how do u put shelves up? can u use no nails glue stuff or u gotta use a drill to screw it to the wall....?

Answer 1

You gotta use screws. Glue won't hold.

Answer 2

Just a comment about 'No More Nails' which is being widely recommended to you. This IS a very good product - BUT - it is only as good as what you are sticking it to! We stuck Dado rails onto an emulsioned wall at work as a guide for a blind chap. What we did not know was that the Vinyl emulsion on the walls had been painted over Gloss paint. the Dado's came down quite quickly, complete with a strip of the emulsion coat they were stuck to! As it is a fiver or so a tube any way, I would be more inclined to buy a cheap flat pack free standing shelving unit.

Answer 3

The first thing you have to think about is are the shelves gonna hold books or little nick-nacks? you don't want the whole thing on the floor and holes in the walls.And you don't need to use a huge nail or screws for alittle accent shelf. Check with a home and garden supply like Home Depot or Lowes.The folks there can make it a one stop shop and help you choose the right allen screws,etc.and you only have to tackle the job once.

Answer 4

Putting Shelves Up

Answer 5

Glue might hold a shelf to a wall but setting something on it could be bad. You could use nails along with an L shaped bracket but screws are the best

Answer 6

You gotta use angle rods and screws in the two by fours. You never know, some one is going to put an engine block on that shelve sooner or later and it's going to come down.

Answer 7

All valid thoughts so far here. It largely depends on the purpose of the shelf as to how you attach it with anything besides Glue.

There are multiple shelving systems and ways to install, it's pretty much a matter of personal choice for you.

The most basic, supported by the floor, would be a piece of "furniture" IE: Book shelf unit. There are shelving set ups that are decorative with brackets that match, but still they are usually installed over opposing studs. There is the "Key strip/clip system, using slotted metal strips with clip in brackets that come in two types to support shelves (in one case they are small "Rests" opposing each other allowing a shelf to sit on them. In the other case they extend from the strip, at various lengths to support shelving)

You might not strictly have to use a cordless with a driver bit, but it can make the job easier. You can also go the pre technology way with a tape measure/yard stick, and/or with a level determine the shelves location, an awl to punch a starter hole, and an appropriate screw driver to install whatever shelf system you choose.

Again, and as others state, it largely depends on the purpose of the shelf, and any weight on it should likely be secured (If you use screws) to allow the thickness of the bracket or bracket holer, plus the thickness of the wall behind it, and at least an inch into the studs behind it all.

With a shelf attached to a wall, you're not only dealing with "shear" weight, but gravity as well away from the wall, in any depth of the shelf and its contents.

Answer 8

Actually you could use two tension rods, one on each side, and put a plank on top of the rods, though you would have to be very careful about how much you load onto the shelf. It could handle some shoes or sweaters, but not jeans or heavy storage.

Answer 9

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Answer 10

Annemarie, it depends on the kind of shevles. But I'll assume from your question that were talking about the metal or plastic kind you put together for basic utility storage -not the fancy bookshelves that are self-standing.

Method #1: Bottom shelf sits on the floor. Put a screw through near the top of each upright, left and right, into the wall. The "upright" is the vertical piece the shelf is attached to -there should be 4 -2 in front, 2 in back. You're mounting the back uprights to the wall. You may need a drill to make a hole in the upright.

1A: What's the wall made of? If it is plaster board, try to line up the standards with a stud, which is the wooden vertical piece the plasterboard's attached to. Now, the screw will be anchored into solid wood and not be pulled back through the plasterboard. If you can't really arrange the shelves that way, are their braces in the back, which usually make an X shape. If so, they will cross a stud at some point, so put your screw through the brace at that point.

If THAT really isn't working -or there are no X braces, you'll either need to use the masonry wall easy option I describe below, or use "toggle bolts," also known as "molly bolts." These are shiny metal bolts with a set of hinged, spring loaded legs that screw onto to them. Get bolts that are thin enough to pass through the holes in your standards. Make sure they are at lest 2" long or longer. Now, make a mark on the plasterboard, through the hole in the standard where your bolt is going to go. Take away the shelf, and drill (or punch through with a screw driver) a hole big enough to let those hinged spring get through in their closed position (tucked against the shaft of the bolt). You can even make the hole bigger by wiggling the molly bolt around in it to break away some of the plaster. DO NOT PUSH THE LEGS ALL THE WAY INTO THE HOLE YET! If you do, they'll spring open and you'll never get that sucker out. BUT, if that happens, push it all the way in so it drops down inside. You'll lose a molly bolt, but at least have your hole open again. OK, now unscrew the bolt from the legs -all the way off! And now, push the bolt throught the standard hole, toward the wall, and turn the legs back on to it so the legs are in back and the bolt head in front. Just a few turns -the legs shoud be near the END of the bolt. Make sure the legs fold toward the shelf -not the hole. Do this for both standards. With the bolt head on one side and the legs on the other, the molly bolts aren't going to fall out, so move your shelf toward the wall, ling up the molly bolts with your holes. As you get close, reach around and guide the bolt and legs into each hole, then push them all the way through so the legs pop open behind the wall. Now start screwing the bolts in from the front. The legs may actually spin behind the wall, but if you pull the bolt head back a bit with your fingers of one hand while you screw the biolt forward with the other, you'll force them against the inside back of the wall where they'll resist enough to let you continue to turn the bolt in. After a while, they'll grip on their own, and that's when you tighten up the bolt.


If the wall is made of thin paneling -same procedure as above.

If the wall is made of block, brick, concrete, etc., you've got some extra work on your hands. One approach is to mark the wall where the screws are going to go. Use a marker through the hole in the standard, or put a nail in there and whack it a few times with a hammer to make a mark. My point is -never measure when you can mark; that way you know your mark will really line up with the hole. Now get some "screws and anchors." The anchors are plastic cones you insert into a hole you drill for them. Tap them in with a hammer, then your screw will go into the anchor. As it does so, it expands the anchor to grip the masonry. The screws and anchors usually come as a set, and either include the appropriate size masonry drill bit, or tell you what size to get, but either way, it must be a masonry bit. Tell the store people what you're up to and they'll know what to do. If your basic handy homeowner drill doesn't have enough muscle to drive the bit into the masonry, you'll then need either a friend with a "hammer" drill or to rent a hammer drill or to buy one (which will also do normal drilling). But if buying, now we are into some bucks. In "hammer mode" the drill not only spins the bit, but also hammers it (at many times per second) through the material. It's not a long stroke, but the drill will get very jumpy so hang on. Your holes may be somewhat deeper than the anchor -but no shorter. Once you've drilled, tap in the anchors, line up your shelf and turn in the screws.

Optional "easy" method. Forget about precisely lining up holes in shelf standards with holes in the wall. Instead, attach a strip of wood (a "firring strip" or section of 1/2" thick or more plywood) horizontally on the wall, covering the distance between the outside of the shelf standards. Now screw THAT in with screws and anchors by first drilling holes in the wood (regular drill bit) and marking the wall to match THOSE holes. Put in your anchors, then turn the screws through your wood so they stick out a bit on the other side. The wood is going to block your view of the holes as you get closer to the walls, so the screws sticking out let you "feel" for the holes. Then, just screw the shelf to your wood strips. Using "molly bolts," described above, you can also use this method on a plaster board wall or thin wood paneling. Note: your shelves will stand out from the wall by the thickness of your wood mounting strips.

1 B. Now, what's the shelf made of? If metal, an ordinary black plasterboard screw will do fine. But, if plastic, you should use a screw that is not tapered where the head joins the shaft of the screw. Instead, use a screw with no such taper (looks like a "T" when you see it view it from the side). And now, put the screw through a washer when you screw it in, so the screw won't gradually wear away the plastic. Use the biggest washer you can get, but not so large that any angles or changes in the shape of the standard won't allow it to lay flat exactly where you want it. If your attaching to masonry, the screws with the anchors are already the right profile -flat head- just the way they are.


Method #2. Add an extra shelf -being the floor itself! In this method, you hang the shelves from the wall, leaving a between the bottom shelf and the floor -where you can store more "stuff."

For this, you need to put in more screws (top, middle and bottom of standards and ALSO make some knuckles to trap and support the top and bottom shelves (or the second shelves from top or bottom). You'll attach to wooden strips everywhere.

Start out by setting the wooden strips for screws coming through holes in your standards, and mount the shelves to the wall, three screws on each side.

Now attach a strip underneath the top (or next to top) and bottom (or next to bottom) shelves. You want this strip to snugly fit against the bottom of the shelf. But, let's say what it actually touches is the thin material that constitutes the edge of the shelf (that is, each shelf looks like an upside down shallow box). No problem -snug up to that and screw it in. At this point, the thickness of your strip is going to be wider than the "turned-down" part of the shelf. So what you do NOW is to screw another strip into the one against the wall, and overlap the turned down part of the shelf so that the top edge of the second strip contacts the actual bottom of the shelf. The width of one strip sits flat on the width of the other, enough so that you can screw through the front of the second piece into the first one (the one on already mounted on the wall). This is going to leave a gap between the back of the second strip and the turned down part of the shelf. If you wish, you can fill that void with yet another piece of strip to stiffen and reinforce the whole arrangement somewhat (the shelves are usually pretty flimsy).

Now then, when you go to put on that second strip, your keen eye may tell you that if you put the bottom edge of it on the top exposed edge of the strip on the wall, you could snug to the turned-down part of the shelf AND also the bottom of the shelf above by screwing through the bottom of the piece on the wall into the edge of the second piece that's sitting on it. That would be a neat arrangement -but mechanically weak and really not even feasible if your using wood that's only a half inch thick or so. So -don't attempt it.

An alternative method of doing this same thing is to mount your top wall holder FIRST where you've drawn a line to indicate position of the top shelf. Rest the shelf up in the clamp; now the unit hangs in place while you screw in the standards; lastly, put in the bottom shelf holder. Just make sure your holders are nearly as long as the shelves.

Having said all that, let me give you yet one MORE alternative. Cut (or have cut for you) 3/8" or greater thick sections of plywood that cover the back of your shelf unit, side to side, top to bottom. Screw or bolt your unit to that -you've got wood all over the place -so do what's easiest -but do lots of them. Also, if you have that shelf lip which extends down from each shelf, drill through it -two holes for each shelf, and screw those to the plywood also. Same rules about washers is you are using plastic shelves. If getting a piece of 4' X 8' plywood cut up for this is a hassle, you can buy (Lowe's, Home Depot) 4' X 4' sections and trim off any excess on your own. You simply use 2 sections to cover the entire back of your shelves -and I would cut them so they are equal heights. Once this is all done, you've accomplished two things: first of all, you've made your unit very rigid -and second of all, you given youself a surface you can screw through at any point to attach to the wall.

Now, if you are installing in an area where there is exposed wood above and behind the shelves (like floor trusses), consider the plywood method above, and then running some heavy wire from the top of the two FRONT standards back to hooks or yes you've screwed into the exposed beams above and to the back of the unit. Your unit will be rigid, and the wires will keep it from tipping over.

Good luck!