help with ordering countertop supports

16 years ago

I found out about the ShortRun Pro Freedom Granite Counter Top Brackets from other posts here. I want to use these for my soapstone countertop overhang, but I am not sure I know what to order. My countertop overhang will be on my peninsula, at the same level of the cabinets. It will be 53.5 inches long and be slightly curved. The ends of the overhang will only be 9.5 inches past the cabinet. The longest part of the overhang will be 18.25 inches past the cabinets.

I am planning on ordering 3 Cold Rolled Steel supports which are 1/4" thick: one will be 14" long and installed in the middle of the overhang. Then there will be 2 more which are 12" long each installed about a foot from the middle support.

Is this the correct amount of support? Also, will the 1/4" thick supports be sufficient?

The counter top supports are from here:

http://www.shortrunpro.com/freedom_countertop_bracket__pps_VHV8769YTW_VHV66YTW_VHV3YTW_VHV8769YTW.aspx

I have a picture of my overhang design in my kitchen album.

Here is a link that might be useful: my kitchen plan pics

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Comments (5)

itsallaboutthefood
Original Author
16 years ago
One more thing...the soapstone countertops will be installed 1.5 inches past the edge of the cabinets everwhere other than the overhang.
breezygirl
16 years ago
My granite fabricator is taking care of figuring out the supports for my overhang and providing them (at what cost I don't know), and I'm glad for it. Your fabricator isn't doing this for your stone?
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User
16 years ago
Don't forget that those brackets will need a substantial backing to be able to be installed. Most cabinet backs aren't thick enough to provide the support necessary. If your line doesn't have a 3/4" panel, use a 3/4" piece of plywood cut to size and covered with a veneer panel plus outside corner molding. Make sure that 3/4" goes all the way down to the floor to transfer the weight properly. It's also only as sturdy as it's fastening to any of the other cabinet elements, so you may want to add internal blocking at the cabinet corners (tieing into the thicker sides) to help keep it vertical and to give it something substantial to attach to.

The middle bracket sounds OK, but 12" from the sides is not close enough to the edge. I'd do the 10" or 12" ones (depends on your radius) no more than 6" from the edge of the top. That gives you right around 20" between the side and middle brackets, which should be an OK span since you are going to close to the counter edge.
itsallaboutthefood
Original Author
16 years ago
breezygirl - I have emailed my soapstone fabricator to ask his advice as well.

live_wire_oak - My cabinets are frameless (Dura Supreme) which I upgraded to all plywood. I will check but I believe they are 3/4". I believe the cabinets will be bolted to the floor as well. Would we need to add the internal blocking in this case or did you just mean to do this if we added a separate plywood panel? And thanks for the advice on placement of the brackets...the ShortRun PRO website is a little vague with the installation instructions. Probably not meant for non-contractor types.
itsallaboutthefood
Original Author
16 years ago
Turns out that the back of my cabinets are 1/4" plywood but there will be a 1/2" veneered panel over that. My cabinet designer tells me that "There is also a "hanger rail" attached at the top of the back of the cabinet for stability, so the supports for the counter top overhang could be attached to that." but I don't really know what this means.

I was planning on using these hidden brackets, but now I am wondering if I need to change things to use a bracket which would go over the veneer panel.

The soapstone fabricator was also not very helpful.