I am redoing our kitchen at the moment and the time is coming up to fit the new wall units,the (B&Q) units have adjustable brackets to mount them at the top whereas the old units had a corner bracket in each corner to fix them.Now while this seems like a good idea i don`t like the thought of 1000 mm wall units full of stuff hanging off a stud wall by 2 brackets,especially as i wont be able to fix to the studs with some of the brackets.Should i use a corner bracket in each bottom corner and fix that as well or (as well)fix a batten under the run of units to give peace of mind .I am a bit of a belt and braces sort of guy and tend to err on the safe side of things.Thanks in advance for any advice lads.                    

Raptor, your idea of fixing a batten below the unit does give it a lot more strength but I would still not be happy using plasterboard fixings.


No plasterboard fixing will hold a fully laden 1000mm wall unit. You need to fix a batten (you will need to put one at the bottom as well to keep the units level) along the wall securely fixed to the studs and screw into that.

Other option is to insert a decent sized blocks into the cavity of the wall to spread the load but this is more messy.


It is also possible to put a batten just above the unit and screw into that as it will be hidden by cornice but it is a lot more tricky to get a strong fixing this way, you would need to use brackets.

It does depend on the layout of the room.

I went to a house where the wall units had come down, what a mess. This owner made jam and had stored dozens of bags of sugar, together with enough jam to stock Sainsburys, and put it all in the wall units. They shovelled the mess out in wheelbarrows.

PS I didn't fit them, honest

looks a bit like din rail that stuff

I've always put a batten on the wall for a wall unit to rest on.
It makes sure the unit doesn't slip and keeps it horizontal.
I tend to use narrow architrave so it looks more like a feature.

Yes it comes in handy, I always take a bit with me when fitting kitchens incase the walls are a bit ropy or a lime mortar joint is just where you want your line of fixings.

The steel is better than the aluminium one as the brackets slide on the steel but dig into the softer metal.

Jason

[quote author=woodsmith  link=1095100207/0#7 date=1095231684]Jason, thanks for the link, I have the Woodfit catalogue but had not noticed the metal rail. I think it will solve a few problems for me in the future. [/quote]

Looks good, but I just checked the price - £13.32 per rail, presumably plus VAT and shipping?

Might be worth it in the grand scheme of things, but it's an overhead to be carrying that stuff around for the occasional cabinet hanging job.

Andrew

Those brackets look like a steel equivalent of a french cleat which is a much better way to fix any cabinet to the wall.
Easy to remove as well.

If you get some 12mm MDF about 150mm wide and cut it in half lenthwise at 45 degrees and make the length the same as the width of the  recess in the back of your cupboard, then screw the MDF to the cupboard...

Next step attach the othe piece of MDF to the studs in the wall, this makes for a really cheap and strong fixing for stud walls...

I have made up this pic that will hopefully show yoy how?.....




Edited by MODERATOR to resize picture.

thats verkin clever   whished i was that clever