Not every project goes as well as planned. We would be happy to spend a few minutes answering your questions.
Current Articles | RSS Feed
Some shelving is built on site by a handyman, and some is purchased at a store and brought home for assembly. The store bought shelves are certainly faster, but typically don’t support as much weight as the site-built shelves. The biggest challenge is supporting the weight, and that falls to the brackets.
You really have to consider how much weight you are placing on the shelving, as well as how large the shelving will be. If you are building wood shelves, use plywood rather than particle board. Particle board will sag. For the supports, some people use metal “L” brackets which are fine so long as they are not overloaded. If you use metal, make sure the top leg extends to the edge of the shelf. In other words, don’t use a 4 inch bracket for a 12 inch shelf; use a bracket that will support both the shelf and its weight.
Other folks use wood supports. You can make your own in the shape of a triangle with the hypotenuse at a 45-degree angle. This would span from the front edge of the shelf to the wall at that angle. You can also screw a 2”x4” to the wall and use it as a ledger. The rear of the shelf would sit on this ledge but the front would need to be supported with a piece of wood at a 45-degree angle.
Allowed tags: <a> link, <b> bold, <i> italics