Building A Base For Wall Cabinets

A wall cabinet in its most basic form is little more than a plywood box that is securely mounted on the wall.

Building a base for wall cabinets. Making base cabinets out of upper cabinets or wall cabinets is a fairly simple procedure. The best material for building cabinets is plywood 3 4 inch plywood for the box sides top bottom and shelves. The two main differences between a base cabinet and a wall cabinet are the dimensions of the cases and the inclusion of a 4 1 2 inch toe kick on base cabinets where the cabinet meets the floor. Many people choose to do this as extra storage in a hallway a window seat in a child s room or in a bedroom in lieu of a chest of drawers.

Wall cabinets typically have one or more shelves not including the bottom of the cabinet and may or may not have doors. This is a relatively simple process and only requires a few tools. The 3 4 plywood case eliminates panel jointing planing and glue ups. Once your cabinets are installed finish off the base front with a strip of 1 4 in.

Plywood that matches the cabinets. Base cabinets have extra space at the bottom known as toe kick space as well as being between 24 and 30 inches deep. Overlaps on the sides let you fine tune the cabinet width during installation. Learn how to build base cabinets for your next diy project including creating plans for your own custom cabinets.

Face frames cover plywood edges. The two units are very similar in construction with three major differences. You may not notice it at first glance but each type of cabinet has its own unique properties. Wall cabinets and base cabinets are constructed differently but there is no reason a wall cabinet can t be used as a base.

Upper cabinets are shallower from front to back do not have bases and typically are built with a solid top versus the open cleat construction found in most lower cabinets. Build a separate base it s important to use dead straight wood for bases so it ll be flat for setting the cabinets. Begin with the right cabinet dimensions. The lower cabinets which rest below your countertops are base cabinets while those that are at eye level are wall cabinets.