# How to make 11" deep floating shelves sturdy



## swindmill (Feb 3, 2016)

I am remodeling my kitchen using a combination of Ikea boxes and custom fronts and shelving. In place of some old upper cabinets, I'll be putting floating shelves made from plywood and ripped down 1x for the fronts and sides. I generally make these about 8" deep on a 1x2 cleat screwed into at least 2 studs. This seems to be plenty strong for decorations and books. 

I'd like to make these shelves 11" deep so that I can store dishes on them. One 27" shelf would ideally hold 8 standard plates and 8 small plates. If I had a scale at home, I'd weigh them...  Rather than a simple cleat, I would add 'teeth' to the cleat for (hopefully) added support. Does anyone have any thoughts on this admittedly vague set of circumstances? Is there a better method to make sure floating shelves don't sag?


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## nealtw (Feb 3, 2016)

There is lots of hard wear on the market.
For the best results I think it should be attached to solid backing before the drywall goes up


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## bud16415 (Feb 3, 2016)

Neal is right. Here is a wild idea kind of what Neal shows only if you have drywall up already. Find the center of studs and drill a hole thru drywall and into the studs with a 5/8 drill about 3 inches deep. Get some 6&#8221; long lengths of threaded rod and put epoxy glue in the holes and pound in the studs. Matching holes in the shelf and glue and slip the shelf on the studs. The glue will grip the threads and you will be able to really load them up. 

You could use half inch all thread also if 5/8 was overkill.


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## swindmill (Feb 4, 2016)

The drywall is up in this room, so I'll just be reparing it when I remove the cabinets. Going into the studs is a nice idea, but with as many as I'd be drilling into, I'm a little worried I'd be slightly off and split one. I suppose another option is to find somewhere else for the dishes. I'm fairly certain I can make them 9" deep with no issues using a cleat. Maybe a 2x2 cleat with 4" lag bolts would be better than a 1x2. Or, an upside down U shape to provide more support against the wall if I want to get creative with these.


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## bud16415 (Feb 4, 2016)

There are all kinds of ways to support them if you don&#8217;t mind visible stuff above or below. A true floating shelf just looks like it is stuck on the wall with glue.


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## swindmill (Feb 4, 2016)

I've built several true floating shelves in my house, but I've never tried to make them more than 8" deep. I was just thinking out loud about other options in my last post.


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## bud16415 (Feb 4, 2016)

These new stud finders  work pretty good, and you could drill a test hole like 1/8 both sides to make sure.


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## slownsteady (Feb 4, 2016)

IMO, if you don't plant firmly into the studs, you are asking for a collapse. A shelf not only handles dead weight, but adds leverage to the equation. You don't have to hit the studs dead center, but shouldn't be half buried.
If you _*really*_ want to go this route, it might be worth opening the drywall. The patch would be partially hidden by the shelf.


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## nealtw (Feb 4, 2016)

There is a big reason they make hardware for this.
https://www.google.ca/search?q=hidd...z97KAhVRymMKHcVzDQgQ_AUIBygB&biw=1682&bih=835


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## swindmill (Feb 4, 2016)

I would probably make the shelves 3" thick, so that would give me space to cut into the drywall and not worry too much about a perfect patch, depending on what I need to fasten to the studs. 

If went this route, what should I attach to the studs and how? I could drill into them, as suggested above, but it seems like I could also attach flat metal pieces to the sides. I'm not sure which would be best.


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## swindmill (Feb 4, 2016)

Some of that hardware looks promising. I will look into that as well.


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## nealtw (Feb 4, 2016)

The one in post 2, you remove drywall, install solid backing between studs far enough back to fit the unit flush with the studs, chip out stud if needed. install that unit and repair drywall leaving the bars sticking out.


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## bud16415 (Feb 4, 2016)

nealtw said:


> There is a big reason they make hardware for this.
> https://www.google.ca/search?q=hidd...z97KAhVRymMKHcVzDQgQ_AUIBygB&biw=1682&bih=835



Why buy something when you can reinvent the wheel I always say. 

If you go with my plan be sure there are no wires in the wall at the locations you will drill. 

With drilling a hole and then gluing in the thread rod the stud strength will be as it was. I might drill in at a 1 or 2 degree angle.


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## swindmill (Feb 4, 2016)

I would certainly rather just make a bracket/support myself. I could mark the studs, cut a small patch out on each stud to make it visible, put the threaded rod in as you suggest, and then simply slide the shelf over the rods. This would also cover the hole in the drywall. That seems fairly simple. The only thing I would need to figure out at this point is how to fashion the back of the shelf to slide over the rods and stay firmly in place.

Using this method, I may just make the shelves 1/5"-2" thick, since I wouldn't be using a 1x2 cleat. Maybe 3/4  ply sandwiching 1/2 inch strips to give me a 2" thick shelf with 1/2" hollow center.


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## bud16415 (Feb 4, 2016)

swindmill said:


> I would certainly rather just make a bracket/support myself. I could mark the studs, cut a small patch out on each stud to make it visible, put the thread rod in as you suggest, and then simply slide the shelf over the rods. This would also cover the hole in the drywall. That seems fairly simple. The only thing I would need to figure out at this point is how to fashion the back of the shelf to slide over the rods and stay firmly in place.
> 
> Using this method, I may just make the shelves 1/5"-2" thick, since I wouldn't be using a 1x2 cleat. Maybe 3/4  ply sandwiching 1/2 inch strips to give me a 2" thick shelf with 1/2" hollow center.



Put some glue in the hole and slip it on.


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## swindmill (Feb 4, 2016)

bud16415 said:


> Put some glue in the hole and slip it on.



If I measure for the holes on the back of the shelf just right so that they line up with the rods, this would work. That may be easier than coming up with something else. In that case, I should maybe make the center solid.


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## slownsteady (Feb 4, 2016)

how about something like this?


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## bud16415 (Feb 4, 2016)

If you drill the rod holes all the way thru and then counter bore the holes for nuts you could attach it with nuts and then plug the holes.


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