I will be building the kitchen cabinets in my new house, I'm thinking on the following steps:
- Brick base (about 10-15 cms);
- Wood structure for cabinets and coutertops screwed to the base and the drywall in the back;
- Installing the cabinets themselves;
- Installing the countertops (supported by the wood structure and not the cabinets).
I've never done kitchen cabinets before and I'm really unsure on how to plan it all. Especially since I want to use granite stone for countertops and they are quite heavy.
EDIT: In the editing I somehow removed the question.
Is a brick base the recomended pratice in my case (support cabinets, appliances, and heavy countertops)? Are the any other alternatives?
Also, I think of separating structure and cabinets, is that normal pratice or they should they be built as a unit?
EDIT: I live in Brazil, here construction of houses is made from only bricks and mortar, drywall is alien here (I will be using it and I'm having a hard time to explain it to engineers and general contractors) and so are many techniques associated with it. In Brazil people usually affix the counter-top IN the wall (using steel and concrete) and then make cabinets below it. I want to part with those construction methods, I find them colonial, dated and inpractical.
Best Answer
I have built many islands using top cabinets - they don't have bases. The easiest way to add a base is with some 2x4s (or 2x6s for height). You will just build a simple rectangle with bracing for each cabinet. I guess you could build a big rectangle for a row of cabinets but I have been down that road and it won't be traveled again.
Basically you just need to decide how you want this to look. Do you want a ledge (common in america) or do you want it flat? Ahh and then the last thing. You will need to put on a face plate on this section that matches the rest of your cabinets. If you are going to have a 4 inch ledge... no big deal just make sure all of your rectangles project at the same depth. But if you want it flat then you really have to be precise and take account for the depth of your face plate.
About Brick. I wouldn't even think about it. Brick gets its strength from being surrounded by other brick - kind of like tiles. I don't see it being strong enough on its own to handle the weight, movement, or whatever unless you build a solid brick brick. Also you are going to deal with a ton of other issues like how do you secure the brick to cabinet and how do you keep the bricks even across all cabinets... Can brick be done? For sure. But expect a ton of time and it will need a few rows for sure - and I am not sure what you plans are if it isn't close to level.
Another alternative is get some screw in cabinet legs... we buy them at IKEA here.