Floating shelves are probably one of the most beautiful things you can have in your home as a decor.
As the name says, it creates the illusion look on your wall that makes it seem to you the shelves are floating in the air with no visible support. The seamless and clean appearance will always wow you and the ones that visit you.
However, as nice as they seem, it can also be very tricky to install floating shelves.
Especially it can give you a very hard time if you want to install them without any bracket. This is why I’m here to guide you on :
How to Hang Floating Shelves Without Brackets
Tools and Materials
When you want to install a floating shelf, you’ll need a few things so that you can do your work easily. You can find these tools in your nearest tool shops.
Get stud finder, level, a long enough measuring tape, a drill machine, screwdriver and a pencil. You will also need materials like ledges, dowels, pins or hidden brackets. These materials will provide the hidden support for your shelves.
To install the supports perfectly, use the screws that are at least 3 inches long. By using these, you will be able to make sure that the screws reach and grip the stud behind the wall properly.
Take Preparation
Planning the location of your shelves is very important. You need to fix the place where you’ll install your shelf, right? So first, select the location where you will install your shelf before you install the anchors and the plugs.
Do you have your tools with you? Take the stud finder and the pencil out of your bag. Use your pencil to mark the location of the wall studs. When you’re done, mark straight guidelines for each of our shelf set a level on the wall.
Supports and Installation
You’ll obviously want to have the simplest way to make your way through your work. Who needs much of stress if you have an easier option?
To install your shelving without brackets, you can have your job done in the easiest and simplest way if you use a floating shelf kit.
These kits will provide all the hardware and guideline you need for hanging the shelves. Floating shelf kits actually come up with their own hidden brackets for support. You’ll need to sink the metal brackets into the wall at each stud. Soon you’ll see that without doing anything, the section that protrudes from the wall gets fit into your shelf all by itself.
Keep one thing in mind though, make sure you use such a kit that can support more than the weight of the items you plan to place on it. If you want to put some things that weigh up to 5 kgs altogether, then go for the shelf that can hold at least up to 8 kgs.
Otherwise, you’ll see that the kit will probably get loose or damaged because of the pressure of an extra amount of weight you may put accidentally.
On the other hand, you can also mount the shelves very easily and with convenience by using support pins or ledges.
Now, don’t worry about the support pins, rather you can put your trust on them. They work similarly just like an invisible bracket that a floating shelf kit comes with.
It easily fits into the shelf from behind with the help of a long rod that appears with a flanged end. You can fasten the flanged end to the wall studs.
If you don’t know what a ledge bracket is, let me give you a simple guide in this matter. Basically, you can install this angled piece of metal into a groove on the back of your shelf. As a result, rather than getting the support at separate points, you’ll get very sturdy support all the way across the board. You’ll notice the wall stud secures a portion of the ledge that sticks out of your shelf.
Anchors
Getting the right wall anchor is probably one of the most critical parts while installing floating shelves properly. Wall anchors actually depend a lot on gravity. The gravity pulls it down and the weight of the objects pull it outward.
The rate of each type of anchor depends on the specific amount of weight.
However, if you want a simple good assumption, you should know the rule that anchors basically hold the quarter of their stated load. Thus, you can be completely stress free as you know that the shelves won’t fall.
For most of the shelving applications, you can try having a medium-to-heavy hollow wall anchor as it works pretty well. If you’re going to hang heavy shelving materials, then giving the toggle bolts a try will be the best idea for you.
Final Words
Having a floating shelve in your home is easier and it adds more decor to your home, rather than having a giant shelf furniture itself.
Floating shelves need less space and they bring freshness to your eyes when you take a look at their beautiful appearance. You’ll love them, and your friends and family will like them too.
However, if you don’t know how to hang floating shelves without brackets correctly, it will destroy the looks of your decor no matter how expensive material you use.
I hope this article helped you a lot to know the know-how. So, get yourself ready and hang the floating shelves all by yourself easily with comfort.
This is Autem Decker. Main Author of ‘TheHomeDigs‘. You may not find her on the list of top 10 contemporary Canadian interior designers, but everyone who knows her says she was born to be an interior designer.
She makes her plan in her head and draws them in her years-old diary with a note in the corner. The way she plays with color and shape amazes us.
Connect Her On – Twitter