How Much Weight Can I Put On Drywall Mounted Shelving?

Question

I'm moving into a two bedroom, so I can finally have the office/2nd bedroom that I've wanted. Well, as it turns out, the 2nd bedroom is rather small, and I have yet to find a desk that I like that also works with the room. I also have the need to put up several shelves to hold a large collection of books.

So, my idea is to basically make a wall of shelves, but the bottom shelf being the widest and longest, and serving as my desk. In my mind, it works great (lol) but, I'm not sure about the practicality.

I'm not sure if the wall I'll be using has studs or not, so I'm just looking at drywall mounted screws right now. I'm familiar with the process of mounting screws into drywall, but how much weight can I really put onto these shelves? Enough to stand up to regular use as a desk? At most, the desk shelf would be holding two laptops, a light printer, and papers. Possibly a piano (keyboard), but not on a regular basis.

Any help or advice would be awesome! No 'smooth door' ideas tho plz..

Answer 1

Drywall has studs behind it, usually 16" (sometimes 24") on center. Studs at the end of a wall may be closer together. Tap along the wall across the width of the room-- you'll hear the tone change between solid and hollow.

Popular Mechanics tested several different kinds of drywall anchors -- the common plastic kind pull out at about 25 lbs,
something called "walldogs" at about 32, and a fancier type that was more difficult to drive broke out chunks of the wall when it failed (around 60 lbs, iirc).

I'd strongly suggest you put shelving on something anchored firmly to the wall studs. Especially for hardback books with slick paper -- much, much denser than the average paperback mystery collection.

Have you considered using a small bookcase or a file cabinet (or both) to support the desk portion? Crashbang sounds with laptops on top can get a bit spendy....

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

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Answer 4

Elfa Shelving Weight Limit

Answer 5

If you have drywall you have something supporting it and that is most often 2x studs. Depending on the function of the wall the studs can be as far as 24" apart. If you don't have one pick up a stud finder at Lowes or Home Depot, etc.. . and follow directions to locate your studs. Drywall alone has very little strength so find the studs. There are some special wall anchors that are available check this site they have a good product.
www.simpsonanchors.com/catalog/mechanical/sure-wall/index.html

Answer 6

There is no simple answer. It depends on the static vertical load you plan to apply to the shelves, which could shear the bolts. And it depends on the pull-strength of the fasteners - how much torque you are applying to the shelves. (Loads closer to the wall won't apply as much torque as a pile of bricks at the outer edge of the shelf.)

Here's a link to a good explanation of the two kinds of loads you need to consider when attaching to drywall. It has information on Molly bolts, toggle bolts, nylon wing fasteners and nylon threaded inserts.

Your best bet is to attach fasteners directly to a pair of studs. If you can't line up your shelf supports symmetrically to a pair of studs, you might try installing a long ledger board to several studs, then attaching your shelf supports to the ledger board.

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Answer 9

Give the 10 to TOM, if for no other reason that that he alluded to SHEAR WEIGHT.

Give credit to those that suggest STUDS,,, that's pretty obvious.

Then credit NEWTON and the law of gravity in that your notion includes the distance from the SUPPORT holding teh shelf, and the weight of the shelf itself, then anything placed on the shelf.

From an aesthetic standpoint; why not consider the various weights of what you suggest and support them appropriately.

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Answer 10

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