Drawer bottom thickness question....

[drumpriest]

I am making 9 drawers total for my new kitchen. I have 3 that are 11" wide by 22" deep, 3 that are 33" wide by 22" deep, and 3 that are about 22" wide by 22" deep.

The 22x22 ones are for pots and pans, the 33x22 ones will probably have glass wear and the like. The pans are cast iron, so there's some weight there. I was thinking 1/2" BB for the bottoms, am I completely off my rocker? It certainly seems like overkill for the little drawers, but any issues with big thick bottoms? I've only ever done 1/4" for my drawers, but they have been for dressers and such, not utility drawers...

Thanks,

[dbhost]

...but any issues with big thick bottoms?

Maybe I have seen This Is Spinal Tap one too many times, but THAT is funny... (Youtube link... Spinal Tap Big Bottom video...)

[BobSch]

I would think that 1/4" BB plywood would work. Or 3/8" if your supplier carries it and you want to be cautious.

[jonmulzer]

For cast iron I would definitely consider 1/2". Several houses ago I blew out a drawer bottom by putting cast iron into it. Better to overbuild in this case.

[radhak]

The larger drawers certainly have a lot of surface area at the bottom. Unsupported 1/4" ply might be okay for some time, but eventually you might see it getting a concave shape.

But 1/2" might still be an slight overkill. I'd first consider if it's possible to give a cross-brace under the ply in the middle of the drawer. Of course, which slides are you gonna use? If undermount, it automatically gives exra support at the middle.

[LinuxRandal]

Any other recommendations guys? (rabbets and glue, pocket screws with no glue (replaceable), etc)

Considering building a tool cabinet/workbench, that will hold some weight.

[SARGE..g-47]

For drawers that deep that potentially might get some heavy weight usage.. I would go no less than 3/8" and probably 1/2" as ply is more readily available in that thickness...

I would run a dado with the bottom lip 3/8" up from the drawer side bottom. You will kill 3/8" by doing do and add the 1/2" drawer bottom but.. you have space to burn with a drawer that deep. Then.. just in case you really get some major weight in that drawer that might cause sag (I really doubt it but).. you have 3/8" free zone to add additional support runners.

Again.. probably no problem with simple 1/2" but... I had rather have a back-up just in case the pots and pans get heavy. It's just the way I would approach and go at it....

Good luck...

[drumpriest]

Thanks for the comments gang. I have in the past held my drawer bottoms up 1/2" and added support runners from front to back, especially on wide drawers, I was thinking to do that here too. Basically dovetailed drawers with 1/2" bottoms and a 1/2" thick runner 3 inches wide down the middle. Seems like this sounds reasonable?

The drawer slides are soft close side mount slides, btw.

[jking]

The larger drawers certainly have a lot of surface area at the bottom. Unsupported 1/4" ply might be okay for some time, but eventually you might see it getting a concave shape.

But 1/2" might still be an slight overkill. I'd first consider if it's possible to give a cross-brace under the ply in the middle of the drawer. Of course, which slides are you gonna use? If undermount, it automatically gives exra support at the middle.

This was going to be my "alternate" suggestion, too.

Thanks for the comments gang. I have in the past held my drawer bottoms up 1/2" and added support runners from front to back, especially on wide drawers, I was thinking to do that here too. Basically dovetailed drawers with 1/2" bottoms and a 1/2" thick runner 3 inches wide down the middle. Seems like this sounds reasonable?

The drawer slides are soft close side mount slides, btw.

Bulletproof, IMO. Using 1/2" plus the middle runner may seem like overkill, but, considering what you are planning to store (especially the cast iron), I would lean towards overkill. The last thing you want is to find out you wish you'd have put in the runner.

I think you'll be very happy with the soft close slides. We have bottom mount ones & they are nice. The ones you mentioned in an earlier post that you looking at appear to be better than ours.

I'm anxious to see the finished product.

[SARGE..g-47]

1/2" & 1/2" will allow you to store a drawer full of blocks of gold bullion without sag. You might check with Ft. Know to see if they have any you can borrow to test with.

Better yet... just go build it on "faith".

[JimD]

My kitchen island has drawers from 3 1/2 inches tall to about a foot tall. All are about 22 inches deep (dimension into the island) and close to the same across (dimension on the face of the island). Actually the least deep ones are less across because there are three but you aren't asking about that kind of drawer. All of them have machine dovetails on all 4 corners, 1/2 bb sides and back and 3/4 cherry fronts. Bottoms were not intentionally glued to sides but may be stuck in spots due to glue leakage from the dovetails.

I used scraps of whatever 1/4 nominal plywood I had left over from other projects for the drawer bottoms except for the three tallest drawers. For those I used 1/2 bb - no braces or anything and I rabbetted the edge so I could put it into a 1/4 groove in the sides of the drawer. There is nothing as heavy as cast iron skillets in them but they work fine - and seem sturdy enough for cast iron if we wanted to put it there. I have braced 1/4 plywood before and I think using 1/2 bb is a better way to go. Bracing 1/2 seems unnecessary to me. At most, locate it a little higher on the sides of the drawer in case it sags a little (mine is no more than 1/4 up and does not seem to deflect at all).

Jim

[Tom Miller]

Another vote for 1/2" BB and no bracing. I can't see any downside to 1/2", especially since I think it eliminates the need for any extra bracing. It certainly won't affect the aesthetic of the drawer.

That being said, I bet 1/4" would bear the load. But, you'd certainly see it deflect, and you'd always wonder....

Regards,
Tom

[jonmulzer]

I just looked up weights for cast iron on Amazon. A dutch oven, 10" skillet, 12" skillet and their accompanying lids will put you at about 50 lbs. 1/2" is not too much IMO.

[jabe]

I use only 1/2" bottoms for all of my kitchen/bath cabinet jobs. last thing you want is a recall from an angry customer. It doesn't cost much more than 1/4 & 1/2 will work better with the newer bottom mount soft/self close slides.