Floating shelves add an eye-catching, contemporary aesthetic to any room, but if they start sagging, it is imperative that they are repaired before they detach from the wall completely.
First, identify which kind of wall your shelf is attached to. Masonry walls consist of brick or concrete blocks while stud and plasterboard walls contain wooden studs for support.
Find the Right Location
When it comes to installing shelves in your home, finding the ideal location is of utmost importance. By selecting an optimal spot, your shelves will remain stable enough to support their contents without becoming unstable over time and will make accessing items easier without climbing onto shelves.
When selecting the location for your shelf, ensure it is not too high or low for people to accidentally bump into them. Furthermore, try not to place them near other hanging items such as pictures or mirrors as this could put them at risk of being knocked over or broken by their proximity.
As well as choosing an appropriate wall type to hang your shelf on, it is also crucial that the correct type of shelf be chosen for display. Masonry walls tend to be stronger and can support greater amounts of weight while stud and plasterboard walls may collapse under its weight compared with their masonry counterparts.
Prior to drilling into your walls, it is a wise idea to use a stud detector to locate any upright wooden supports within. Studs serve as upright supports that hold plasterboard in place; anchoring shelf brackets into these wooden supports provides more support and will help to prevent their eventual collapse in future.
Once you have found the studs in your wall, mark them with a pencil so that you know exactly where to drill. In addition, be sure to scan the area with a pipe and cable detector beforehand so as to prevent accidental drilling into pipes or cables.
Knocking on the wall to test its strength with your knuckles can also be useful; if any hollow areas appear, an electronic stud finder could help identify where studs may lie.
Measure the Shelf
Before installing shelves to any wall or cabinet – whether wall-hung, cabinet or built-in bookshelves in a library, bookcase or decorative feature – it is essential that they fit the space they will occupy. Nothing beats arriving home with shelves only to realize they don’t match your intended room dimensions due to either height, width or depth issues; taking the time to carefully measure and record measurements beforehand can save yourself this frustration!
Before beginning measuring for your shelf, remove all items from the area and clear away any dust or debris on walls and floors. This will provide you with a clean slate to work from and will reduce potential issues during construction.
As soon as you’re ready to begin, take the first step by stretching a piece of tape across the wall at where you wish to install your shelf. This will help visualize its length as well as any available space for installing it. Take this opportunity also to make sure your walls are structurally sound; otherwise you may require back bracing or support beams in order to ensure the shelf won’t sag over time.
To determine the depth of a shelf, observe what item will be the largest to store there and make adjustments accordingly. Your shelf should be at least an inch deeper than this object for proper access to items stored. Taking this opportunity also offers a good time to take measurements such as ceiling height or crown molding thickness that might obstruct accessing items on it.
Installing corner shelves requires using a framing square to accurately mark their dimensions on the wall. Start from the center of the back wall and measure along each of its four walls until reaching your left and right corners – marking each mark to ensure perfectly straight corners on your shelve.
Mark the Installation Area
With a ruler or carpenter’s level, measure from the shelf outline on the wall to create a reference line and mark your work area. This will be where you install support screws and wall anchors – be careful as any inaccurate measurements could result in shelves that can easily be knocked off their support or broken due to items placed upon them.
As your first shelf bracket should be attached to one of these studs, use your stud finder to locate one near where you would like it placed. Most walls cannot support shelves without additional support – often you can feel this with your fingertips or by tapping on it – but if not you may use a wood drill bit that is slightly smaller than your screw and bore into each marked spot of wall at which there are marks – this ensures the screw doesn’t penetrate too deeply and damages its support structure behind.
Repeat this process at each location where a shelf bracket must be installed, marking each with a sticker to avoid damaging walls with screws and make holes for screws that will secure shelf brackets securely into place. Bore screw pilot holes through each of these markings – again, this helps prevent the screw from damaging plasterboard walls which must not split, making them weaker and more susceptible to further damage in future.
Once all the pilot holes have been drilled, insert wall anchors into each of them. Next, position your shelf onto its brackets and ensure it aligns with each anchor before evenly fastening them with other brackets. Finally, you may add decorative molding or even decorative strips for even greater visual impact if desired; once complete you can sit back and admire your hard-earned creation while showing off all your lovely dishware or pottery on its shelves!
Install the Shelf
Once your shelf has been in place for some time, it may start bowing. This could be down to materials (it is common for floating shelves to have weak spots somewhere) or stress that causes wood fibers to “bow.”
If your shelf bows, applying constant counterpressure will help it return to its original position over time. To do this, remove it from its brackets and apply constant weight with something heavy – this should restore the shelf to its previous state over time.
To ensure the security of your new fixed shelves, it’s essential they’re attached properly to the wall. This is especially essential if you live in rental accommodation as any loose shelves could endanger the property and cause significant damage.
As is ideal, shelves should be attached directly to wall studs – the vertical framing members which hold up drywall – as this ensures maximum strength and longevities of your shelves. However, if this is not an option then drywall anchors may also work effectively to secure shelves.
Installing drywall anchors requires first preparing the wall by boring holes with an equivalent screw or bracket size, then inserting and tapping in an anchor with a rubber mallet. Repeat this process for each of your drill holes using wall plugs of equal size as your screw or bracket size.
Once all anchors have been installed, you can begin the task of mounting your shelf to the wall. Start by positioning one bracket against the wall and leveling it using a spirit level; when that bracket has reached the desired height, mark with pencil where to drill for its successor bracket; repeat this process for each additional bracket until all are at an even height and evenly spaced position – once complete you can fill your new fixed shelves!