I've done it with 2 2x4's placed with the 3" face against the wall. The first one lag bolted thru to the studs with 4 1/2" lags. The second one screwed to the first with 3" screws. Worked great.

Thanks dseng! I assume, then, that you had the 2x4s in a "rail" like position, going horizonally along the back of the cabinets?

Lag bolts are a bit overkill. Mark the studs and use 3" deck screws for the first board (2 1/2" might work if you sink them into the wood a bit). Then once again for the board on top of it.

Yes, I have my shim package, left over from the last cabinets I installed.
I am also glad I don't need to put big thick lag bolts into my wall studs. I think I even have some 3"ers around.

Thanks!

You've got to assess the high spot in the floor, same as any standard install. Then locate the attachment rail in your cabinets, and it's width, and height from the floor. Use a level, and scribe a line around the room that's is the same height as the rail from the high spot in the floor.

Then pre-drill the 2x (or whatever blocking that you choose) and use lag screws to attach it to the studs. Don't overtighten if the walls are out of square. Use shims to keep the blocking square and true. You want to be slightly high or low of the center line so as to leave some "meat" to get your cabinet attachment screw into without hitting the lag screw.

All the rest of the cabinets will need to be shimmed to that high spot so the run will be level all around. The attachment rail should line up with the blocking all the way around the room if you've got the cabinets shimmed properly. Walls that are out of plumb can cause some issues, so you have to be sure to have plenty of shims available and be prepared to have end panels that are scribable that can conceal both the blocking and the wonky walls.

Oh yeah, you will need an additional ledger board at 34.5" above the floor to support the countertop as well.

So you have a "visual" to help, here's what mine looked like...

The cabinets in front of the bay window were installed 18" forward of the wall. It had to support granite as well.

To see the bottom, look over on the right...

This post was edited by buehl on Sat, Sep 7, 13 at 23:10