Getting the hang of shelves

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 Getting the hang of shelves

Make sure you have the right tools before fixing anything to walls

One of the most basic DIY jobs is hanging floating shelves – if you use the right tools for the job.

First identify where the shelves are going to be fixed to the wall.

I took a spirit level and drew a faint line horizontally across the wall where the brackets were to be fixed, then I held the bracket on to the pencil line and marked the wall through the screw hole in the bracket with a pencil right on top of the level pencil line. This way once the shelf is up it hides the pencil line.

The next stage is to identify the type of wall. In old properties they will be solid brick or lath and plaster. In a modern property, they will be timber frame with plasterboard, solid blocks or a dry wall system using metal/tin as the frame.

Solid walls must be drilled into with a masonry drill bit and the size of the bit must match the size of the wall plug – or rawl plug.

Drill your hole the depth of the wall plug, adding an extra 10mm for dust. Use tape to mark the depth of the hole on to the drill bit, push the wall plug into the hole, hold the bracket over the hole and tighten the screw. A mains-powered drill is better at drilling holes in solid walls as cordless drills tend not to have a hammer action setting.

A bit more care must be taken for lath and plaster walls, so as not to disturb the plaster. After the wall has been marked out, use a masonry drill bit to drill through plaster. This will take two seconds and one touch of the trigger, then change the drill bit for a wood bit to drill through the lath.

The best fixing for a lath wall is a spring toggle fixing, designed for heavy loads. However, you have to use the screw provided with the toggle so check it passes through the bracket. Push the toggle into the hole then hold up the shelf bracket, push through the toggle screw and tighten up with the screw driver. As the screw turns the toggle opens up behind the wall, creating a very strong grip.

Modern properties are timber or metal frame. Timber studs are better to fix to. All you need is a couple of 50-65mm wood screws. The metal frame requires a self-tapping screw which are best bought from ironmongers.

If you can’t hit the studs or frame behind the plasterboard, use a self drill plasterboard fixing which comes with its own screw.

This fixing is like a solid corkscrew in plastic or metal. I prefer metal. Put the spiral fixing on to the end of a cordless screwdriver and place over the pencil mark where the fixing is going to be driven into the plasterboard.

Gently turn the self drill fixing in until flush with the plasterboard and again hold the bracket over the fixing and drive home the screw.

Finally hang the shelf.

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