Floating Shelves

[msajeep]

I've been asked to come up with a design for some floating shelves. Just curious what methods you guys have used to do this. Was thinking about using something like this
http://www.rockler.com/blind-shelf-supports

I need them to support a decent amount of weight.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions

[meackerman]

how deep are the shelves going to be?

I've made them where I just bolted a 2x2 to the wall and slipped a hollow floating shelf over it and nailed through the top into the 2x2. supported a fair amount of weight, but if the shelf is too deep the leverage will be too much.

[msajeep]

meackerman said:

---

how deep are the shelves going to be?

I've made them where I just bolted a 2x2 to the wall and slipped a hollow floating shelf over it and nailed through the top into the 2x2. supported a fair amount of weight, but if the shelf is too deep the leverage will be too much.

---

I'm going over to meet with them next week and will get the exact dimensions then but I just want to have a good plan to give them when we meet. I'm guessing probably around 8-9 inches deep. You used just nails to hold it down? I would feel like that wouldn't be enough.

[builderbru]

French cleats. Made mine from a copy of Wood magizine article from a couple of years ago. Can't recall the month but will look when I'm home this weekend.

[meackerman]

bolts to hold the 2x2 to the studs.

nailed through the top of the shelf (1/2" ply) into the 2x2. You want the nails long enough to go pretty much through the entire 2x2 but not through the bottom of the shelf.

you'd have to either split the 2x2 or rip the bolts out of the studs to have it come off the wall.

but as the shelf gets deeper the leverage increases and at some point something is going to fail with enough weight on the shelf. but that's true for all shelving.


the 2x2 also makes for a kind of fat floating shelf.

[msajeep]

Thanks for the replies. Would love to see a copy of the article if you find it.

My thought was with enough weight/leverage the nails would start to work their way out of the 2x2.

[meackerman]

You could use trim head screws instead of nails.

[Cooler]

I drilled 1/4" diameter holes into the edge of the shelf about 2" to 3" deep on 14" centers. I marked the location of one stud. I used dowel centers to locate the drilling locations for all the studs: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61...SY355_.jpg

Drill as deep as your drill bit allows, 2½ to 3 inches is good.

I used mild steel rod as the load was not very heavy. If it were heavy i would have used 3/8" diameter rod which would be OK for 3/4" thick stock.

You can get rod for just a few dollars at Lowes or Home Depot; this is much cheaper than the brackets you are showing.

My house is plaster so I had to scribe to fit the wall which was not exactly flat. This won't look good unless it matches the wall tightly.

[Joel H.]

I make mine similar to what Mark described.

Here is a 6" deep by 6' long floating shelf in my hallway:






Here is one that is under construction. I sandwich a 3/4" thick hardwood board between two 3/4" pieces of plywood.

Oblique view with the 2" x 3/4" piece that is bolted into the wall studs:


This shows the piece that is bolted into the wall inside the "sandwich" (backwards of course).



This shows the bolt with washer - the washer is very important to keep the part screwed into the wall secure - as Mark pointed out there could be a failure without a secure foundation.



This shelf is 23" wide by 15" deep and 2 1/4" thick (three pieces of 3/4") covered by a 2 1/4" molding. It will be cleaned up & painted of course.

Hope this is clear and helps,

Joel

[MeanGene]

I used a hollow core door and picture framed the edges. To mount it I trimmed a 2 X 4 to fit inside the core and mounted it to the wall. Only deviation form others is I attached a similar trimmed 2 X 4 in 3 places 90 degrees to the wall mount. The hollow shelf then slid onto the mount, no need for nails at all. Supports enough weight to use as a book shelf. Sorry, no pictures.