Locating Studs and Fastening a Ledger Board for Wall Cabinets

Run a stud finder along the wall at the height of the cabinet screws and mark every stud with a pencil dot before anything else goes up. Austin kitchens vary from new framing on sixteen inch centers to old plaster walls where nothing is where it should be, and the breakdown sitting on cabinet installation austin seahaven inc lists the usual surprises wall by wall. The ledger board comes next, a straight strip screwed to the studs so the upper cabinet carcass can rest on it while the crew drives the final screws.

Finding the Studs

An electronic stud finder reads density change, and it can be fooled by pipes, wiring and the metal lath behind old plaster. A crew checks every reading with a thin finish nail or a small drill hole in a spot that will be hidden. In a Tarrytown bungalow the spacing may shift from sixteen to nineteen inches and then jump.

Limestone and Plaster Over Lath

Older houses in Tarrytown and Bouldin Creek were sometimes built with limestone block, a stone cut from the Texas Hill Country, and finished inside with plaster. Studs are absent on those walls, and the cabinet hangs from masonry anchors or a furring strip that is fastened first. Plaster over lath has studs behind it, but they are rough and uneven, so a crew drills a pilot hole and uses longer screws to bite into the framing through the plaster.

Setting the Ledger Board

The ledger is a straight length of lumber or a ripped strip of plywood, screwed to the studs with its top edge on the line that marks the bottom of the wall cabinets. It is held to the stud centers and not to the plaster, and it must be dead level or every cabinet hung from it inherits the error.

Hanging From the Ledger

The first wall cabinet sits on the ledger with its bottom edge down, held there while a helper or a support jack keeps it from tipping. Screws go through the hanging rail at the back of the carcass into the studs, with washers to spread the load across the thin plywood. Face frame cabinets are clamped together at the stiles before the screws seat, which closes any gap in the run. The ledger is then removed and the holes filled before the next stage.

Checking the Load

Once a run is hung, a firm downward pull on each cabinet shows whether the screws found wood. A box that moves is rehung. A wall cabinet that holds a stack of ceramic plates and a drawer of glassware can carry a surprising amount of weight, which is why a crew drives screws into studs and does not trust a hollow anchor in plaster alone.