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I am building a plinth for a wardrobe that I will place on carpet.

Can somebody please sanity check my initial thought of using a relatively 'thin' sheet material such as 18mm ply/melamine/chipboard instead of a perhaps more traditional 'thick' timber such as 36mm pine like I have used before?

For clarity, I would stand the 18mm sheet material on that 18mm end, rather than have it on its face, for stability and strength. I would also have the plinth be about 100mm tall, so it should look something like:

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My reasoning would be that the thinner material will have a smaller footprint and apply more pressure to the carpet in order to help the construction level out more.

Is this a silly idea? Will it be strong enough?

physicsboy
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    The thinner board will apply more PSI to the carpet, but unless you were to use a large base(4x8 sheet) that section of carpet will be finish(garbage) if you ever moved the wardrobe. On carpet don't think 36 mm or 18 mm would make much difference in sinking in. 18 mm should be enough to support the weight, could probably go down to 12/13 mm even. – crip659 Aug 21 '22 at 17:39

1 Answers1

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I'm a bit into overbuilding things, having tried to cut corners too much and seen the results.

Using American measurements, that roughly translates to 4" height and 3/4" thick boards. I'd do something like:

  • Use 2" x 4" lumber inside. That is 1-1/2" (twice your boards) x 3-1/2".
  • Add melamine chipboard on the outside to provide a finished look. 1/2" (12mm) would be plenty.
  • Add a platform - plywood or melamine (at least 1/2" thick) on top of the lumber and melamine. One option is to use 4" melamine around the edges, which will rise up 1/2" above the 2x4s. Cut the platform piece to fit exactly inside the melamine and on top of the 2x4s. That way the 2x4s provide the real support and the melamine provides finished edges.
  • Place the wardrobe on top. It should be entirely on the inner part - i.e., not resting directly on the 4" melamine boards.
manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
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