DIY Network

My father in law is building us new kitchen cabinets. They look beautiful, but when we talked about installing them it raised some concerns.
He is not building a back to the cabinets. He is using our wall as the back of the cabinets.

My concern is, will the cabinets be sturdy enough and is there any reason why we would need a back to the cabinet. For some reason, I feel it would be better to have a wooden back to the cabinets. Is this in my head or is there some fact to this though? Please help...

The back adds rigidity to the cabinet. It also allows you to mount the cabinet into a vertical wall stud regardless of how your cabinets line up with the studs.

eddie+carrie,
They can be made without a back if it's done correctly. As Joecercone advised the back adds rigidity and strength to the cabinet carcass as well as giving you the ability/option to mount the cabinets securely to wall studs regardless of where they are. But if the cabinet carcasses are being made of 3/4" plywood and you install mounting rails (minimum 1x3's) on the top and bottom back side of the cabinets then you could eliminate the back.

Personally I prefer a plywood backed cabinets that are at least 1/2" thick, but I do prefer a solid wood top and bottom mounting rails over those 1/8" or 1/4" masonite backed cabinets. I do not recommend using plywood or a composite as the mounting rails because they can and usually will delaminate or deteriorate due to the load. Open back cabinets are usually base cabinets because the load they carry is picked up by the wall and floor. Upper cabinets which believe it or not can have more of a weight load in them usually have a solid backing because it adds to their strength so they can hold more weight while just being attached to the wall. I have made plenty of upper cabinets without a backing only using mounting rails. But I'll usually use a 1x4 or 1x6 maple or oak as the rails and make it into a French cleat. The advantage of making the 1x into a French cleat is that it distributes the weight load across the entire top and bottom rails not just on the fasteners (screws) holding it to the wall, it holds the cabinets tight to the wall and it makes installing the cabinets a snap since they are just slipped onto the French cleat. To plumb the cabinets using a French cleat system you just have to level the wall portion of the cleats as you secure it because the cabinet will automatically be level when it's in place. I also usually leave the sides of the cabinets about 1/2" deeper then I'll need, then I'll scribe them to the wall for a perfect fit.

So it's not all in your head, you're just thinking of a more traditionally built cabinet.

But this is just my opinion, I hope it helps.

Also without without some sort of back any place the cabinets are not tight to the wall (and there's always going to be low spots) will show up.