I am building some garage cabinets up to 8′ high. The first units will be 36″ wide. It will have one permanent shelf nailed and glued in at 36″ high. I am wondering (after looking at my very basic cabinetry in my bathrooms) if I can use some 1/2″ or less “spanners” (3″ to 5″ wide strips that would go across the back to keep it square) in lieu of backing the entire cabinet with plywood. Is it a good common and or safe practice to do this? Most of the weight will be transfered to the floor (I am not hanging them off the wall – just a few screws to studs). I am in Las Vegas, so I may not worry too much about holdiong them the prescribed 5″ above the floor.
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That's exactly what I did on my garage cabinets. There is a top nailer (really a screwer??) board about 6" wide at the top of the inside. I used this to screw into the studs. There is a 3" board at the bottom inside again for screwing into the stud. Both are held in with biscuits into the ends and into the top and bottom.
No need for a complete back.
thanks - I am going to do just that. I can get a good cut on a 6" peice alot easier than a 8' long one.
If the walls are drywalled, that should be fine. Maybe a corner block, but otherwise OK. If the walls are bare framing, I would put a backing on it just to keep things from going behind it.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
I'm certainly not a pro but you might consider a 1/8 inch masonite backing. This would keep it absolutely square, take up almost no room and give a lot of rigidity to the shelves if fastened to it.
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