Federal Brace Brackets in IKEA Cabinets
IKEA furniture is very popular today. It gives a modern, contemporary look and is very inexpensive. Unfortunately, that very popularity means that it can be challenging for a consumer to differentiate his or her IKEA home from everyone else’s. One great way to do that is with a stunning solid surface countertop and Federal Brace supports.
It’s hard to beat the price of IKEA’s cabinets, but they leave something to be desired in terms of durability. Much of the cabinet is constructed of ¾” plywood which is not sufficiently strong to hold a Federal Brace Bracket supporting a granite top. Federal Brace recommends that IKEA cabinets be reinforced with 2x4s before installing our brackets. Furthermore, the cabinet should have a secure connection to the floor or the wall. A freestanding cabinet could tip over in certain conditions.
IKEA cabinets come in two main varieties, “base cabinets” and “wall cabinets”. Despite the name, wall cabinets can be installed on the floor to achieve certain looks. Knowing which type of cabinet you have is important for determining the type of bracket you should use. Freedom Brackets and standard brackets such as the Brunswick or Arrowood can be installed in either cabinet style, but wall cabinets do not work well with the Harmony Bracket and a Liberty Bracket should be used instead. The easiest way to tell what type of cabinet you have is to look at the top. A wall cabinet has a ¾” plywood top covering the whole cabinet, while base cabinets have only a pair of ¾” plywood strips connecting the cabinet sides. Most of the base cabinet top is open.
There are several considerations that must be made when reinforcing an IKEA cabinet. One must consider what type of support is desired, the location of the support, and the contents of the cabinet. The reinforcing 2x4s will interfere with shelves and drawers that will go in the cabinet. It’s usually better to plan to reinforce cabinets with shelves than drawers because shelves are easier to modify to fit around the 2x4s. For more information on reinforcing IKEA cabinets for use with Federal Brace support brackets, check out this video.
