Experience with "French Cleats" for hanging kitchen cabinets?

[tonyps]

Morning, I am looking for feedback, examples and useful tips for using this method of hanging new kitchen cabinets. We are rejuvenating a part of our home and I thought it would be cool to use this method.
I plan to build the cabinets, uppers and lowers as well face frames using the Kreg Jig. I have not done this before though I have used the Kreg Jig quite a bit.
I also understand that the french cleat can hold quite a bit of weight. If I understand this correctly, I can inset the cleat on the back of the cabinet so that it is flush with the back of the cabinet and sits flat against the wall behind.
I am not sure on how wide a board I need to cut to have adequate hold on the wall part and the cabinet part? Some of the things I have read said to sue a minimum of 6" wide 3/4" plywood cut down the center at a 45 degree angle, bolt it to the wall using 1/4" lag bolts (recessed) through the studs. Will one lag per stud be sufficient or should I make the cleat wide enough to hold two lag bolts?
This should leave me with about 3/4" or so reveal at the top which I can cover with molding.

I have watched a handful of videos and read quite a few articles. I think I am going to build a test upper from a sheet of 1/2" plywood to make sure I get everything right.....could I do the same with the lower cabinets?

Thanks in advance for your input and suggestions.
Tony

 

[Canuck]

I have used french cleats on all of my upper shop cabinets and several laundry room upper cabinets for my daughters. I used about 3" wide cleats on the wall and cabinet backs. (I do glue and screw the cabinet cleat to the back of the cabinet. I fasten the wall cleat to the studs just using 2 1/2" wood screws. If I am hanging several upper cabinets side by side, I drive screws through the inside sides as well. (As a test, I do a couple of chin ups hanging my 200 ibs. If it holds I am good with it!)

One more hint. I make the cleats about 2" shorter in length of the cabinet width in or to permit some side to side adjustment for alignment before adding screws into the wall.

(Never used french cleats on lower cabinets. Just used screws directly into wall studs.)

Hope this helps.

Wayne

 

[jlwest]

French cleats make it a simple install. Rip a piece of 3/4" x 6" solid wood or plywood at 45 degrees and screw one piece horizontally, and level, to each stud with two 3 " screws. Deck screws will work. Attach the other piece to you cabinet back. I would use two per cabinet, near the top and bottom. Making it flush will be difficult so I would just trim out the 3/4" gap.

 

[mpholway]

Tony,

French cleats are like pocket holes: Once you discover them you will wonder how you got along without them.

I use french cleats for everything: cabinets, pegboard, tool racks, clamp racks, etc. One caution: Do not use sheet rock screws - they are brittle and can snap/shear under a load.

The biggest advantage that I find is that you can put the cleat on the wall, then on your cabinet, and then just hang it. You do not have to worry about holding a load while trying to screw into a stud at the same time.

The hint that Wayne provide is quite valuable because because once you span at least two studs you have some latitude as to where something hangs.

Good luck.

Matt

 

[Roy G]

Tony, check your wall for flatness to see if your cleat will be straight when you put it up. If you have a bow in the wall, the cleat will not mesh with the one on the back of the cabinet.

Roy G

 

[KenOfCary]

One thing I discovered the hard way when installing a very heavy shop cabinet with a french cleat is that the cabinet side cleat needs to be attached to something structural in / on the cabinet. As I added weight it started pulling away from the cabinet. I ended up having to add long screws directly through the cleat into the studs to solve the problem. Sorta defeated the ease of install / removal of using the cleats - but worked.

 

[Gofor]

For doing kitchen cabinets, you may want to only have the visible sides extending to fully flush with the wall (or cover the cleat cutout with molding) Cabinets that butt up against each other can have the cleat end exposed. This allows you to install one straight cleat for the whole run: makes it easier to have all the cabinets the same and gives more studs to anchor the wall cleat into. http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/432/medium/Wallcleat.jpg this shows an example of what I am talking about. Note that the cleat cut-out in the cabinet side has to be large enough to lift the cabinet over the top of the wall cleat edge.

For wall attachment, realize the fastener head will have to be flush with the surface, which eliminates lag bolts unless you are using 2x material like I did for my garage cabinets in the picture. I have found 3" framing nails to have greater shear strength than 3" deck screws, and can easily be added in addition to the screws if you have any doubts on their strength.

The angle does not have to be 45 degrees. As long as it matches, it will work. I use solid wood (flat sawn, not quarter sawn) to make mine because I don't trust the edge of the ply not to tear out, but it appears many others have had good success with the ply. A less acute angle may add a little strength to a fragile edge.

Go

 

[Jeff]

French cleats are nice and I like them too, but they seem like a PITA for kitchen wall cabinets mounted flush to the wall.

1. The darker piece is the lower cleat fastened to the wall studs with screws (3.5", #12) and the rest of the cabinet goes "up and over" that to hang it. So all of that design has to be built in to the cabinet up front.

I'd use a 3/4 t plywood back and fasten the cabinet directly to the studs without the cleats.

​

 

[JohnW]

I used french cleats for shop cabs, but not for kitchen cabs. If the point is ease of installation, I would use min 1/2" ply for the back, or better yet, 3/4 ply, at least across the back top as shown in Jeff's drawing above, and screw them directly to the studs through the back. Use two bottle jacks (screw jacks) (car jacks) on the counter with a 2 x 10 across top of the jacks. Put the cab or cabs on the 2x10 then jack it up into place. This allows very fine adjustment to height and level. Can be done by 1 person, two is always easier.