# Need help with floating shelf stability



## MRod (Apr 11, 2007)

Hi LJ family,

Can you please provide some feedback on the following project questions:

Am I crazy to think a shelf that is probably 40 lbs on its own can float with anchors into drywall? Will two 4' shelfs butted next to each other work better?

Should I be using different materials?

*DETAILS:*

Project Requirements:
- 8' long shelf
- about 7' off the ground.
- display shelf for 1lb coffee bags 
- Desire to have shelf float
- Shelf should be 2" thick and 10" deep

Constraints:
- The wall has either metal or wood studs. Not sure
-The wall is painted in a custom color that I don't want to poke a lot of holes into to see if the studs are wood or metal

*CURRENT DESIGN*
Torsion Box
- 1/2" Oak Hardwood Plywood for the top and bottom
- One - 2" h x 1"w x 8' l piece of Alder for the wall support (a bit lighter than than oak)
- One - 2" h x 1"w x 8' l piece of OAK for the front facing vertical piece
- small alder pieces in the middle to make up the strength

Dry fit picture here - 









Thanks for the help!
MRod


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

i just used some new " butterfly type dry wall anchors i got at ace hardware .
they are a t type with long side (2) ribbons and a sliding outside holder ,
you drill a 1/2" hole in sheetrock and slide the base in and it flatens behind wall, 
then you slide stopper down ribbons and push it tight by wiggleing it as you pull on ribbons .
it goes flush to wall face , and then you just snap of the ribbons and you put the enclosed machine screw 
with whatever clip holder and tighten it in anchor .
they make then in various holding powers , VERY EASY .
they go from 3/8" to 31/2" adjustment .
if you hit a stud just use a regular screw in that spot .


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## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

With a shelf that long, you will probably span about 4 studs. A cleat, lag screwed to the wall, should be more than enough to support the shelf. Make the cleat out of a 2 X 4. Make the lag bolt holes in the form of short slots to allow for leveling. 1/4×3" lag bolts will be more than sufficient. A couple of #8, 1 1/2" screws thru the top- into the cleat should be all you need to fasten the shelf into the cleat.


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## MRod (Apr 11, 2007)

Thanks guys. Patron, I picked up the butterfly anchors today. I will use Lew's idea to create a slot for the anchor bolt for leveling.

Lew has a good point that there will be at least 4 studs that I should hit. My concern is that if they are metal studs I won't get a good hold, aren't metal studs hollow?

I'll do a test to see if there metal, if wood then I'll go with lag screws instead.

Thanks guys!


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## BigAxe (Oct 28, 2013)

For that weight you have to anchor your shelves into studs.


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## ChefHDAN (Aug 7, 2010)

Tricky thing with the snap toggles if you're dealing with an insulated wall. I did a shelf project and the walls were so tightly insulated I had to fight with every single one to try & get the "in-wall" piece to lay flat to screw a bolt into, managed to get almost every other one to work and used 50# screw anchors for the rest.

If steel studs, you can get self tapping screws designed for steel stud assembly. They are very common and no prob at HD etc. another thought could also be to see if you could set the snap toggles in the steel stud, which IMO would be near bulletproof, but perhaps a fussy PITA


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## runswithscissors (Nov 8, 2012)

A magnetic stud finder should quickly tell you whether you have metal studs.


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## Daruc (Apr 20, 2015)

I don't think your 1" cleat is enough to handle the leverage of the 10" shelf. 
Maybe if your shelf was 3" thick with a 2" cleat would be better. 
I did these shelves with just a cleat, they're only about 5' long. 








I used panel adhesive on my cleats, put them on the wall (into studs) and let them set up for a day before putting the shelves on. I also used panel adhesive along the back edge of the shelf when I attached the shelves with nails into the cleat. Another trick I do to keep them level, is cut the back edge at about 2 degrees so that they angle up a tad. Setting up, and over time, and with weight on them, they will come back to level instead of drooping down. Just something I do that works for me. 
I would also prop the shelves up, after attaching, until all the adhesive has set up, over night at least.

If it were me and you wanted to keep them 2" thick, I would drill steel rods into the (wood) studs and set the shelves onto the rods. I don't think your cleat will stay on the wall with only sheetrock anchors. Maybe with the panel adhesive they have a chance


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Metal studs are hollow. You could toggle bolt them too. Hit every stud you can wood or metal. If the space has a drop ceiling then push a ceiling tile up and take a look at the top plate.


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