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I have an a-frame cottage and looking at building some custom kitchen cabinets. Lowers are fine, but the uppers are a challenge. The wall is vertical for about 55", then angles in at about 68 degrees.

Has anyone built cabinets for that kind of situation? Looking for any design suggestions. Also wondering about how to ensure strength, both in the construction of the box and in attaching it to the wall.

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Derek, building these cabinets using the traditional face frame style would be pretty straight forward. Refer to my drawings, you will see the method that I would use if I were building these for one of my customers. 

In the construction I would use all 3/4" ply for the cabinet boxes using the pocket screw and glue method.  For face frames I would use 3/4" hardwood of customer choice.  For the backs I would use either 1/4 or 1/2 inch plywood.  In the lower I would place a standard wall mounting cleat in the top and use 3 or 4" inch screws to attach them into wall studs.  For additional mounting I would use long screws and mount them to the floor. 

The uppers would be a standard style cabinet box 12 inches front to rear and run it up to where the taper begins and then cut the cabinet sides back at the required taper.  Again using 3/4" ply for the box and 3/4" hardwood for face frames.  I would use the pocket screw glue method to assemble the cabinet box as well as attaching the face frames.  As preference I would use 1/2 inch ply for the back however would still attach a upper hanging cleat and attach the cabinet using 3 or 4 inch screws.  Refer to the drawing of the upper cabinet cut away a add the lower hanging cleat under the bottom shelf and again screw the cabinet to the wall through the cleat using 3 or 4 inch screws.

The remainder of the construction would be done as you would in any other cabinet build.  I have written in the standard sizes however this may need to change depending on room that you can use for cabinets.  Need more help please ask.

Jay, thanks for the excellent detail. A couple of questions;

Would you suggest building a full back for the uppers? I was thinking just the cleats . I'm expecting depth to be a problem towards the top, so the extra 1/2" might come in handy.

Also, would you suggest another cleat at the bottom? Unlike standard vertical cupboards the top cleat will be attaching somewhere around the middle of the cabinet box (front to back), so thinking I should probably have something at the bottom to ensure the cabinet stays tight to the wall and doesn't pull away.

This is the first time I've built cupboards, and they're for my own cottage, not for someone else.  :-)

Good Morning Derek,  In answer to your questions, yes I suggest building all cabinets with a full enclosure as you will be amazed at how much cleaner the interior to the cabinets will remain.  It insures you of having a bug, ant free interior and also adds strength to the cabinets. 

In the drawing I sent you this is what I am attempting to indicate.  As for hanging cleat at the bottom refer again to the drawing and you will see that the lower back has one attached and this is what the bottom of the cabinet is attached to as well as the lower edge of the ply back.  This is also one method of attaching the rear of the bottom  of the cabinet.  There is two ways of doing this either by running the bottom all the way out to the wall and then adding a piece of 3/4" screwed and glued to the bottom of the shelf.  Looking at the measurments you are giving I would suggest doing it as my drawing indicates as if your lower cabinets are 36 inches high and the back splash is at least 16 inches the bottom of the upper cabinets will began at 52 inches from the floor.  With this in mind you would only need a piece of 3/4" material about 4 inches high to build the back hanging cleat and cut the wall taper into the top and attach the cabinet back ply.   Again refer to the drawing I sent you earlier and also the attached two drawings.  The small one is a copy of a section of the one I sent yesterday and the new one is a blown up drawing.  Perhaps this one will better indicate what I am trying to illustrate. All material is 3/4" except the cabinet backs.  The face frame material is figured at 2" widths.

You bring up a good point about having clearance problem at the top.  If you are going to build the cabinet all the way to the ceiling is it possible to add a structural piece to the top of the ceiling attached at 90 degrees off the wall so that you can use the cabinet top as a method of securing the top of the cabinets?  If these are not going to the ceiling is it possible to reverse the upper cleat and attach it to the top side of the cabinet and then screw this into the wall studs.  You could hide any outside build  hanging cleat using something like a crown molding.  As a alternate method it is possible to move the cleat down in the cabinet and this is another reason why I am suggesting a full enclosure using 1/2" ply for the cabinet back.  Since the upper of the cabinet will bear the main weight of the cabinet and its load is is best to place the hanging cleat as far upward as possible.

If still having a question send me a photo of the wall in question with some measurements and I will see what I can figure out for you as suggestions.  There are other methods of hanging the cabinets however I would need to see the layout of the walls and the ceiling.  I have at one time hung cabinets on a oval wall building where the walls were in a oval shape looking much like a wine barrel that was pushed inward and enclosed in the ends.  Unfortunaltely the end wall were not where the cabinets had to be installed.

Jay, a couple more questions (see what happens when you're being so helpful?).

First, about including a back on the cabinet boxes. You suggest using 1/2" or 1/4" plywood for the back, but how would you attach it? I suppose with 1/2" I could use pocket screws, but what about with 1/4" ?

Second, if I include say a 1/" plywood back, would you still suggest some kind of strong-back?

Thanks in advance.

Good morning Derek, If you are using 1/4" back I would use a router bit and cut a rabbit aroung the box after is is assembled.  Glue and staple the  panel into the cabinet.  This would strengthen up the cbinet box against racking.  If you do use 1/4 inch you should also use a hanging cleat on both the top and the bottom, in order to firmly attach the cabinet to the wall. I would place the lower hanging cleat below the bottom shelf.  We have already discussed the bottom hanging cleat in our prior posts and this is still the approach I would take.

If you use the 1/2 inch ply again you can use a router bit and inset the panel into the back just like the 1/4 inch or you could also use the pocket system.  I  also use a hanging cleat inthe upper part of the cabinet, as the upper being installed on a tilted wall will have a tendacy to be top heavy.  This is why, If I was doing the build, I would use the 1/2 inch ply.   It is just a better cabinet for your purpose . 

Without knowing how the cabinet ends at the top and how the ceiling looks It is hard for me to describe in detail how I would do the hanging cleat at the top.  I know that this is the biggest problem as it is a critical phase of the job and must be done right to prevent a cabinet from falling.

Need more help just ask.

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