no stud to attach to - kitchen cabinet

[Howie]

My wife and I are installing our own "assemble yourself" kitchen cabinets (Mills Pride from Home Depot). One section of base cabinet (12" wide, 24" deep) and one section above it of wall cabinet (12" wide, 24" deep as well) are unfortunately going to be located between the studs on the wall (these studs are 24" on centre.)

My question:

1. Can I secure the base and wall cabinets using toggle bolts? The base cabinet, besides being "toggle bolted" to the wall, will be screwed to a fridge panel 24 " wide. The wall cabinet's upper half will be screwed to fridge panel on one side, and a cabinet on the other side of it (and also "toggle bolted" to the wall). Will this be enough to secure these 12" wall and base cabinets?

1. If toggle bolts are not enough, do I have to cut out the drywall and install 24" horizontal 2 x 4's secured to the studs on either side? That would be a lot of drywall cutting, but the patches would be covered up by the cabinets, mostly.

2. How do I secure the 24" fridge panel/base cabinet to the floor (the is of course a fridge on the other side of the fridge panel, a stove on the other side of the base cabinet)? Or should I even have to secure the fridge panel / base cabinet to the floor? We plan to install laminate flooring after the cabinets are installed.

Any tips / ideas / comments / advice would be appreciated.

Howie

[bambam]

Probably. The upper cabinet would be the only concern. Probably be fine unless you are storing heavy stuff in it or your teenager is using it to haul himself up onto the counter top.

In your place, I'd go this route for the peace of mind.

We anchor gables (read fridge panel) by shooting brads partway into the floor (about half an inch left proud), cutting off the heads, then pressing the gable end down onto it. You can do the same thing with finishing nails. Some people use PL or glue. Temporarily tack a couple of strips to hold the gable in place until the glues sets up.

If you can, you might want to consider re-considering the design. Twelve inches of counterspace beside the fridge is inadequate. It's not so much that it's very poor design ... it's more that you'll get fed up trying to move things around. If I read correctly, your stove is on the other side ... makes the problem even more pronounced.

The only other advice I can give you is ... uppers first, start plumb a few inches in from a corner (scribe a filler strip),. If you'll be redoing a backsplash, nailing a two by four level at cabinet height is an easy way to get the uppers in place. Otherwise, draw a line and use bracing strips.

Oh ... and have lots of patience. Those knock down cabinets are a real pain to assemble.

Ken

[Joseph Meehan]

Just a suggestion. If the orphaned cabinets are situated between two secured cabinets, just screw them to the secured cabinets.