How does this go? We’ve got two kitchens to do in which some base and uppers are against walls done with Logix ICFs.
I can see, because the walls aren’t rocked yet, that the blocks have embedded plastic “nailer” strips running vertically on 8″ centers, but how much screw purchase do these offer for mounting cabs?
Does anybody go to the trouble of hogging out the block and inserting 5/4 softwood blocking?
Replies
I've got Reward block, and I asked myself the same question. The nailers are 1-1/2" wide on 6" centers in Reward. So I experimented.
Bottom line is, if you have drywall on the wall and manage to hit three or four of the nailers with a coarse thread screw, the cabinet will break before it falls off the wall. I tried removing a few snapped deck screws from my blocks after removing bracing, and I could not just pull them out without totally wrecking the block. I has to snap a Vise-Grip on each one and twist them out of the hole.
No need to put in blocking.
What is the finish surface supposed to be? If it's 1/2" wallboard, you can install 1/2" ply by screwing it to the nailer strips in the ICF to make a cabinet nailer. The plywood will be nice and rigid.
Sounds like AARX or 'Blue Block' ICF's.
They have a plastic stretcher every 8", and if you hit these, it will hold cabinets.
However, these srips are not continous vertically. There is a small gap in plastic where the ICFs are stacked on each other. If you happen to hit this space, no plastic.
If you want hit something substantial, there is concrete 2.5" into the foam. Use the appropriate screw.
"Citius, Altius, Fortius"
Gene - We thought of putting sheet metal behind the drywall, or plywood where the cabinets would be. In the end we screwed the boxes to the soffit above, and then found the "studs" behind the foam and screwed to those.
I spent more time thinking about it than necessary - as it turned out, the studs were quite strong, and if you use enough screws your cabinets will be very secure.