French Cleat Cabinet Mount

It may sound fancy but a french cleat is simply a sturdy beveled support board a secret that builders and craftsmen rely on to hang heavy items such as large mirrors artworks and cabinets.

French cleat cabinet mount. Professional french cleat the patented professional french cleat is the patented professional french cleat is engineered to hang heavy mirrors pictures cabinets floating shelves and headboards simply and securely. You will need room to mount the cleats on the back. One half of the bracket is mounted on the wall and the other in the rear of the cabinet. This french cleat a methodology of securing objects to a wall at a 30 45 degree slope without bearing the full weight of that item styled hanging system sits flush against walls and includes a level mounting screws anchors and packaged instructions.

If you are building a mantel you could certainly build it with a french cleat recessed. If the mantel is already built and you are thinking of attaching a french cleat to it it will push the mantel away from the wall by the thickness of the cleat. I restrict cabinets hung with french cleats to 36 wide or less. One of those hidden gems in woodworking the french cleat is so simple but so wonderful that if you re not familiar with it once you learn you ll be look.

We tested this french cleat connection and shelf using a 10 lb. In our utility cabinet project the french cleat is formed from a piece of 2 x 6 dimension lumber sized to match the length of the cabinet and then ripped in half on a table saw at a 45 degree angle. When the glue on the cabinet mounted cleat is dry you can lift the cabinet up slip it over the wall mounted cleat and gently lower it into position. The unique overlapping design of the mounting bracket provides high torque leverage for cantilevered hanging.

Use decent quality plywood with the face grain running lengthwise for your french cleats. The sides of the bookshelf extend 3 4 beyond the back panel to allow room for the french cleat system. The joint held up well but for a shelf this size it s better suited to hold smaller individual. Then you put the wall cleat in place based on the location of the cabinet cleat.

If you intend to use a french cleat hanging system plan your project accordingly. Hanging decor could never be easier.