. I'm trying to hang the wall units using the supplied brackets. They are the type that have a small plastic bit at the top on each side of the cupboard (inside). You then attach two small (about 5cm wide by 3cm high) brackets to the wall behind the cabinet and then hang the cabinet from these and adjust using screws on the back of the plastic bit inside.

Anyway, sods law has dictated that the line I need to drill and screw to get my desired height falls right on the mortal line of the brickwork (solid brick wall). As our kitchen extention has very low ceilings I don't really want to lower the units and raising them is not an option as they would hit said ceiling.

Does anyone have any ideas as to how I might be able to hang the cabinets? I would probably like to keep the same adjustable bits inside the cupboards but maybe use some kind of different bracket on the wall.

Any help greatly apprecaited.

Thanks in advance, Richard.

[Peter Andrews]

I've used the above in similar circumstances, allows a lot more screws to be used, there is also an aluminium version.

Regards,

Peter

[Andy Hall]

How about getting some brackets made by a local metalworking shop with longer tabs at the bottom. Adding about 75mm would allow the fixings to be in the centre of the brick course below the offending mortal line.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Since wall cupboards can be very heavily loaded a good fixing is essential. So you need to put some form of plate - roughly the same thickness as the plaster - fixed to the brick that you then fix the brackets to. Personally I'd use steel, although you might get away with plywood. Best to probably fix the brackets to the steel with nuts and bolts then use normal methods to fix the steel to the brick.

You can get strong steel strip in B&Q etc. About 2" wide (or at least the width of the bracket) would be fine. Cut one approx 6" length for each bracket. Mark on the wall where the bracket goes, then mark round the steel strip placed vertically on the wall with the centre over the bracket mounting marks and chase out the plaster. Drill and countersink the steel top and bottom and fix to the brick with wallplugs. Use some quick set mortar between plate and brick to pack them flush with the surrounding plaster. Number each one so you know where they go. Offer up the cupboards and carefully mark the fixings on the steel. Remove the plates and drill for the bracket fixings. Bolt to the plates and replace. You should now have as strong a fixing as possible.

You could also use one long strip mounted horizontally. The choice is yours. If drilling steel is difficult for you pre-drilled plates are also available from B&Q etc, but the pre-drilled holes probably won't line up with the brackets.

[The Natural Philosopher]

All I do in cases like this is to throw away the stupid things that come with the cupboards, and screw a batten to the wall that sits under the lip of the cupboard top. Slightly oversize holes and a spirit level gets it spot on.

A couple more bits of wood near the cupboard base take screws to stop the thing flapping, and tiling right up to it adds even more support.

[<me9]

What I did in similar circumstances was to fit a piece of angle iron (with the horizontal side cut down to 3/8") along the wall, below the correct height. I had previously used the angle grinder to cut slots in the rear of the horizontal part to accommodate vertical plates screwed to the back, of suitable height to sit the units on, and adjust the position of the units with the screws in the back of the cabinet. The cabinets need a small notch in the verticals to clear te angle iron. The angle iron was an old bed iron, and has been there now for about 20 years.

[The Medway Handyman]

Spot on matey peeps. Exactly what I do - with a bit of Gripfill.

[Richard Conway]

Thanks all for the good suggestions - in the end I took at trip to B&Q and bought some pre-drilled steel plates (about 150mmx60mm) which I then screwed to the wall instead of the brackets, using some 6mm wooden strips between the plate and wall as spacers, so the top of the plate was 6mm away from the wall allowing me to hook the original fixing brackets over them.

Have done two cupboards so far and they seem very sturdy. I'll probably attach some small angled brackets to the bottom of the cupboards so they can't be pulled out at the bottom. I'll probably sink these into the plaster so they'll be niceley covered by the tiles.