# Attaching a French cleat to kitchen cabinets



## LarryS. (12 Nov 2017)

Hi, I've got some kitchen cabinets from the original kitchen in our house which are made out of chipboard and I want to use them for the garage .

I've tried attaching a French cleat to the top surface through the back but this is inherently weak, is there a best practice way ?

Thanks 


Paul






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## murdoch (12 Nov 2017)

Screw through the chipboard and into the cleat, also, use a bit of glue.


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## nev (12 Nov 2017)

Fit a small full width sheet of ply or similar on the inside rear face of the cabinet touching the top and fix through that into your cleat.


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## Rorschach (13 Nov 2017)

I can't comment on french cleats exactly but when I fit cabinets like this to the wall I don't trust the manufacturer fittings alone, I add fixing at teh bottom of the cabinet too. I cut a piece of wood to fit in the recess at the back making it flush to the frame. I glue it to the hardboard back and frame edge then screw from underneath the frame into this cleat. When the cabinet is hung and level on the supplied fittings I then screw through the back of the cabinet and the cleat into the wall behind. The result is a cabinet that a child could climb into even when full of crockery.

With regard to your cabinet, could you put the cleat in the recess or somehow fit in a similar manner to what I describe? The combo of wide glue surface area and screws makes for a very strong joint even on chipboard and hardboard.


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## owen (15 Nov 2017)

Can't you just fix them to the wall the normal way? I don't know a lot about French cleats but won't the cupboard slope forward when that's mounted on the wall? 
Best way would be to cut a piece of ply to fit the recess in the back of the cabinet, glue and screw that in and then fit the cleat to that.


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## sunnybob (16 Nov 2017)

Dont like that idea for workshop cupboards, all manner of creepy crawlies and vermin can nest back there in the warm and dark.

Use the "drill a hole and bang the plug through and tighten the screw" fixings (dont know the technical name)
Put one in each corner inside the cupboard and you can load it up with tools with no fear of mice eating their way in from the rear.


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## LarryS. (16 Nov 2017)

Thanks all for the ideas and thoughts , I do like the French cleats so I can rearrange the cupboards . I'll be out there tonight with my phone weighing up the options you've all suggested for practicality terms and will update you once I've made my choice 

Thanks again 


Paul

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## Phil Pascoe (16 Nov 2017)

https://www.hafele.co.uk/en/product/cab ... 1&PDP=true
I used (similar to ) these.


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