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Thread: will it be strong enough?
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4th November 2009, 11:55 AM #1Senior Member
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will it be strong enough?
Hi all,
I am building a kitchen bench which is 2.2m long x 1.1m wide and 90cm high.
I would call it more a kitchen island than a bench since it is not attached to any walls, studs, etc.
It is a standalone unit.
I have attached a very rough sketch of the unit
The unit has 4 legs which are 80mm x 80mm and the legs are connected with rails and stiles.
Stiles are 16cm wide for the top and 6cm for the bottom.
Rails are 6cm for the bottom and 16 cm for the top although the top rails are not plain rails.
For each rail I use a board in which I cut some openings for the drawers so that I could keep the flow of the grain through the drawers.
On top on the bottom rail, there is a large panel (2.1m x 1m) that sits on the rails, hangs about 1cm out and will be fixed to the rails (don't know yet how).
Also as you can see in the sketch the 2 bottom rails are connected to each other with 2 boards to reinforce the carcasse. For the top rails, same principle is applied although I have 5 boards (3 between the drawers and 2 ones fixed on the inner sides of the cabinet).
also there is a cupboard under the 2 centre drawers. There is nothing under the 2 outer drawers.
I think that's ok for the structure.
My question is related to the top surface that will rest on the 4 legs.
I don't want timber since it will be used to prepare meals and I am planning to used caesar stone.
I went to get some samples and brochures and got some technical data.
The weight for a standard slab (3.06m x 1.44m and 20mm thickness) is 220 kilos (around 53kilo/sqm)
I have calculated that for my top, it would weight 128kilos.
My question is with the current design of the bench in mind, will it be strong enough to support 128 kilos?
if not what reinforcements would you add?
for safety I am planning to add a centre leg under the bottom panel so that the weight is mainly supported by the 4 legs and the small centre leg.
thanks
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4th November 2009 11:55 AM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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6th November 2009, 10:51 AM #2
I'm no expert, but with that much weight I'd be inclined to add a couple of extra legs in the centre.
A fair bit of weight on each leg, what's the floor?
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11th November 2009, 10:44 PM #3Senior Member
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I am planning to add 4 small legs under the bottom panel evenly spaced.
The floor is currently a timber floor but will be soon tiled with almost unbreakable tiles
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16th November 2009, 08:16 PM #4
G'day Mate
I am not famliar with caesar stone, but am assuming that it will not sag under it's own weight.
The 4 80 x 80 legs will carry 128kg no worries, it's only 32kg each.therefore, the rest of it really only has to be strong enough to keep the legs standing straight up & down without twisting or spreading.
SteveThe fact remains, that 97% of all statistics are made up, yet 87% of the population think they are real.
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16th November 2009, 09:31 PM #5
Are you having doors/draws on both sides or a panel on the rear? 1000mm is a deep cabinet.
By having cupboards each side you could use a sheet product(MR meline) in the middle to act as a strut to stop any racking forces, it wont need a floor support in the middle it'll hang on the outer end frames(make them strong).
You can offset this sheet to increase cupboard space one side(from 450 to 6~700), the back can then be made into a breakfast bar with a small cabinet at each end.....................................................................
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16th November 2009, 10:23 PM #6
I'd throw a couple of legs in the middle just to be sure. Always be sure, otherwise one day you might regret it (Or at least you'll always be nervous). Maybe put just one in the very centre of the top under a crossrail? Then it'll never be seen and you'll be guaranteed strong goodness.
Oh and have fun cutting the drawers out of the rails and keeping the gaps small. clamp EVERYthing and keep your cuts as straight as you can Done it a couple of times and although do-able and very worth it, it took me a while\
Good luck, seems like a cool project
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17th November 2009, 02:15 PM #7Senior Member
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Hi all,
yes the cupboard in the middle open on both sides with doors and I have already a panel to separate them. But the separation is or will be a 6mm plywood .
I have already routed the grooves on the sides and bottom. I'll insert the panel then cap it with another rail. This rail will also support the top part in the middle.
As eldanos said, I am planning -will certainly do- to add legs under the bottom panel. Initially I was thinking of only one in the very centre but I might add a couple.Since the thing is already heavy, 10cm legs will not make any difference.
The cabinet is 80% finished. I am currently making the drawers and the separation panel then they will have to be fixed. Once that done, I can start adding those extra legs and oil it.
I'll post some pictures
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