I am about to be lumbered with attaching some IKEA wall cabinets to an oldish, lath and plaster studwork wall.
I assume they will be supplied with adjustable corner fixings but also assume these will not co-incide with convenient studs. My thought so far is to attach a couple of rails and secure to them, closing the consequent gap with matching trim strip.
However, there may be a better way?
regards
Do you mean units hanging from the wall just below the ceiling, or floor standing units which you will fix to the wall at the rear?
If the first then IMHO you have considerable problems to overcome by not fixing to a sound wall.
Standard IKEA units of either type are bolted to the wall in the top inside left & right corners of each unit by a semi-adjustable angle bracket. Each bracket is bolted to the wall by 1 (usually 6mm) bolt or fischer screw or similar and held to the side of each cabinet side by 2 small screws.
The mounting is finished off by covering by a slide/clip-on white plastic cover. Suggest you go into an IKEA store and have a good look at an assembled unit & ask to see under the white plastic covers.
IMHO a wish and a prayer holds the whole sheebang up. A whole lot hangs on those small screws fixed into rather crumbly chipboard. I'm fitting a wall rail (40x20 timber) underneath the back of unit on the ones I'm currently installing on to a solid plastered wall. IMHO these wall units need a *really* solid back wall which can take considerable load.
Suppose, though, the strength needed depends on whether the missus's crown derby is going into it.
HTH
Hum, I like IKEA kitchen units myself, but this is an example where I would look for someone else's. I would look for some with a substantial piece of wood across the back capable of supporting the cabinet, which you could screw through where coincided with the studs. IKEA Faktum carcusses don't have any such support across the back.
If you do as you suggested, you could cover over the gap by using the end panels for the floor standing cabinets which are wider, and cut them down approproately. However, they are IIRC exactly 70cm high, whereas the ones for 70cm wall cabinets must be something like 76cm high so they line up with the bottom of the Decor strip if fitted. There are some taller floor standing cupboards and there might be some taller end panels for them.
That was my thought when I first saw them, but I've put a lot of them up in different kitchens since then, and none have ever failed. That includes an over fridge/freezer cupboard which is supported the same way, but is full depth of the base units and nowhere near as high as the regular wall cupboards, considerably increasing the force on the fixings, but it too is fine. Where you have two or more cupboards in a row, you bolt them together at the front also.
One of mine went on a stud wall recently, and I built the stud wall so it had the studs in exactly the right places to support the cupboard.
In message , jim_in snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com writes
This is Edwardian so the ceiling is wa-ay up there! Wall hanging but I can put a support underneath.
Ah! Suppose I put a 20mm x 50mm strip of hardwood across at bracket height could I attach the bolt through that?
Yes but... daughter is purchasing and having delivered. Dad is expected to arrive on site equipped for every possible variation. I am trying to anticipate the most obvious problems. Driving into London to IKEA is not very attractive when I am trying to get the silaging done:-)
Yes. Ta.
regards
>In message , Andrew Gabriel writes
Hmm.. It sounds as though it needs a rail across the back, underneath, to carry most of the weight and then a second rail to span the studs for the top fixing. I can use plasterboard toggles to give some additional support if the unit corners are mid-way between studs.
I can see there will be a follow up job to fit a matching trim strip to cover the gap at the sides.
regards
>
That gives me an idea. You could use a piece of 35x50mm timber across the back, fixed to the mounting brackets on the inside, so it doesn't protrude behind the cupboard. Screw through this to the studs.
Another option would be to actually cut away a strip of the lath and plaster level with the mounting holes (probably
2-3 laths worth) and replace it with a strip of timber screwed directly to the studs. Arrange the timber to be about the same thickness as the lath and plaster. Then screw the cupboard into this timber strip. Some making good of the plasterwork might be necessary, but this would be hidden behind the cupboards.I wouldn't bother. Won't stop the cupboard falling down (nor ever support the weight during fixing up), but would make a serious mess of the wall if a cupboard did fall down.
I think any such gap can be avoided.
that seems the one logical anwer to me, though I dont know that you'd need to use the supplied fixings for it. Simply a wood rail under the top internally, full width, one under the bottom, and if the wall's iffy even a third under the middle shelf.
Seen it done this way with very heavy loading, onto a solid wall, and no prob. The wood strips support the load bearing shelves directly, helping keep them straight over time.
NT
In message , Andrew Gabriel writes
Er. Won't there be a backing sheet?
That sounds rather professional:-)
Oh.
This is developing into a two trip job: fit the replacement base unit doors, assemble the hanging cupboards and plan the fixing. Back next day with the bits needed to do the job:-(
regards
>
Right. I think I am going to have to eyeball the job before deciding but it is very helpful to have some alternative strategies.
I'm told that it is a pair of cupboards separated by a plate rack.
regards
Yes. You would have to put that on after fixing the 35x50mm timber to the brackets. It's only a sheet of hardboard, but it gives the cupboard rigidity against trapezoid deformation.
My favorite way on UK style cabinets, which have a 12mm or so gap between the backing cardboard - or hardboard - and the wall, is to cut an MDF plate or strip that the top of the cuboard can hang from and possibly another at the cupboard base, attach this firmly to the wall using screws to studs, or even no more nails or car body filler ;-) and then those white plastic blocks to attach the sides and top of the cabinet to the MDF (or ply or chipboard)
Most of the weight is taken on the top of the cupboard where it rests on the plate.
If uypou til up to thee cupboard from the worktop, that also tends to lock it in place and andd support.
Other techniques include simply mashing away the plasterboard behind and putting in noggins. Don't even bother to make good ..just tack some plasterboard over the hole to be more or less level with the surrounding.
I've had some sucess with a hole about an inch in diameter, followed by stuffed newspares to stop it dripping, and use of plaster, cement or car body filler to make your own plasterboard fixing device with decent load spreading.
But I prefer to mount in some way off thee studs.#
When you live in a studwork house, you end up with a few bits of plasterboard, polyskim, and clouts as a matter of course for any job that requres wall mounting of anything...
Decorators caulk is your friend here.
IKEA cupboards don't (except the ones to go over fridge/freezers which have a ~2" gap for ventilation).
Not sure the fixings between tops and sides of the cupboards are designed to take full weight of a cupboard and its contents. As designed, the weight is taken by the side panels, which is why I suggested fixing the support to the brackets which are intended to take the weight. If a bottom support rail is added, then using the top of the cupboard would be OK as it wouldn't be taking all the weight.
If you mean these
They've coped in swmbos kitchen for nigh on 15 years and we use them commercially for office storage as they make hanging and levelling the cupboards a doddle
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