How To Hang Oak Display Cabinets

A display cabinet is a system of shelves and drawers with doors. You can hang oak display cabinets on any type of wall - drywall, brick or plaster - with the right type of mounting hardware. Pick one of two strategies for hanging display cabinets: one for an oak display cabinet with a back, and the other for a backless display cabinet. The strategies are the same for all types of walls and all sizes of cabinets.

Things You'll Need

• Oak display cabinet
• Level
• Wood drill bit
• Drill bit (as recommend for anchors)
• Electric drill
• Electric screwdriver
• 3/8-inch Masonry Anchors (if mounting on brick or masonry)
• 3/8-inch Anchor screws
• Toggle bolts (if mounting on drywall)
• Wood screws (if mounted into drywall studs)
• 2 x 1 wood to length

Instructions

Hang a cabinet

1. Decide where on the wall the cabinet will hang. Open the cabinet doors and from the inside, drill a three-eighths-inch pilot hole at each side and in the middle of the back, about an inch above the top shelf. Pilot holes should be on the right and the left, and about every two feet, depending upon the total width of the display cabinet.

2. Hold the cabinet in place. You may need a helper or a ladder or piece of furniture to prop up the cabinet while you work. Using a level, mark the cabinet's position on the wall by drilling through the back just enough to score the wall's surface. This mark is for position only. Set the cabinet out of the way. Using the appropriate hardware for the type of wall, drill holes and insert the anchors at each place you have marked. Masonry or brick will need masonry anchors. Drywall will need toggle bolts. If screwing directly into the wall studs, use wood screws without anchors.

3. Have a helper hold the cabinet in place, lining the pre-drilled holes in the back up with the anchors in the wall. Drive the screws through the holes into the anchors, the toggle sets or directly into the wall studs. Don't over-tighten the screws.

4. If the display cabinet does not have a back, hang it using a two-by-one-inch section of board as a bracket. Using a level, determine the position of the cabinet and mark along the wall at the bottom side of the cabinet top. Cut the two-by-one-inch board to make a bracket, or brackets, depending upon the shelf and divider configuration, and the total width of the cabinet. You should have at least one eight-inch section at the right and the left sides of the cabinet. Attach the two-by-one-inch bracket sections to the wall, following the procedure above. Place the top of the bracket at the line marked on the wall. Hang the display cabinet on the bracket and secure it with wood screws drilled down through the top of the cabinet into the bracket.

Tips & Warnings

• This project is much easier with a helper. Be certain to use a level -- measuring from the ceiling will not guarantee that your cabinet will hang level.

References

• Cabinet-Hanging Tips
• Bob Vila Video