Built in wardrobe carcass size.

[Jackbright90]

Hi all, I am building a built in wardrobe into the eaves. I am using white Melamine faced chipboard. I was under the impression that the carcass should be 18mm thick. Most of the places i have looked seems to sell 15mm. Would this still be suitable? each section of the wardrobe is 2200mm high so would the 15mm be strong enough for this application? Many thanks.

 

[MattRoberts]

It depends a lot on the design. If you have a single span 2200mm long without additional support, then yes it could be a bit flimsy after lots of use.

Can you share the design?

 

[user22161]

Even verticals that long could be a problem if not braced with backs and some shelves, drawers or hanging rails

 

[Jackbright90]

Thanks for your replies. I have not got the design drawn up yet but, there will be 4 doors with 4 compartments each around 500mm wide give or take the thickness of the mfc board. 3 of the units will have a shelf and one will just be a full length cupboard. I was planning on routing a groove at the back for the back panel.

 

[will1983]

Unless you will actually be able to see the edge of the back panel I wouldn't bother routing a groove, just nail it onto the back of the carcass.

I went to the unnecessary effort of routing a groove in mine and then when I discovered that I had a wonky wall I had to apply a little bit of bullnose moulding to cover the gap. This bullnose moulding would have also covered the edge of the back panel if I had just nailed it onto the carcass.

Depending on the type of hinges you are using you may need the extra thickness of 18mm material to give the required screw holding depth. Check this out before you buy as its expensive and awkward to fix later.

 

[Jackbright90]

I will most probably batten an shim the wall to make it straight before installing the carcass. Also the the hinges are fine for material 14mm-22 so i should be fine. It was more the strength i was worried about? Im not sure that 3mm difference will make it much stronger.

 

[Adam9453]

Personally I’d stick with 18mm for the majority of the carcass but then just put a 12.5 or 15mm back panel in. I like rebating the back panel into the sides etc but it is a chunk more work. All depends on the design really

 

[petermillard]

Egger MFC boards are 18mm as standard. Or you could use Melamine Faced MDF - also 18mm, and may be easier to get in manageable sizes.