[TestCase]

I hope it is OK to post a laundry room cabinet layout here. This seems to be where all the cabinet experts hang out. I am new to this website and still learning it, so please feel free to move this thread to a more appropriate location.

I have been playing with the latest version of the Kitchen Planner and will attach it below. I am looking to use Adel Birch cabinets in our laundry room. It is a galley style with two 24 inch soffits running the length of both sides of the room (not depicted - I just made the height of the entire room 87", the floor to soffit height.)

On the North wall (top of drawing) is 4 feet of tall cabinets followed by a long counter. The counter will be supported by two base cabinets but will have an open area underneath for chair space. Uppers above.

On the South side (bottom) is a washer and dryer with shelving above (not depicted), a small pullout next to a sink, then room for our water softener. There will be uppers above the sink and pullout. Shelves (possibly) above the water softener. The shelves will incorporate a hanging rod.

I ended up with an extra 9 inches while trying to figure out the upper wall cabinets on the North wall so I added the cubby hole cabinet. From a design perspective, I'm not sure if it "cuts" the wall in half or provides some symmetry.

The walls and doors cannot be moved. I am at a loss on how to handle the extra 9" if I do not use the cubby cabinet. If you have any ideas about this issue or any other questions or suggestions, I sure would appreciate the input.

Thanks!

[DesignDiva]

Hi and welcome!

Kitchens, laundries, home office...what's in a name, anyway?

I'd be inclined to leave the 9" wall unit out, since you'll need clearance for the 24" pantries to open their doors.

I'd also suggest making two separate workstations rather than one single large one. Here's how I'd do that wall:

24" pantry, 18"drawers, 24" countertop over knee space, 36" drawers, 24" countertop, 18" drawers, 24"pantry. There's four 30" cabinets above the countertop as well.

[TestCase]

Eva!!! I love your idea! Thank you, for taking the time to work on this with me!!!

I do have a couple of questions though... (isn't that always the case LOL)

On your plan, there are several inches on each side of the cabinet run between the cabinets and the walls. I understand that those inches will be necessary for proper door opening on the pantry units. However, I am unclear as to how they could be finished? Is there a way to fill in that space? The three issues would be the taking the crown (cornice?) all the way to the wall instead of the end of the cabinet, filling in the gap will a tall piece of something, and extending the toe kick (maybe not... might be covered with the filler?).

Does anyone have any examples of how to cover that gap? If it can be accomplished? Or should I plan on having those gap areas show?

Also... for the granite gurus out there....When you have two base cabinets supporting a granite slab with a gap in between (like a desk setup), how do you add structural support to the granite in the gap?

I know.... my Newbie sign is showing....

Thank you very much for any input or insight you can provide.

[DesignDiva]

Glad you like it!

You can use cut-down cover panels or possibly toekicks turned upright as filler, your choice depending on the look and width you want. You attach it with L brackets to the side of the cabinet and the wall if needed, very easy and gives a finished look. The toekick on the bottom of the cabinets extends all the way to the wall, and the crown would go wall to wall as well. People use filler everywhere all the time, it's quite common.

Here's a pic of filler at the end of my sink run, next to the dishwasher. I cut down a cover panel to do this.



For granite, your installer will know this, but you need to use what is called a "cleat"...a piece of 1x2 stock screwed to the studs along the back wall that the countertop rests on. That gives it support across the width, and the cabinets on either side support it on the side.

Here's pix of the cleat I have under my desktop area, there's a cleat on the side of the tall cab and one along the back.

[Tigratrus]

I'm guessing you'll probably be covering those gaps with either strips cut from cover panels/oven panels or possibly toekick. Some of the doors styles have toekick that's a much better match than others.

Regarding the support for the Granite I think that's usually accomplished via a layer of plywood, though for a gap as large as a desk I'd probably add some support brackets (shelf bracket like?) attached to studs, or maybe some variety of stringers (angle iron, 2X4 etc) run from side to side and attached to the cab sides with L brackets or something similar. IKEA Sells some nice laminated shelf brackets that might work well with a couple along the back (attached to wall studs) and one on either side at the front (attached to the adjacent cabs)?

Sorry, I haven't actually done one like that so I'm just sort of typing it out as I think about it. Hopefully someone with more specific experience can chime in .

James

[Tigratrus]

Cleats sound good too . I should know better than to think I'm going to get a response in before Eva... She types wayyyyy faster than I do!

ITA that a granite installer would be the ideal person to ask, they would be the best person to judge the support needs for your particular granite.

James

[TestCase]

Eva and Tigratrus - Thank you both for your pictures (they are worth a thousand words!) and your insights. You are both most definitely correct in your guidance for me to talk with the granite fabricator about the installation techniques. I just don't have one yet. I was hoping to gather a bit of information on how the cost of counter installation could be affected by different designs. You have been very helpful with that.... thanks!

I see one aspect of the Ikea world that I need to embrace is creativity with existing products. Toe kicks and appliance panels as fillers? Brilliant! I'm slowly catching on here...

Thank you both for your time and effort.... and for not throwing darts at the Newbie target on my forehead!

[zeuss]

I thought a hanging rod was a good idea.

[kelly]

Hi and Welcome! You know, we really like our newbies and hope they stick around to share the knowledge! No dart throwing here!

[TestCase]

Zeuss - Now THAT is a laundry room! Wow! Yep... a hanging rod is a must!

Kellybmw - Thanks for the welcome! I hate feeling like I am behind the eight ball here, but this change to Ikea cabinets is coming a bit last minute. We needed to make some changes to our choices for budgetary reasons, so I didn't have enough research time to figure this all out.

I went to Ikea yesterday. I was not that impressed by the customer service. It was a bit like pulling teeth to get some information from them. But I did learn a few things about how this process works, so that was good.

I think we will be using the Ikea installation service. It is a separate company that Ikea recommends...the only one they recommend. The Ikea kitchen person said that they would know exactly what I would need and to talk with them. Not quite the answer I was hoping for... but a direction none the less.

Continuing my research....