# Garage cabinets and water problems



## plots (Jan 3, 2008)

Has anyone solved this problem? I live in the Midwest and I have some reclaimed kitchen cabinets in my garage serving as a work bench and storage. In the winter months, the garage floor gets very wet. This typically happens after it has snowed and the snow melts from my truck after it's parked in the garage. This has done some major damage to the cabinets and it looks like @#$!.

I'm designing new cabinets for the garage and I'd like to raise up the cabinets and do more of a short pedestal style cabinet, lifting the cabinets about 6 inchs off the floor. Does anyone have any ideas or experience in products or designs to make this happen. My first thought was making some custom aluminum legs.


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## JJackson (Mar 23, 2007)

Well, you might build the bases out of 2×6 treated. This would give you 5 1/2" of lift and if any moisture gets to them, no problem. Just a quick thought.


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## Critterman (Dec 20, 2007)

plots there are quite a few options including PVC lumber that works and looks like painted wood. Use it for legs/bases will never rot, but I would do what a lot of manufactures are doing in garages now, and that is to suspend them from the wall and/or with small legs for added support. Several magazines have shown these, Workbench, and Family Handyman are two I can think of. Aluminum won't rust but with the chemicals off the road in winter they will corrode. The PVC might be an answer, more expensive, but if you don't have to replace it every year….


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## GaryK (Jun 25, 2007)

Rockler has a bunch of feet/levelers to raise things off the floor.

http://www.rockler.com/CategoryView.cfm?Cat_ID=37


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## rikkor (Oct 17, 2007)

Do you need to get them that high off the floor?


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## waroland (Oct 5, 2007)

I used the Rockler ones on my Kitchen cabinets and love them. They make it very easy to level and it keeps the cabinets at the normal toekick height. They furnish clips to attach a toekick board if you want to.


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## Croakermea (Dec 30, 2007)

I've also used kitchen cabinets, but like to work at a higher level so I don't have to bend. If I had a base cabinet, I used a two 2×4 frames the size of the cabinet separated by 2×4 risers to get the height I wanted. Throw on a sheet of plywood to the base frame and you have storage underneath for wood scraps. If I had a base cabinet I used just a single 2×4 frame. Since my shop is the third garage bay, I like mobility and I mounted these on 50, 75, 100 or 125 lbs caster wheels from HomeDepot or Lowes. The weight carrying capacity was determined by what I planned to load in the cabinet. You can get these wheels with and without locks. I used locks on the cabinet for my 12" dewalt sliding miter saw that I store my planer inside and on my main workbench. Two others are freely mobile as they support a benchtop drill press and a small band saw. I live in a house that we've renovated top to bottom and I rarely throw out anything because I just know I'm going to need it to repair the next thing that breaks ; ) So those last two cabinets store all those highly valuable parts that my wife calls junk.


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## Jamie (Dec 16, 2007)

Gary is right.. You could also go for locking casters which would raise the cabinet off of the floor, and still allow you to move them to mop up all of that water!


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## plots (Jan 3, 2008)

I like the PVC wood and locking caster ideas - not to say that the others aren't good too - If I went with the casters and If I ever moved, I could simply roll the cabinets out the door. The new homeowner might not like that.


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

Rolling cabinets are nice. When my son-in-law moved out, I rolled his cabinets into my shop. He didn't like it.
So I rolled over the table saw and dust collector also.


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## Dadoo (Jun 23, 2007)

I used pressure treated 2×4s for legs. If one goes bad, it's designed to be relatively easily replaced. Aluminum would function but is also expensive. Steel feet and roller bearings will eventually rust. My main bench is on rollers so it can serve several purposes, but when the cars are "melting off", it's tucked up against a wall where there's little water puddling.


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## motthunter (Dec 31, 2007)

I use a combination of pressure treated bases, adjustable feet, casters, and wall hanging. I have even seen people use tar paper, but I am snot sure how great that works.


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