Garage Cabinets - foundation lip

[Ken Baker]

I'm building some base cabinets for the garage. The wall studs all sit on a concrete foundation. The foundation sticks out 2 1/2" from the studs and it is 8 1/2" high.

Option 1 - Sit the back of the cabinet on the 2 1/12" lip of the foundation - basically making it like an upper hanging cabinet. Because they are going to carry weight - I'm thinking they may need legs in the front but not sure I'm gonna like the look of 8 1/2 " legs.

Option 2 - Notch out the back - sort of like a reverse toe kick. But that's a lot more work - i.e. two backs - one 8" tall and then a 2 1/2" lip on top of that and then full size back.

Option 3 - That's why I'm posting here. I'm sure someone has a good idea.

[George Noeth]

Ken,
I would make the sides wider (front to back) and recess the back and the back edge of the deck. You can then notch the side pieces and allow them to rest on the foundation. Then you can have a normal toe kick in the front and full interior depth inside. If you use quarter inch backs in a full dado slot you just move the slot forward. the only extra work would be cutting the notches in the sides.

[Paul Girouard]

Why not just make normal cabinets , attach them to the together shim adjust etc of a normal toe space . Then attach a cleat to the studs on the wall and let your counter-top be deeper than normal . The counter-top being attached to the cabinet top cleats and the wall cleat will hold things together nicely .

That wall cleat may have to be attached to the wall before that cabinets are in place, set the end two cabinets roughly in place pull a dry line or better yet shoot a laser line to the higher of the two and shim the whole works to that pre-set cleat height.

Yes you'll lose that 2 1/2" by what was it 8" space behind the cabinet and above the concrete stem wall , you can close it off on the ends with a applied finished end panel if that slot is a issue for you.

I know some of you guys make some pretty elaborate "shop cabinet" .

[Jamie Buxton]

Your choice may depend on the height of the cabinets. If the cabinets are tall, then losing 2 1/2" of depth loses you a bunch. If they're short, it doesn't hurt as much.

If these cabinets are on a wall which is at right angles to the door, look out. The floor slopes down toward the door. That 8 1/2" dimension you mention is only in one spot. Elsewhere along the wall it is different.

[Jim Becker]

Option three is to place the cabinets in front of the foundation lip and make the counter top deeper to the wall...

You will need the legs if you choose to support the rear on the foundation, but they can be set back a few inches and it's an easy way to deal with any slope...just increase the length of the legs as you move down the row to suit.

[Bruce Page]

If it were me, I'd do option 2. It's a little more work, but it only needs doing once and it would look much more professional.

[George Bregar]

What, nobody wants to jackhammer that concrete?

[Paul Girouard]

#1: Option three is to place the cabinets in front of the foundation lip and make the counter top deeper to the wall...

#2: You will need the legs if you choose to support the rear on the foundation,

#1: Post 3 / option 3 you mean?

#2: Heck ramset / concrete bolt / or rawl pin a PT plate to the concrete wall and set the cabinets right on top of the cleat . Attach with screws down thru the floor . No back legs or toe-spaces required.

[Paul Greathouse]

Option 4: Fur the garage wall out flush with the concrete foundation just in the area that the cabinets will contact the wall. You will not gain interior cabinet space but you will gain counter top and you will have a normal wall situation to attach the back of your cabinets to. If there are exposed cabinet sides, they could extend back to the original wall and cover the fur out if you don't want it to show.

[M Toupin]

Option 5:

Flush the cabinets to the foundation and either extend the bench top all the way to the wall or build a box to fill the gap and run your air/electrical though the box. The 2" to 3" area behind the cabinets make nice storage for those long items like extra molding, that 18" X 96" plywood left over, PVC pipe etc. If your like me, there's never enough good storage for things like that.

Mike

[Dennis Jackson]

Build a 8 1/2-in high box on the bottom, you could put the toe kick in here. You would have room for a flat drawer or a fold down door for the storage. Then build a box to fit on top of this and that goes back to the studs.

My garage is the same way and I haven't done anything with it yet so I will be interested in seeing how you solve this problem.

[Jim Becker]

Dennis, that's an interesting idea...and adds some storage in an area that typically is somewhat wasted.

[Ken Baker]

Dennis - So when you say build an 8 1/2 box - do you mean what I've seen referred to as "ladder box"? So let say they were 24 inches deep and 32 inches high - I'd have a 24x32 caracass - no toe kick, sitting on top of a box 8/1/2 - by probaly 21?

[Lee DeRaud]

I'd be tempted to go with option 2.5: notched sides, a fixed shelf right at the level of the bump out, and not bother with a back on the bottom 8" (basically Dennis' idea, done all in one piece). If you're like me you have more than enough seldom-used odd stuff to fill those bottom cavities anyway.

That said, having the cabinets up off the floor, with or without the front legs, is a good thing when you want to sweep/blow/hose the cruft off the floor. (Once a year, whether it needs it or not...)

[Dennis Jackson]

Dennis - So when you say build an 8 1/2 box - do you mean what I've seen referred to as "ladder box"? So let say they were 24 inches deep and 32 inches high - I'd have a 24x32 caracass - no toe kick, sitting on top of a box 8/1/2 - by probaly 21?

I am not familiar with the term 'ladder box', but I think you get the idea. A box on top of a box, so the fronts are flush. You could put the toe kick into the lower box which would make it only 5 1/2 inch high or inset that whole box for a toe kick so it would be only about 18 inches deep. Whis would probable work best with the fold down doors for access. You could also build the toe kick separate, say out of pressure treated lumber if water in the garage is a problem.

My problem is I hate giving up storage space since I work out of my garage and can still get two vehicles in there after 14 years. SWMBO's is a must for domestic harmony and mine is real nice in Wyoming winters.