Wall Shelf Installation The Right Way
Wall Shelf Tips & Tricks To Get The Job Done Properly
Whilst it is possible to find out the way to install a wall shelf oneself, you really should know how to do it properly to avoid any disasters.When you are putting up a wall shelf there are many areas of the installation that you can get wrong, the color, size, or price of your wall shelf, however if a job is worth doing it’s worth doing right, so let not make a mistakes. An improperly installed wall shelf will appear bad, won’t last very long, and is actually a safety hazard should it fall off the wall.
Before you can install any wall shelf correctly the first thing you must do is understand the walls in your house. You’ll find various methods and wall anchors which are designed for specific types of walls. It can all be a little bit confusning, but really it only comes down to 2 principal factors, the type of wall and the weight of the wall shelf what you are going to hang on the wall.
All shelving installations are accomplished with anchors. These are plastic or metal pieces which are installed inside the wall. Then, you put screws in to the anchors and they hold them securely. All anchors are rigorously tested and are assigned a shear load rating. The load rating is to help us ascertain the load the anchor can take . Given that you do not want to test the limits of these anchors, a common rule of thumb is usually to divide the rated quantity by 4.
How To Put Up A Wall Shelf When You Have a Brick Wall
Many house walls are made of brick or concrete and if this is the case you are going to need plastic plugs to install the wall shelf. These plastic wall plugs are cone shaped sleeves that you insert into the holes that you have drilled in to your wall. The hole you drill in the wall for the wall shelf must be the same diameter as the plastic plug so that you can insert the plug and softly tap it in with a hammer. When the plug has been inserted into the drilled hole it should fit nice a tight and be flush with the wall, so make sure the hole you have drilled is deep enough.
When the screw is screwed in, the walls of the plug are pushed outwards, and the anchor is secured in place. This makes the plug extremely strong and it will not come out. The difficulty here is drilling into the brick or concrete wall, however when you are using your drill make sure you have the “Hammer” function on the drill switched on, this will make drilling the wall much easier.
If you want to know if the hole you have drilled is deep enough for the plastic plug simply do this:
Put a piece of tape on the drill which is the same length as the plastic plug or anchor, when the tape on the drill has reached the wall you know this is the same depth as the plug! One common problem when drilling walls is to drill the hole two large which mean the plug will just fall out. To avoid this always use a drill that is slightly smaller than the plastic plug, remember you can make the hole bigger but not smaller!
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How To Install Shelves on Studs in a Drywall
The majority of houses today are built with dry wall interiors as it’s very flexible and quick and easy to install. Another reason why dry walls are used is they are inexpensive, and is easy to repair or take down if you want to redesign your house and move walls. The main problem with this material is it’s flimsy and not very strong.If you are not careful anything you put that is not done correctly will eventually sag and fall out, especially if it’s a all shelf holding weighty items. Without any doubt the best and strongest way to put up a wall shelf is to ensure the screws are fixed in to the wall studs. When we talk about studs we mean the upright frames that hold up the dry wall. The stud frames are made from metal or wood and generally spaced out bewteen 16 or 24 inches apart. Never just put up a wall shelf directly into the dry wall, you should always put shelves that are going to hold heavy items screwed into the studs.
Locating the studs can be difficult but an easy way to do this is to knock the wall with your hand until your hear a thud. When you have located the first stud mark it and do the same again until you find the next stud, you will know you have found it as the sound when you knock the wall is solid. Most wall systems are built with studs every 16 or 24 inches. Measure the distance, and you will know how far apart your studs are placed. This isn’t always reliable, especially in older houses where the studs were sometimes placed more randomly.
If you don’t fancy locating the studs this manual way you can buy a stud finder from most hardware stores. Stud finders work by “feeling” the depth of the wall, and being able to recognize a solid stud behind the wall. This will help you to easily locate the stud, and also the center of it. The price of a stud finder is not expensive and well worth purchasing. Stud finders aren’t always 100% reliable, since they might “see” wiring or conduits in the wall as a stud. To make sure that it is a stud, continue to scan along the wall until you find the next stud. If it’s 16 or 24 inches from the first one, then they are probably both studs.
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How To Install Shelves on Drywall Between Studs
There will be times when the studs are not in the right place for where you want to put up a wall shelf, don’t panic there are specialized tools and anchors to help you secure a wall shelf to a dry wall without using the studs. Fortunately there are quite a few types of anchors made for this. All of the ratings listed are for a 1/2 drywall.
- The Plastic toggle bolt
A “butterfly” shaped anchor. You squeeze the wings and then push them through the hole. When you insert them they then spread out on the other side and grab onto the back of the wall. This type of bolt is rated for 40 pounds. - Toggle bolt.
This is a long screw with a spring-loaded wings that pop open after being pushed through the hole and brace on the back of the drywall when the screw is tightened. These are rated for 50 to 115 pounds. - Self-tapping Toggle Bolt.
These are quite Similar to a toggle bolt however as the name suggest “self taping” you do not need to drill a hole. It is rated for 25 to 60 pounds. - Molly Bolt.
A screw with 3 fins around it. When the screw is inserted and tightened, the fins bend and flatten out on the other side of the wall holding the bolt securely in place. Rated for 40 to 50 pounds. - Spiral anchor.
A self-tapping screw with a hollow core. You screw it into the wall, then screw a regular screw into the hollow part in the center. Since a spiral anchor doesn’t have anything that holds onto the back of the wall it is only rated for 17 pounds.
Always make sure the anchor you are using is weighted for the items you are going to put on the wall shelf.
When you hang a wall shelf make sure that the holes are drilled evenly. Since most brackets come with multiple holes for screws, it is recommended to use most if not all of them. The more anchoring that you do when putting up a wall shelf mean you will have peace of mind knowing that your shelf and it’s con-tense is not going to fall down.
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Watch The Video On How To Install A wall Shelf Using Dry Wall Anchors
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