Cabinet Depth?

[chopnhack]

So the standard wall cabinet is 12" deep, but for garage shop cabs, I don't think 12" deep will cut it.

I was thinking of 18" deep, 30" tall varying widths across a 10' wall.
Can you think of any reason not to go the extra depth?

and yes my head when bending will just clear the bottom edge of the cab (ceiling is higher in the garage than standard 8' in areas)

[cabinetman]

There's no "rule" about depth, except that you may hit your head or face, and they may be hard to reach into the back. If you get them too deep, you'll lose items that get hidden.

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[chopnhack]

Do you think 18" is too deep? I don't want to build them and find that they just don't store enough!

[Cochese]

No idea about what depth you should use, but I may offer a suggestion if you have a lot of cabinets to make: 15 3/4". You would be able to get three sections out of a sheet of plywood if it's bang on 48".

[JimD]

I like drawers in base cabinets and they don't work well unless you are close to 24 inches deep. 18 might be deep enough to work. I guess you could use more shallow but I never have. I have only open shelves in my upstairs garage and those are only 12 inches deep. A little deeper would be nice sometimes. My downstairs garage where the tools are have drawers in the base cabinets, about 24 inches deep.

Jim

[chopnhack]

Good point CocheseUGA. Agreed JimD, but this is only concerning the upper wall cabs.

[pelligrini]

For upper shop storage cabs I'd go over 12" too. I'd make it so I could fit two paint cans inline and still shut the door. I have a tall bathroom cabinet that came out of my folks house in my garage. I've head it for decades. I added 3 1/2 inches to it a couple years ago to get the depth needed for two paint cans extending everything with 1x4s.

As CocheseUGA pointed out, efficient material usage is a factor I think about as well.

[T...K21]

I would consider what you would be putting into your upper cabinets and base your depth measurements on that. Nobody ever said you couldn't have different depth uppers if you place them properly.

I agree with Jim. Drawer(s) in the lower cabinets, either single or multiples, are a bonus but I also like having sliding "pull out" shelving on lower cabinets too.

[Black wallnut]

No idea about what depth you should use, but I may offer a suggestion if you have a lot of cabinets to make: 15 3/4". You would be able to get three sections out of a sheet of plywood if it's bang on 48".

I once thought this, no longer. On the kitchen build I did last winter I discovered that the hardwood plywood I was buying is more than 4'x8' in demension by more than a normal kerf. I sized side panels @ 23 3/4" and found I was cutting strips about an inch wide off the off cut side. Now I know to check the actual demensions of plywood before cutting. It seems that there is enough extra to account for the kerf plus clean up of the mill edge. YMMV BTW this was from two different suppliers same oversize demensions.

[Cochese]

I once thought this, no longer. On the kitchen build I did last winter I discovered that the hardwood plywood I was buying is more than 4'x8' in demension by more than a normal kerf. I sized side panels @ 23 3/4" and found I was cutting strips about an inch wide off the off cut side. Now I know to check the actual demensions of plywood before cutting. It seems that there is enough extra to account for the kerf plus clean up of the mill edge. YMMV BTW this was from two different suppliers same oversize demensions.

Which is why I included if it was a true 48" wide. I no longer buy from the box stores, and my yard supplies dead-on 48" wide panels, which is why my base cabinets are 23-3/4" deep.

As always, play to your supplies and gain the best advantage.

[woodyb]

also keep in mind whether you will be able to reach whatever is in the back of a deep cabinet.


robert

[Black wallnut]

Which is why I included if it was a true 48" wide. I no longer buy from the box stores, and my yard supplies dead-on 48" wide panels, which is why my base cabinets are 23-3/4" deep.

As always, play to your supplies and gain the best advantage.

I misread your reply or read it so fast that I missed the 48" part, either way my point is that I once took for granted that all plywood is exactly 48" now no longer so.

[Dal300]

I tried 18" on one set of uppers, but found it got in the way of lower space like the counter top and receptacles.

My next set was 16" and they are much better, but still give me more depth of cabinet.

Just my way, YMMV

[chopnhack]

Dal, can you be more specific? I was heading towards 18" mostly justifying it mentally because with the ceiling at 101"-30" for the cab, I am left with 71 which will just clear my head.

Did your situation not clear your height? Is that where the issue came in or something else? Love to hear more on your experience, thanks!

[Dal300]

I'm 5'11 (use to be 6'), I wear a size 16 1/2 shirt with 34" arms.
Reaching the outlets with a cord was frustrating because just as I got the plug up to the receptacle my vision would be cut off and I would end up using the braille method to get the cord plugged in.
The next set at 16" deep made it much easier and I didn't need to bend down to see what I was doing.

edit:

Just remember, if you go higher, the deeper cabinets are going to be harder to access at the back no matter how tall you are.