Which fittings for fixing cabinet to double layer of plasterboard?

[jasGirlyDIYer]

Hi, this is my first post, please go easy on me!

I spent the weekend building some Ikea kitchen cabinets for a small utility area I'm fitting out. Feeling very proud as I needed to modify them for the space, and the cut-down cupboards are great. Now I need to attach them to the wall.

I tried with the fixings I have, but no luck. The wall is a double layer of plasterboard (no cavity between the two layers). I tried a fixing that you screw into the wall with a screwdriver, then screw into it, but the fixing in the wall is spinning. Then I tried again with a larger one, and longer screw, but the screw was too long for the fixing, and didn't hold the bracket tight to the wall. When I unscrewed it, again the fixing started spinning. Very frustrated now.

Any suggestions? Links to products would be good! I'm worried about totally destroying the plaster where I tried already.

 

[Chud]

What is behind the double plasterboard - is it glued to a solid wall or is it mounted on wooden studs?

 

[Chud]

Or is it just two layers of plasterboard separating two rooms?

The old saying applies - a picture paints a thousand words

 

[jasGirlyDIYer]

It's an internal wall. Stud and plasterboard. My builders stuck a new piece of plasterboard on top to cover up damage, and provide a new surface, which they finished off with a coat of plaster. Does that paint a picture?

 

[jasGirlyDIYer]

(I'm at work, else I'd take a photo!)

 

[Chud]

It's an internal wall. Stud and plasterboard. My builders stuck a new piece of plasterboard on top to cover up damage, and provide a new surface, which they finished off with a coat of plaster. Does that paint a picture?

Yeah that helps!

First off I'd try and find the studs - if you have any chance of screwing into them I'd go for it but you'll need some decent long screws!

If you haven't got one already then a multi-detector is a fairly important thing to get hold of if you like drilling/screwing things into walls - you can get an OK one for around £10 but the bosch ones that cost £60+ seem to be used by quite a few pros...

Having fitted a lot of Ikea stuff recently I know the supplied wall fittings vary quite a bit - Stuva units are a bloody nightmare as there's no easy way of making fine adjustments.

Anyway...what I would probably do is fit (sections of) a hanger rail such as this https://www.locksonline.com/Cabinet...abinet-Hanger-Wall-Rail-2032mm-Long-6492.html

screwing it into the studs, you may need to cut sections so that it sits in the recess behind the cabinets - then you can use these http://www.screwfix.com/p/nylon-cabinet-brackets-with-mounting-plate-10-pack/91611 (you may get them cheaper elsewhere) to hang the cabinet from the rail.

I would suggest that you then put a screw +plug (use a plasterboard plug - drill with a HSS drill bit not masonry) at the base of the unit to 'lock' it in place - n.b. this screw will only bear a load if you try to lift the cabinet off the hooks or pull the bottom of the unit away from the wall.

 

[Chud]

If it's Ikea Metod they have their own rail system - http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/60205664/

 

[jasGirlyDIYer]

Thanks! That's given me some pointers. It is the Metod one, and I didn't get a rail.

I was thinking of getting a multi-detector, and wondering if the cheaper ones work well enough. I don't want to pay out for Bosch!

 

[Chud]

I've got a £10 from lidl and it seems to do the job ok so far. I think a lot of brands do a basic detector in the sub £20 range.

 

[Chud]

and as for the Metod rail - If Ikea isn't local then you should have no issue using the other rail type I linked to and the corresponding hangers.

 

[foxhole]

You don't need to detect the upright, cut out the plasterboard along a 100mm wide strip behind where you want to hang the cup'd and replace with a sheet of ply to same depth, [screwed to uprights]then you can fix securely anywhere along it.

 

[jasGirlyDIYer]

Thank you. Lots of options now!
I like the sound of the £10 multidetector from Lidl!