How to suspend wall cabinet on wall?

[AC2]

Hi,

I am hoping to hang 2 wall cabinets off a  suspension rail in my laundry. To my surprise, it is a drywall with no adhesives in the spots I would insert screws/anchors. Any suggestions on what fixings I should use? I would fix at 5 points to spread weight. Willing to drill into the inner wall if needed. Thanks for any advice!!

 

[JacobZ]

Hi @AC2,

Thank you for your question and welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is fantastic to have you with us.

Unfortunately, there is no way to safely hang a wall cabinet without screwing into a stud. This is because plasterboard or fibre cement sheets are not load bearing. The weight of the cabinet and whatever is placed inside of it will cause the sheets to eventually succumb to the weight and the cabinet will likely fall from the wall.

I'd suggest you need to locate studs using a stud finder and then screw the cabinets into them using suitably long screws such as these Zenith 10 - 8 x 75mm Galvanised Countersunk Rib Head Timber Screws.

You might like to have a look at How To Install Kitchen Wall Cabinets and How to use a stud finder for some guidance on this.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

[AC2]

Thanks JacobZ really appreciate your time and advice.

I had used a stud finder to locate that spot to drill into in the first place (also did 2 other holes with the same result), which was why i was surprised when i hit the hard grey surface. The grey matter is ~1.5-2 inches from the surface. Would the stud be behind the grey sheet? If it matters, the wall is a joining wall between two townhouses.

[JacobZ]

Hi @AC2,

It sounds and looks like you might be trying to drill into a block wall. If this is the case, you'll need to adjust your method of installation slightly.

You'll need to predrill into the block wall using a masonry bit before installing Ramset 8 x 50mm Blue Wall Plugs. I'd suggest using at least 4 and preferably 6 per cabinet.

Once these wall plugs are installed, you can use Zenith 10G x 50mm Countersunk Rib Head Chipboard Screws to install the cabinets.

You might like to have a look at How to hang just about anything for some additional guidance.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

[AC2]

Thanks Jacob for your advice. You were right, I had drilled a larger hole to get a better look at what we were dealing with. It indeed looks like mortar and cement blocks. Out of curiosity, happen to know if the yellow mark is a sign for builders (eg, close to power etc)?

In relation to the screws/plugs, as I have plasterboard and a gap, do you reckon I should use a longer plugs to get more bite into the cement, given 5mm blues will only be ~half in the block? I was planning on having 5 holes over 1.4m (2 cabinets on rail) which would average 28cm to not be too close together, but can add more if needed.

[JacobZ]

Hi @AC2,

Marking paint can be used for a huge variety of purposes in construction, so there is no real way to know what the yellow paint means. If you are concerned that there are services such as electrical or plumbing running through the wall, it would be a good idea to review any building plans that are available to you, turn off the mains water and electricity while installing the rail or contact relevant tradespeople for assistance.

The suspension rail likely has an installation guide that will inform you how many fixings they require for the installation to be warrantable. I'd suggest checking the suspension rails installation guide or contacting the manufacturer for guidance on the number of fixings they require. If you are unable to find this information, more fixings that are larger and deeper will always be better.

If the fixings will be concealed, and the head doesn't fowl the cabinets, you might even like to consider using 100mm ankascrews as opposed to plugs, as they are extremely strong.

Let me know what you think and if you have any further questions, don't hesitate to reach out.

Jacob

[AC2]

Just to update you, I ended up drilling into the cement blocks and using 10mm ankascrews. Very very sturdy. Thanks for your help.

[JacobZ]

Hi @AC2,

That's fantastic to hear.

The ankascrews are great. I've used them in a number of applications, and they've never let me down.

Thank you for the update.

Jacob