Put up Shelves
Shelves free up space and conveniently hold items on the walls of your home. Shelves can also be a lovely addition to the room's décor. Because shelves' main task is to hold weight, it's crucial that they be installed correctly. Crooked shelves don't do the job they're meant to do. Worse are shelves that have been put up without knowledge of how the walls are constructed. Use the following steps on how to put up shelves correctly on walls made of drywall.
Steps
- Decide where you would like to put up the shelves.
- This is mostly up to personal preference, but factors such as opened doors and stud placement should be considered when choosing a location.
- Find the stud closest to where you want your shelves and mark it with a pencil.
- A stud is the wood framing that comprises the inner structure of the walls. It's essential to find a stud when putting up shelves because shelves drilled into dry wall are not well supported and will collapse.
- Find the next stud either to the right of left of the one you've already found. Mark it with a pencil.
- Studs are usually placed every 16 to 24 inches (40.62 cm to 60.96 cm) apart. Ideally you want to put up shelves with the incorporation of at least two studs. If your shelves are shorter than the distance between two studs, you will want to use one stud as a center point for your shelves.
- Hold up one of the brackets to the wall. Decide on the height of the shelves.
- Make a mark on the wall with your pencil.
- If you are putting up shelves at more than 1 height, make sure to make marks for that as well.
- Place the level lengthwise just above the pencil mark. Draw a straight horizontal line to the next stud.
- Repeat this step for the shelves at other heights.
- Line up the fixing hole (the screw hole of the bracket) with the pencil mark on the stud.
- Drill a 2-inch (5.08 cm) hole into the stud. Screw the 2-inch (5.08 cm) wood screws in so that the bracket fits tightly.
- Repeat this step for the other studs and other shelves. Use your level to guarantee the brackets are aligned.
- Erase your pencil marks.
- Place your shelves onto the brackets. Adjust to level.
- Screw the shelves to the brackets. Use 1/2-inch (1.27 cm)wood screws.
Tips
- If you don't want to purchase a stud finder, you can find studs fairly accurately by knocking on the wall until you hear a solid sound instead of a hollow sound.
- It's best to screw all brackets into place before putting up any shelves. If any of the brackets are misaligned, it's much easier to fix them if you haven't already installed the shelves.
Warnings
- Do not put more weight on your shelves than is recommended for the type of wood and the method of installation.
Things You'll Need
- Shelves
- Wall
- Drill
- Screwdriver
- Level
- Stud finder
- Brackets
- 2-inch wood screws
- 1/2-inch wood screws
- Pencil with an eraser
