Wall hung cabinet without back - building and fixing

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BEFORE YOU START:
Visit our general Cupboard Building page showing the basics of chipboard assembly method and accessories.

DISCLAIMER:
Our pictorials are of informative nature and do illustrate works carried out by ourselves at our own premises for our own use and satisfaction.
Readers who envisage to carry similar works inspired by the below method shall do this at their own risks and liability.

Step 1 - How to proceed with cabinet / cupboard building

This is a wall hung cabinet (cupboard) built in a manner not to block the access to the nearby door.
It includes 2 separate elements:

1 lower box (case) of only 20 cm depth not to block the door passage and to be used to store shoes.
1 deeper upper box (59 cm)

The sequence is as follows:

Build the cabinet (cupboard) boxes
Hang the cabinet to the wall
Add and adjust the cupboard doors

Step 2 - Preparing the sides of each woodcase to receive shelves

Based on your overall cupboard height and the number of shelves you ordered, determine the spacing between shelves that most suits your uses. Do not hesitate to measure the items you intend to store prior to making such decision.

Once done, follow the below steps to prepare for the shelves installation:

1- Align the side panels of the cabinet on the floor. Make sure the surface is flat, in particular don't work on carpets.

2- Mark where you intend to fit the shelf pin / peg which is normally 2-7 cm (1-3 inches) from edge.

3- Adjust your drill bit in a manner not to let it pierce the wood panel to the other side. Use a 4.6 or 4.8 mm metal drill bit.

4- Drill your marks. You are now sure not to pierce the holes up to the other side thanks to the drill stop you just adjusted.

5- Clean out the chips.

6- Use a plastic hammer to push the shelf pins (shelf pegs) into their holes.

7- The shelf support pin should be completely adherent to the panel surface and should not be removable by hand.

8- Work in series, i.e. drill all holes before mounting the shelf pins / pegs.

Step 3 - Assembling the wall hung wood cabinet boxes

There are many possibilities to assemble the wooden case.
In this example visible surface mount wood jointing blocks are used as they offer a quick and immediate way of having the boxes assembled:

1- Prepare the wood jointing block along with 2 cm and 3.5 cm chipboard screws of 4 or 4.5 mm diameter.

2- The panels in this case are 18 mm thick reason why a mark at 19 mm is placed on the bottom panel.

3- The center of the wood jointing block is marked at 5 cm from edge before being fixed with a cordless screwdriver.

4- Press firmly and hold steadily the cordless screwdriver.

5- Fit the wood panel jointing block to both sides of the panel if the cabinet depth is more than 25 cm.

6- Mark the center of the jointing fitting at the edge of the side panels.

7- Fix it with the 2 cm screws.

8- You are now ready for the assembly: insert the side panels into the top and bottom...

9- Use a screwdriver to turn the jointing block screw clockwise and secure the assembly.

The cupboard case is now fully assembled as shown. No back panel is used since the cupboard will be wall hung. The wall itself shall constitute the back panel of the cupboard.
This is the most hygienic choice since no moisture or insects can go between the back of the cabinet and the wall.
The back panel (if fitted) would have given it however the necessary rigidity by maintaining the right angles at the corners.
Triangle shaped wall hangers are used to compensate the absence of back panel which will increase the rigidity and at the same time allow for its fixing to the wall.

Metal fixing corner braces are used (left).
If you have no drawing square, use the triangle brace itself as a square to check the angles are right prior to fixing it (middle)
Tilt your cabinet if needed to make it square and then fix the metal corner braces with screws (right)

Step 4 - Hanging the wall cabinet to the wall

The wall cabinet upper box being too heavy, the lower one will be fixed first.
Use 6 mm wall plugs on masonry walls with 4.5 mm wooden screws of 5 cm length.

The smaller wall cabinet is then used as a support.
The heavier cabinet is now lifted and allowed to sit on the lower part.

A power drill for home use is excellent for the job. Fit a 6 mm drill bit.
Use the cordless screwdriver with one or more extensions to fix the wall hung cabinets to the wall.

You may now place the shelves onto their support pegs (shelf support pins).

Step 5 - Fitting and adjusting the wall cabinet hinges and doors

1- Prepare the cabinet door hinges with their specific screws.

2- Place them into their intended holes. It is easier to ask the workshop where you purchased the wood panels to drill these holes for you.

3- Visually make sure the hinge is perpendicular to the panel before fixing it.

4- Fix it with the cordless screwdriver.

5- Hold the door leaf with one hand while making sure it is level with the bottom of the cabinet and fix the hinge to the case wall. It is very important to fit the screw in the middle of the oblong opening. You might need to adjust the height after loading. See the note at bottom of page.

Step 6 - Adjusting the wall cabinet doors

1- The very first adjustment consists of unscrewing by half turn the screw that holds the two parts of a hinge together and pulling out the door leaf just as little as 1 mm to create a functional gap with the cabinet.

2- Do the same for both hinges and check the cabinet door opens and closes easily without touching the case.

3- Close both doors and observe the gap which you will now reduce to 1 mm.

4- Turn the hinge adjustment screw clockwise to reduce the gap between doors or counter clockwise to increase it. Work by small adjustments of no more than a turn and alternate your adjustments between doors.

5- You will end up having a perfect alignment.

6- You may now remove the protection films if your wood panels are supplied with these.

Final checks....

In this example, the lower wall hung cabinet is used for storing 18 shoe boxes.
The upper cabinet is deep enough to accommodate a luggage of the cabin luggage size and bulkier / heavier items.
After loading both wall hung cabinets, the following check is made: that the doors of the lower cabinet do not touch the bottom of the upper cabinet or its doors. If needed, the doors of either cabinet are moved up or down.
For this reason, the screw that fixes the inner part of a hinge should always be fitted in the middle of the oblong opening as explained in step 5.