[Luke6515]

Hello,
I recently bought an older home build in 1948. The kitchen lower cabinets were shots from the previous owners dogs. So I removed those with the intention of replacing them with new ones. Durning demo I noticed that the studs in the was are spaced 24 inches a part. So I did some figuring and noticed that some of the lowers are not going to be able to attach to a wall stud. How have some of you dealt with this issue?

My first thought was to get a piece of plywood and glue and screw it directly to the drywall and simply attach the cabinets to that and hit as many studs as I can when installing the cabinets.

The other idea is to cut the drywall where I want the cabinets to be install some 2x4 in between the studs and anchor to those.

Need ideas

Thanks for reading

 

[seephor]

Hello,
I recently bought an older home build in 1948. The kitchen lower cabinets were shots from the previous owners dogs. So I removed those with the intention of replacing them with new ones. Durning demo I noticed that the studs in the was are spaced 24 inches a part. So I did some figuring and noticed that some of the lowers are not going to be able to attach to a wall stud. How have some of you dealt with this issue?

My first thought was to get a piece of plywood and glue and screw it directly to the drywall and simply attach the cabinets to that and hit as many studs as I can when installing the cabinets.

The other idea is to cut the drywall where I want the cabinets to be install some 2x4 in between the studs and anchor to those.

Need ideas

Thanks for reading

The plywood idea is not bad if you also use some quality anchors into the drywall and you can at least get one screw per cabinet into the stud. You might run into issues with countertops and backsplashes due to the thickness of the plywood forcing the cabinets sit back from the wall though depending on the type of countertops you're going for. The better option would be to cut the drywall horizontally from stud to stud and screw a horizontal stud between.

If you're anal like I am, have extra time, want the best and cleanest job, I would rip out the old drywall completely, add more studs in the wall and attach new drywall. Hey, you might take the opportunity to run extra kitchen outlets while the drywall is off or even install insulation if none exists or replace old pipes etc. I also like to even out the studs in kitchens using a power planer so I get the best fit for the cabinets with minimal shimming etc but again, I'm a little anal about certain things..

 

[oh'mike]

The plywood will push the cabinets to far forward---a standard counter top will not fit--so remove the drywall and add blocking between the studs.

 

[DexterII]

I would open a few spots to add blocking, as Mike suggested, and take a good look at what you have for insulation in the walls as well. Kitchen plumbing in older homes that are not adequately insulated is notorious for freezing, around here anyway. Not suggesting that your kitchen remodel be turned into a complete home remodel, but you might find that you want to cut the drywall at 4' for the length of the cabinets anyway, install your blocking, caulk the bottom plates, insulate, particularly on the exterior side of the plumbing, and put full sheet(s) of drywall back in place. Not much more work than cutting and patching individual sections.

 

[Luke6515]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will most likely remove some drywall and add some boards

 

[ddawg16]

If you are going through all that work, I'd look into just yanking all the drywall off that wall and doing it right.

While you are at it, add/change outlets (never enough). Move light switches...fix/clean up plumbing...and put blocking where you really need it.

It's not like you are going to have to do a lot of mudding....most of the drywall will be covered by the cabinets.

And it's a great time to inspect your framing in that area. The comfort in that alone is worth the effort.

 

[MT Stringer]

If your cabinets will have solid backs, I wouldn't sweat it. Cut out some of the drywall and put in some plywood. It will be hidden by the cabinet and provide a secure place to screw the new cabinet to.

Hmmm...I wonder if the wall is plaster? No telling what is inside the wall. Cut an inspection hole and check it out before you commit to a bigger hole.

The support only needs to be about 6 inches wide and run across multiple studs. Place it up towards the top of the cabinet. That way they won't tend to tip over. No need for anything down near the base. At least, that is the way I see it.

Watch out for the plumbing and electrical! :surprise::biggrin2:
Good luck.
Mike

 

[47_47]

I would open a few spots to add blocking, as Mike suggested, and take a good look at what you have for insulation in the walls as well. Kitchen plumbing in older homes that are not adequately insulated is notorious for freezing, around here anyway. Not suggesting that your kitchen remodel be turned into a complete home remodel, but you might find that you want to cut the drywall at 4' for the length of the cabinets anyway, install your blocking, caulk the bottom plates, insulate, particularly on the exterior side of the plumbing, and put full sheet(s) of drywall back in place. Not much more work than cutting and patching individual sections.

Agree with Dexter, but I would cut the drywall back cabinet height less ~4-5", instead of the 4'. Let the seams fall behind the cabinet and not in your backsplash.

 

[seephor]

If you are going through all that work, I'd look into just yanking all the drywall off that wall and doing it right.

While you are at it, add/change outlets (never enough). Move light switches...fix/clean up plumbing...and put blocking where you really need it.

It's not like you are going to have to do a lot of mudding....most of the drywall will be covered by the cabinets.

And it's a great time to inspect your framing in that area. The comfort in that alone is worth the effort.

This is the same mindset I have which is why I suggested this as well. I'm the kind of person who likes to know what's inside my walls. The comfort of knowing exactly what's in my kitchen walls is enough to make it sleep well at night knowing I have brand new pipes, wiring and insulation.

The first thing I did when I purchased my home was to remove all the plaster walls on the exterior of the house and replace them with 5/8" drywall. This solved more than one issue such as not having to patch a bunch of cracks and unevenness in the plaster, install insulation as none existed, run new electrical, photograph and document the exposed walls to know exactly where wires run in case I want to remodel or know how my wires run, run low voltage RG6, network/phone wires back to a central distribution panel, seal up and gaps where bugs and weather could get in such as between the wall's bottom plate and stucco exteior, even out really bad warped studs and a few other things I probably left out. Do it once, do it right.

I would bet the time you put into cutting out the drywall, measuring and cutting out blocking and screwing them in around the kitchen is not much less than removing all drywall, install new studs and drywall back up. ddawg mentioned that you don't even need to mud it as most of it will be covered by cabinets and moldings... Drywall is roughly $12 per 4x8 sheet and studs are roughly $2.50 a piece

 

[ddawg16]

........................

I would bet the time you put into cutting out the drywall, measuring and cutting out blocking and screwing them in around the kitchen is not much less than removing all drywall, install new studs and drywall back up. ddawg mentioned that you don't even need to mud it as most of it will be covered by cabinets and moldings... Drywall is roughly $12 per 4x8 sheet and studs are roughly $2.50 a piece

The effort to mud a bunch of patch jobs is a lot more than a few long seams.

Additionally, it will be a LOT easier to install extra studs with clear access to the wall vs trying to work with small openings.

Side note...take plenty of pics of the progress. You will find them handy later on when you try to remember where stuff us.

 

[seephor]

The effort to mud a bunch of patch jobs is a lot more than a few long seams.

Additionally, it will be a LOT easier to install extra studs with clear access to the wall vs trying to work with small openings.

Side note...take plenty of pics of the progress. You will find them handy later on when you try to remember where stuff us.

Correct, I assume if he were to cut out the drywall and install blocking, he will just cut a fill piece and screw it in place without patching. Or maybe attach the stud out a little being flush with the drywall, imagine that.

 

[miamicuse]

If you are doing all that work, check into the kitchen sink drain.

Older homes tend to have the drain stub out too high for a traditional sink. Nowadays we have deeper sinks and if you will be mounting a garbage disposer under that your drain stub out needs to be substantially lower. Now is the time to get the right drain height if your stack is close by in that same wall.