Expert: Jamie Yocono - 9/25/2008

Question
QUESTION: Jamie,
I am building custom built in bench seating for our kitchen nook.  The nook is shaped as half an octagon.  The angle from one wall to the next is 135 deg and so on around the half octagon.  The edges of the cabinets touch in the design; however, I am afraid this will not be perfect and I will need some type of filler so no gaps are showing.  Any suggestions on how to do this?

ANSWER: Hi Ken,

Believe it or not, I built a half-octagon booth in a kitchen for the last home I lived in. It was awesome.

But I'm having a hard time understanding what you mean about the cabinets touching. Are you talking about cabinets below, that make up the bench? If there are only two, don't they just butt up to one another, with no gap?

Can you either write back with more information, or send me a couple of images? I think All-Experts just added a way for you to send pictures along with your questions.

I look forward to seeing what you have, and am hopeful that I'll be able to come up with a solution. That home I lived in was a geodesic dome home, and every single wall in there was angled. It took me a long time to complete the interior, but I got to be very skilled at building angular pieces. I'm sure I'll come up with an idea or two for you.

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Jamie,

Thanks!  Please see attached two pics of my Kitchen Nook.  You can see in the second picture that where the cabinet edges touch is what I am talking about.  Any suggestions on how to get the cleanest line between the two cabinets?

Ken

Answer
Ken,

I think you might be over thinking this corner detail. Perhaps you're thinking these cabinets are going to move or shrink over time. But if they're affixed properly in position, they won't move. Still, with regular square cabinets, you would screw them into each other to keep a gap from opening up.

The simplest solution is to cut a long filler strip, mounting it in that tight corner where the two cabinets meet. You could use a 2 x 4, just cut that angle on it, using a table saw. Then mount the filler strip first to one cabinet, using screws. Put the two cabinets in place, clamp them together, and then install the screws in the other cabinet, thus attaching them into one angled unit.

If you're still worried that it's going to open up, you could attach a 2 x 4 strut that attaches these two cabinets in the rear. All you would need to do is cut an angle on each end of a 2 x 4, and then screw from the insides of each cabinet into the 2 x 4. You might want to install 2 struts - one low, and one high. That baby won't be going anywhere.

I hope this makes sense. If not, I can try to make a simple drawing and send it to you. But it sounds like you know what you're doing, so I think my description should be enough to get you going.

Good luck, write back if you need more help, or a clarification of what I've written.

Jamie Yocono
www.wooditis.com
Las Vegas, NV