Floating shelves

M

mainie

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I'd like to fill on of the alcoves in our living room with floating bookshelves (hiddne supports). Does this type of shelving work for books or would the weight be too much? Also, could we make these ourselves or should we get a carpenter to make them?
 
The weight these can handle wwill depend on the material used and the width of the shelves. MDF will be more prone to bending than ply.

You can buy the support pins in many DIY outlets, you can also get a (bottom half of page) to make acurate drilling of the holes a lot easier. Could make up a template yourself without too much bother though.

Main thing to get right is to make sure the drill/ router bit you use is the correct size so that the pins are a cosy fit.
Leo
 
If you have plasterboard walls, you will probably need to get steel clasps for the walls...don't know the name of these things. But others will know.

When you drill the hole in the wall for the nail, you put in a plastic or steel bit to hold the nail in the wall. The steel bit with claws to hold onto the wall is better for plasterboard.

Most shelves come with plastic bits, and we used these, the shelve tilted downwards immediately with no weight on it! So buy extra steel ones instead.

Somebody must know the name of the bits!!
 
I tried it will oak veneer 26mm MDF, 1.4m long and 300mm deep using 3 of these brackets http://www.sdslondon.co.uk/products.php?parent_id=244&viewprod=49040 per shelf, and 110mm long screws designed for door frames.

I was not happy with the amount of play; The wall was concrete block with plasterboard dot and dab on to it. The plasterboard flexed slightly under the force of the brackets and the screws moved very slightly in their raw plugs. It might have worked if I filled the void behind the plaster and/or used anchor bolts. In the end, as the shelves were in an alcove I added small wooden brackets to each end and left the central hidden bracket for extra support.

BTW cutting the slots for the hidden brackets takes a time and a steady hand. I got the MDF shelves cut to size from a 5" by 7" foot sheet by the suppliers (http://www.woodworkers.ie/ ActiveX buttons may get blocked) for not much extra cost. Added iron on oak veneer and varnished and waxed/wire wool for the finish.

Towger
 
Thanks Leo, they're the metal anchors bits, that dig into the wall as the nail is tightened. They worked for us!
 
Do you mean the "self drive" fixings, pictured [broken link removed]?
Leo
 
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