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I'm finishing up my kitchen island and have a 36" deep piece of laminate top. It overhangs 12" on the back of the two 33" wide base cabinets.

I know it is common practice to install L brackets to support the overhang, but that means the bracket is screwing into the thin particle wood backing the cabinets have. Is this sufficient? Is there a better way as Norm Abram would say?

I saw online some marble cantilever supports that work in a way that they run across the entire top of the cabinet base making it so the weight of that area counters the 12" overhang. They require notching out the back of the base cabinet just enough so the bracket sits flush with the rest of the surface. These seem both expensive and maybe not made for a laminate style countertop.

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Corbels are commonly used (as opposed to L-brackets), and they should work fine with your cabinet panel, assuming appropriate screws are used. Most of the force applied is in shear (up and down).

You could also install a sheet of 3/4" BC plywood onto your cabinet (nicer side down), and lay the laminate top onto that. The plywood should fit neatly inside the laminate top's edge lip, and it will provide more than enough strength for your small overhang while maintaining a floating appearance.

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  • I like the plywood idea, would a single corbel in the middle be acceptable or is that too far a span? If it's in the middle of the span it can be secured to the frames of the two 33" cabinets as opposed to the backing of the cabinets (I've seen some really cheesy backing on cabinets)
    – Platinum Goose
    Dec 14, 2018 at 14:52
  • If anchoring is really a concern, one corbel will probably do, though I'd expect some flex at the corners. Two would be better.
    – isherwood
    Dec 14, 2018 at 14:59
  • @isherwood This countertop I ordered actually already has filler installed. It's a very high quality countertop, I'd dare say the Cadillac for laminate and the material the laminate wraps. My concern is that if I just glue and screw the top down to the base cabinets that the 12" overhanging the back side would not have enough support when someone leans on it. I do not want to use a corbel block, but am open to the same pricipal in a metal L bracket. Something clean/crisp. I am thinking about just doing one on each end where the cabinet is reinforced.
    – CCCBuilder
    Dec 14, 2018 at 20:33
  • @isherwood Here is the bracket: amazon.com/gp/product/B07D5VN4JT/…
    – CCCBuilder
    Dec 14, 2018 at 21:05
  • What is "a filler"? I'd be surprised if anyone could break off a 12" overhang with just laminated particle board, let alone something with another layer underneath. You probably don't need anything.
    – isherwood
    Dec 15, 2018 at 1:40

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