I have a kitchen island with a raised bar which will have an 18 inches wide granite counter top. The center section is 76 inches long with a 55 inch long section on either side at a 45 degree angle. The bar wall which will support the Granite is 42 inches high and 5-1/4″ wide. Since the granite will overhang approx 12 inches I know that I’m going to need corbels. How far apart would you space the corbels? Thanks. -Ed
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I'm thining 32" oc, so they will land on a stud. The other issue is how you are going to keep the wall upright. With that much weight off center and the top not being anchored, I'd be afraid of it loosening over time and tipping over. Sooner or later somebody will climb on the counter to reach something. Maybe the corbel should be a welded tube that is through bolted to solid wood blocking in the floor. Shop weld the whole assembly up and then just bolt it down in the field.
Tim, there are base cabinets on one side of the wall. This is a two tier island with a raised bar. The wall is 2x4 with 1/2 plywood covering it on both sides. Ed
Unless you are counting on the cabinets to support the wall, the plywood won't help in this case. The plywood only helps in shear, not rotation.
If you are using some stout corbels and can fasten them securely I think one on each end of each section and an extra one in the center on the long wall would be a typical approach. Unless that is more knee knockers than you may want. I would keep the end ones in a foot or so. That will give about a 30" span on the short sections and 26" on the long one. They will look balanced. I would want a good surface on top of the wall for adhesive.
We have a 10' by 30" granite countertop peninsula in the kitchen, supported by a 9' by 12" cabinet. The granite overhangs 12" on one side and the end and 6" on the other side.
The installer said that any overhang over 8" needs korbels and will be installed with liquid nails on the granite and screws on the cabinet supporting it.
He sent me to look for some and in Loewes I found some 6" metal korbels that came in antique brass, black and silver colors and can be painted any color. They are supported at an angle from the granite to the cabinet, making a triangle, so no knee knockers at all.
We used one in the middle of the short end, one on each end of the long side of the cabinet and two in the middle, five altogether. It seems well supported, enough for a big electrician to stand on it, to put recessed flood lights above it in.<G>
They also had wooden ones but they would not have fit in the narrow space between cabinet doors and would have kept us from opening them. The metal ones fit and look fine.