Worktop idea

[scott0904]

Hi there,

I'm looking at adding a worktop with sliding doors underneath it at the back wall in my garage as you walk in. It's a new build and it's been fitted out with plasterboard.

Wall to wall it measures 253cm and height wise I'd like to keep it around the same height as the kitchen worktop and 36 inches wide.

I'm on a budget for this and i had a look at 2 double cabinets and a worktop, doors etc and it certainly adds up. I realise a nice looking job requires money.

Anyway, I've thought about building frame work and using plywood as the worktop and using that as sliding doors too. I don't want doors that open as space is an issue when the car is in.

How would i go about building a frame and how do you make sliding doors that would fit in the frame work and actually slide without too much effort. Another thing is, I've noticed boards come in 2.4m and i need slight more.

How do I work out how much i need too.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Hi there,I'm on a budget for this and i had a look at 2 double cabinets and a worktop, doors etc and it certainly adds up. I realise a nice looking job requires money.

Anyway, I've thought about building frame work and using plywood as the worktop and using that as sliding doors too. I don't want doors that open as space is an issue when the car is in.

How would i go about building a frame and how do you make sliding doors that would fit in the frame work and actually slide without too much effort. Another thing is, I've noticed boards come in 2.4m and i need slight more

Firstly sheets come in 2440 x 1220 size pretty much universally outside of more specialised trade suppliers so going for a 3ft (915mm) wide top is going to be extremely wasteful of materials unless you intend the use the remnant piece, some 300mm approx wide (allowing for saw kerf width) for shelving. The length of 2440mm you are stuck with unless you take part of the offcut and use that to extend the worktop. It will be obvious because the grain direction will be at 90 degrees to the rest of the bench top.

Fundamentally you could build a worktop support structure from 2 x 2 CLS. The worktop will need to be supported along the back wall and the side walls (effectively this is three battens fixed into the structure). The only part which requires a true frame is the front which will require a 2 x 2 frame at the top, bottom and both sides with uprights at intervals. If you intend to carry much weight the top may be best made out of 18mm plywood and you will need to fix 2 x 2 bearers between the front frame and the rear batten in line with the uprights to spread the load and stop the top from sagging. I'd suggest that three uprights, creating three door openings some 770 wide each or 2530 - (5 x 44) / 3. For particularly heavy loads you may be better off using 3 x 2 CLS for all the timbers immediately below the top, placed edge on (i.e. uporight orientation as opposed to flat). Low cost sliding doors can be made from thin sheet material such as 6mm plywood and simple plastic double channel tracks are available to utilise this. Consider if you ant shelves inside the cupboards. If you do these are better installed before fitting the top or the doors - both of these will make access awkward. Personally, I think that a 3 feet deep cupboard will prove quite a stretch to retrieve stuff from, especially at ground level - the 500 to 600mm depth of a kitchen cupboard is far easier to utilise

How do I work out how much i need too.

You need to work out a design on paper with all the dimensions. This is easier if you have access to a CAD program, but squared graph paper will work out almost as well. Once you have a worked out design I'd make a simple list of the components with item names, length, thickness, depth and quantity to form a basic cutting list. Don't forget that you will need to budget for screws, masonry plugs, etc. The lengths of the solid timber are added together to give you a total length to which 10 or 15% needs to be added to cover cutting loss, allowances for errors, waste ends (prepared timber comes in standard lengths, but those lengths may not suit your design, hence waste ends). The sheet materials are what will constrain your design the most as they come in fixed sizes, full sheets only as a rule.

 

[foxhole]

Cheapest option would be 18mm mdf, for a worktop check out the local diy sheds, often find they have damaged lengths they will sell cheap. No frame would be needed unless you are placing very heavy items on it [car engine parts etc]
Cheap ready made sliding door kits are about £15.Design unit to accept the timber limitations.