[u24real]

Hi Everyone,

I've installed all my upper cabinets with little problems, suspension rail works great.

But why doesn't ikea include a suspension rail for the bottom?
What do people do for base cabinet WALL mounting if the little holes at the back of the cabinet don't align with studs.

I'm thinking of notching out a hole about 6-8 inches down the sides of the cabinets and putting in a 1X4 along the back and mounting L-brackets on each side of the cabinet wall, then i'll be able to screw in wherever necessary. But this is indeed extra work.

Does Ikea simply suggest drywall anchors?
If suspension rails were included for the base cabinets it'd be easy.

Surely others have run into this problem, can a few people impart me some wisdom?

Thanks in advance.

Phil

[DesignDiva]

The base cabinets rest on legs, which provide the support needed. That, plus the stability that you get when you gang the cabinets together, is all that is needed structurally. The screws are simply to keep them from moving around, not for support. The upper cabinets get all their support from the suspension rail. The base cabinets are designed to be flush to the back wall, so adding a ledger strip will not work, but don't worry...you don't need it.

You can simply use a drywall anchor for the screws that aren't at the studs. Make sure you shim the cabinets plumb and then screw through the shims and the wall to secure the cabinets. Some people use a ledger board along the back bottom edge and rest the edge of the cabinet on it, then use only the front legs. You then screw diagonally down from inside the cabinet into the ledger board. You would want this if you've got a really wavy floor since it's much easier to get your cabinets level than individually adjusting the legs on each.

HTH!

[u24real]

Thanks HTH~! You've put my mind at ease a little.

So I don't need to worry about the cabinets moving away from the wall or anything?

Realizing of course I'm not going to be pulling on the cabinet or something...but what happens if a drawer gets pulled out to hard by a child?

I'm not worried about the cabinet collapsing, i'm concerned about the cabinet coming away from the wall.

Do drywall anchors suffice?

Anyone else?

[vmole]

I think you do need to screw them into the wall; I'd worry about tipping, particularly if you have one of the multi-drawer units.

I screwed mine into studs if they happened to match, drywall anchors when they didn't. This seems sufficient. A drywall anchor, properly installed, is actually pretty sturdy. "Properly installed" mostly means "drill the hole the correct size."

[inforapenny]

More base cabinet questions...

I've just assembled my first base cabinet, the 37" corner unit. I'm using this for a peninsula, only one edge is against the wall. My walls are 1 1/2" thick plaster. What type pf screws do I need to fix the cabinet to the wall?

I take it before I go any further, I should attach the legs now? When I push the legless cabinet up against the wall there is a significant gap. Will that resolve some when I install the legs and work on the leveling?

[DesignDiva]

u24real wrote:

Thanks HTH~! You've put my mind at ease a little.

So I don't need to worry about the cabinets moving away from the wall or anything?

Realizing of course I'm not going to be pulling on the cabinet or something...but what happens if a drawer gets pulled out to hard by a child?

I'm not worried about the cabinet collapsing, i'm concerned about the cabinet coming away from the wall.

Do drywall anchors suffice?

Anyone else?

Drywall anchors are fine. I prefer the screw-in variety. Once your cabinets are installed, shimmed, leveled, attached the the wall and loaded with stuff, they aren't going anywhere at all.