The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California

The Practical Built In Funiture

Another thing to note about this unit is the drawer separation. Here you have the usual drawer slides, but the upper drawer slide is hidden by a lip formed on the front of the top drawer (Fig. 45).

You can do the same with the bottom one, forming lips either top or bottom so that each drawer front covers half the spacing strip.

This counter top is finished with linoleum or plastic set in cement and held all around by metal trim. The vertical splash guard is 5 inches high.

The adjoining storage cabinets over the refrigerator are at ceiling height. But since they are supported from the floor they need no ceiling attachment. With the outer partition cut to fit snugly between ceiling and floor, all you need to hold it is a light frame (2x2 inches) under the cupboards.

This is nailed to the counter end-partition and to the wall as well. The outer partition (the one at the extreme right in the illustration) is toenailed to the floor, or you can nail it to a 2x2 spiked to the floor. Then the facing frame is added. The horizontal members are installed first, firmly nailed to the partitions and the cross-frame.

The ceiling cabinets are typical kitchen units. They can have glazed, solid-paneled or flush-surface doors. No top is needed because the ceiling serves in that capacity. The first job, then, is to cut out the cupboard ends, partitions and bottom. Attaching the cabinet to ceiling and wall is the next step.

You can fasten a 2x3 to the ceiling as a nailer for the front of the cabinets and build them into it. A better plan, usually, is to make the cabinet unit first and then attach it. In either case, it can be held by nails through a 1x3 at the top of the back and by nails through the front into the 2x3. If the cabinet does not extend upward all the way to the ceiling (see Fig. 46), mount it first on a wall nailer, using a similar supporting strip at the bottom, either inside or outside. Fill in the space over the cabinet afterward. The filler board (fascia) can be 1/2-inch material nailed to the top edge of the front of the cabinet and perhaps a piece of molding put in the angle.