How much weight can wall-fixed kitchen cabinets support?

[d000hg]

I'm always amazed how many cans you can put in a kitchen cupboard given it just hangs off a stud wall in modern houses.

I am thinking of putting a wine rack on top of my cupboards as there's about 18" gap there, and maybe some other storage for things we hardly ever use. But I'm a little worried about overloading the cupboard. Do I need to be or are these things so over-engineered I couldn't pull one off even if I tried to do pull-ups on it?!

Of course you didn't build my kitchen so you can't be totally sure, but in general... is it something to worry about?

 

[foxhole]

No problem provided your units are securely fixed.

 

[Robotmannick]

I don’t think the weight is likely to be a problem, but if you're putting wine above cabinets near the ceiling, be wary of spoiling it as the temperature will be surprisingly higher near the ceiling, particularly given the heat from cooking.

 

[footprints]

My wife can load a cupboard like nobody else, not a mm of space is wasted!
I dread to think how much they weigh
One option which I used in the utility room that houses a store of tins and jars is to fit a moulded batten to the wall underneath the cupboard so it sits on the batten as well as the wall brackets. I don't worry about the wall fixings failing but I often think the actual fixings of adjustable hooks on the cabinet are a little bit flimsy.

I have certainly had the bottoms of cupboards bowing slightly the batten helps to prevent that.