A “How To” on Securing Your Furniture to the Wall

Posted on August 5th, 2010 by Alejo Tenutta

Once your moving company has finished delivering your furniture, it’s time to secure your cabinets to the wall. Why? Well, there are various reasons as to why furniture can be placed on your walls. One is that pieces such a wall units can be top-heavy, so it’s pertinent to hang them for safety reasons. Another is that baseboards sometimes get in the way of a piece sitting flush with the wall, so you want to secure it above the baseboard.

L brackets are exceptional for hanging furniture pieces, but they’re typically designed for taller pieces, and this is why. In order to properly utilize the L bracket, it must be drilled into the top of the cabinet, while the other end is then drilled into the wall. Since this will be visible, the cabinet must have some type of crown molding that hides the brackets and sit high enough as well. L brackets are relatively simple to utilize and can be purchased at any local hardware store.

Another method you can utilize in order to hang pieces of furniture is using liquid nail. Liquid nail simply comes in tubing, so all you require is a couple of tubes worth, a tube gun, and some scrap pieces of wood. First apply a plentiful amount on the scrap wood and then drill it into the back of the cabinet. Once dried, hold the cabinet in place and drill from the inside through the wood and into the wall. The reason for this is that the cabinet can’t be drilled directly into the wall itself.

Finally, you have the option of cleats. This is probably the most professional manner in which you can hang and secure the cabinet, and the most difficult to prep as well. You will need to prepare two slabs of wooden cleats, one for the back of the cabinet and the other for the wall. Both will require approximately a 30 degree cut, which means you’ll need access to a table saw. Once the cuts are made, use some liquid nail for added strength, and drill one into the cabinet and the other into the wall. Make sure to measure the placement of the cleats so your cabinet hangs evenly. After all of that, simply pick the piece up and carefully lower it until the cleats hook.

Related Articles:

1. How to Add Some Much Needed Space to Your Cabinets
2. The Do-It Yourself Answer to Minor Holes in the Wall
3. The Five Tips that Will Make You More Eco-Conscious When You Shop for Furniture

Tags: advice, cabinets, installing

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 5th, 2010 at 9:19 am and is filed under Learning Center. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.