How to Fix a Wall-Mounted Shelving Unit

Adding shelves to your home is a fantastic method to save the floor area and display pieces like photographs, family pictures, or novels. There are numerous options to select from, and reclaimed wood may also make your box shelves or rustic storage stylish. Here’s how to install them.

Safety First

When drilling, pounding, or inserting a screw into a wall, make sure you use a pipe, cable and stud detector (also known as a multi-purpose digital detector) to check what’s behind it first. A stud detector is a simple way to keep track of your pipe and cable runs. Simply walk around with it over the surface of the location, and it will tell you where the dangers are.

How to get a strong fixing

For masonry walls, such as those made of bricks and mortar, you’ll need a hammer-action drill with a masonry bit. To pierce the plaster and enter the wall behind it, use at least 50 mm screws and wall plugs.

For stud partition walls, drive your screws into the timber noggins (horizontal) or studs (the vertical portion of the frame). You may discover them by tapping and listening or with an electric stud detector.

We’d recommend 38 mm or 50 mm screws for heavy loads since they have good fixing and don’t require wall plugs. The screws should be the heaviest gauge that the holes in the bracket will accommodate. On smaller brackets, it’s most likely a 4 mm gauge; on larger ones, 5 mm or 5.5 mm are more common.

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How to Build a Fixed Shelf

Under the shelf and with the long arm against the wall is where you should position the short one. Keep in mind that because of the long arm’s location, you’ll be able to determine how close you can stack the shelves atop each other.

Step 1

Before attaching brackets, ensure there aren’t any hidden pipes or cables in the area behind the wall. Pencil a line where you want the shelf’s bottom against the wall. Then, locate where the first bracket should be and how far it is from the second. To ensure the marks are level, use a good spirit level.

Step 2

Hold the first bracket up to the line, make sure it’s straight, and pencil in the wall through the drilling holes. Repeat for the second bracket. If there are more than two brackets, space them equally apart between the outer ones.

Step 3

All it takes is drilling into the wall and securing the brackets (if you’re working with a masonry wall, use wall plugs). Place the shelf into position. Mark the wall with a pencil; these are the locations for brace holes for the fixing screws. Then, use the pilot holes on the bottom for the short screws. Replace the shelf and then carefully screw in the fixings while being careful not to go through to the other side.

Thanks for reading!

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