Joseph Corlett is the resident countertop expert here. If you google "Joseph Corlett gardenweb counter support" you'll get all kinds of info. If I remember correctly he uses tubular steel to support overhangs, but it likely depends on material and overall dimensions.

Thanks benjesbride. I have found good advice on the supports in those threads, just not specifically for Ikea cabinets which have some unique challenges with the thin metal strips at the front and back being what keep the cabinets together instead of anything that you can screw into.

We actually went to our granite place yesterday to talk to someone and get a better understanding of the supports. I think we will be doing something like adding some 2x4's to the top and removing the back metal strip so we have something stable to attach the supports to. The downside is that we will lose some depth in what we can put in the top drawer. There is enough room for this, it will just mean you can't put anything higher than the drawer inside of it.

However it will only affect two cabinets. We have the drawer inside drawer thing so it will be two drawers containing lesser used items, so hopefully this will not be too much trouble.

I would still be interested in seeing what others have done if anyone has done a peninsula with Ikea Sektion cabinets.

I'd put a plywood backer on the cabinet(s) and then cover that with a panel. You need something solid to handle the supports. (this is what I will do with my island - I'll create a center "spine" with 3/4" plywood.)

FYI (for future searches) we think we are going with this bracket: http://www.countertopbracket.com/Countertop-Support-Hidden-Standard-Plus-p/sp.htm

The ikea cabinets will need to be beefed up a bit to handle these. Our plan is to put some 2x4s inside the cabinets where we can attach the brackets. That is a little bit tricky because of the drawer glides, but our simulation shows that they will fit if we turn them the right way.

LIsa:

I'm not a fan of brackets, especially those without triangulation.

I use 1" square tube aluminum. It's inexpensive, available locally, easy to fabricate, looks great, never rusts, and is very strong. Through bolt the tubes to the IKEA cabinet sides below the rear metal stringer and shim them back to flush.

@Lisa - FYI, we had bought those brackets, but ended up not using them and it was too expensive to return them. I would discuss with your fabricator before you purchase anything at all. Our fabricator had on hand very flat steel bars that he glued to the bottom of the countertop to support the overhang and that went from the back of the ikea countertop to the front.

@KL,

So were the bars not really attached to the cabinet (other than by glue with the countertop?)

"Our fabricator had on hand very flat steel bars that he glued to the bottom of the countertop to support the overhang and that went from the back of the ikea countertop to the front."

I'm not a fan of steel on the flat; it's not stiff enough.

"Does "triangulation" mean having a third side to the bracket?"

Yes. A piece is welded between the 90 degree sides.

"How do you shim them back to flush? On the top?"

Yes. Some plastic laminate ripped to width would be perfect; it's non-compressive.

"I'm not sure I understand "through bolt the tubes". Does that just mean we would drill holes through the tubes and bolt them to the cabinets?"

Yes.

@Lisa- I believe they were also bolted into the cabinets.

Hi Joseph,

do you hanppen to have a picture of your tube aluminum being used in a sektion cabinet to support island overhang?

I'd be interested in seeing this too. The Sektion cabinets are different than the example shown above.

I'm installing the Sektion cabinets with 3 cm granite countertops on a overhang on a peninsula. One fabricator says I don't need any additional support, the other says I do. The difference in quotes is $2,000, but the last thing I need are buckling cabinets unde the weight of the stone. I would love to see the supports too.

how much overhang will there be?

On 15" deep cabinets, I am planning a 12" overhang.

Reduce that to 10" and you'll need no supports, according to the Marble Institute of America.

@deborahonholiday, FYI, I showed what we ended up doing to add extra support here: http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/4312078/island-overhang-opinion#18829097

I wish that we had used supports like Joseph showed above. We went with what our fabricator suggested instead, but I don't think it is as good as the longer supports.