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Reattaching fallen shelf to wall?
Announcing the arrival of Valued Associate #679: Cesar Manara
Unicorn Meta Zoo #1: Why another podcast?How can I attach a shelf to a tile wall in a repairable manner?How can I mount a shelf above a closet door?What kind of screws/bolts do I need to mount a heavy TV mount?Can I use lag bolts when mounting heavy shelf units through 2 layer drywall?Double-stick magnets for wall / ceiling mountNeed help mounting a TV to the wallCan this 35lb mirror mount on this wall?Hanging large TV and media cabinet on cement block covered with drywallHow to support this shelf?What type of shelf support peg is this?
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I had attached a shelf to my wall using the hardware that came with the shelf, but then it came crashing down in the middle of the night and all of my stuff came down with it.
The hardware came from Home Depot, I don't remember the name, but there are two pieces, one is pictured below. They were rated for 30 pounds IIRC, and I only had 8 board games and 10 small books of sheet music on the shelf - I don't think I overloaded it.
I drilled holes in the wall, hammered in the plastic bits, and drove the screws into the plastic bits. There are wooden studs where they were placed.
- Did I install the shelf wrong, or did I put too much weight on it?
- When I put the shelf back up, should I use a different method? longer screws? do I need to get new plastic thingies?
mounting shelf
asked 3 hours ago
Jakob WeisblatJakob Weisblat
1084
add a comment |
I had attached a shelf to my wall using the hardware that came with the shelf, but then it came crashing down in the middle of the night and all of my stuff came down with it.
The hardware came from Home Depot, I don't remember the name, but there are two pieces, one is pictured below. They were rated for 30 pounds IIRC, and I only had 8 board games and 10 small books of sheet music on the shelf - I don't think I overloaded it.
I drilled holes in the wall, hammered in the plastic bits, and drove the screws into the plastic bits. There are wooden studs where they were placed.
- Did I install the shelf wrong, or did I put too much weight on it?
- When I put the shelf back up, should I use a different method? longer screws? do I need to get new plastic thingies?
mounting shelf
asked 3 hours ago
Jakob WeisblatJakob Weisblat
1084
add a comment |
I had attached a shelf to my wall using the hardware that came with the shelf, but then it came crashing down in the middle of the night and all of my stuff came down with it.
The hardware came from Home Depot, I don't remember the name, but there are two pieces, one is pictured below. They were rated for 30 pounds IIRC, and I only had 8 board games and 10 small books of sheet music on the shelf - I don't think I overloaded it.
I drilled holes in the wall, hammered in the plastic bits, and drove the screws into the plastic bits. There are wooden studs where they were placed.
- Did I install the shelf wrong, or did I put too much weight on it?
- When I put the shelf back up, should I use a different method? longer screws? do I need to get new plastic thingies?
mounting shelf
asked 3 hours ago
Jakob WeisblatJakob Weisblat
1084
I had attached a shelf to my wall using the hardware that came with the shelf, but then it came crashing down in the middle of the night and all of my stuff came down with it.
The hardware came from Home Depot, I don't remember the name, but there are two pieces, one is pictured below. They were rated for 30 pounds IIRC, and I only had 8 board games and 10 small books of sheet music on the shelf - I don't think I overloaded it.
I drilled holes in the wall, hammered in the plastic bits, and drove the screws into the plastic bits. There are wooden studs where they were placed.
- Did I install the shelf wrong, or did I put too much weight on it?
- When I put the shelf back up, should I use a different method? longer screws? do I need to get new plastic thingies?
mounting shelf
mounting shelf
asked 3 hours ago
Jakob WeisblatJakob Weisblat
1084
asked 3 hours ago
Jakob WeisblatJakob Weisblat
1084
asked 3 hours ago
Jakob WeisblatJakob Weisblat
1084
asked 3 hours ago
Jakob WeisblatJakob Weisblat
1084
asked 3 hours ago
Jakob WeisblatJakob Weisblat
1084
1084
add a comment |
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
There are two typical ways to attach a shelf (or heavy mirror or whatever) to a wall with screws:
Anchors
Anchors are the "plastic things". They come in various sizes/strengths - 30 lb. rating is typical. The way you normally use them is with a hollow wall. In other words, you don't use them if you are mounting over a stud. You drill a hole - or normally I just poke a hole with a screwdriver if the wall is made of drywall - in the wall slightly smaller than the anchor. Then push the anchor in, narrow end first, so that the wide end is flush with the wall surface. Place the shelf support over the anchor and drive the supplied screw through the support and into the anchor. The anchor will expand slightly, hopefully providing a tight grip on the drywall.
A variant is a toggle bolt, where a part goes through the wall, flips/expands and is pulled to the inside of the wall when you put in the screw from the outside. I prefer toggle bolts as they are a bit stronger than typical anchors.
You actually should not use an anchor (and impossible to use a toggle bolt) if you are mounting right over a stud. If you use a power drill then you could make enough of a hole in the stud for the anchor, but it really won't hold very well and it is not designed to be used that way.
Screws Into Studs
The gold standard is long screws into studs. With wood studs (metal is also possible but a little different), you typically drill a pilot hole through drywall and into the stud. Then hold the shelf support over the hole and drive a long screw through the support into the stud. Typically I would use 2" - 3" screws. You don't want to use screws that are too long in case there are wires running through the middle of the studs, but you do want to get around an inch or so into the stud, plus 1/2" for drywall plus ???? for the shelf support - so 2" is typical.
With screws into 2 studs, a shelf or cabinet can support a LOT of weight. But if you can only get into 1 stud due to factors beyond your control, then you can either:
- Use screws into one stud and use anchors for the other support(s). This will stabilize the shelf quite a bit compared to anchors alone.
- Mount a strip of wood horizontally into 2 studs and then use wood screws to attach the shelf supports to the wood. This will also normally be quite strong.
answered 2 hours ago
manassehkatzmanassehkatz
11.2k1440
2
Good answer. I'm not at all surprised that the shelf fell if that's all that was holding it. Nearly every time I buy something that mounts on the wall, it comes with those little plastic things. I almost always throw them away and either mount it directly to the studs, or use toggle or Molly bolts.
– Mark
2 hours ago
add a comment |
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1 Answer
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1 Answer
1
active
oldest
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active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
There are two typical ways to attach a shelf (or heavy mirror or whatever) to a wall with screws:
Anchors
Anchors are the "plastic things". They come in various sizes/strengths - 30 lb. rating is typical. The way you normally use them is with a hollow wall. In other words, you don't use them if you are mounting over a stud. You drill a hole - or normally I just poke a hole with a screwdriver if the wall is made of drywall - in the wall slightly smaller than the anchor. Then push the anchor in, narrow end first, so that the wide end is flush with the wall surface. Place the shelf support over the anchor and drive the supplied screw through the support and into the anchor. The anchor will expand slightly, hopefully providing a tight grip on the drywall.
A variant is a toggle bolt, where a part goes through the wall, flips/expands and is pulled to the inside of the wall when you put in the screw from the outside. I prefer toggle bolts as they are a bit stronger than typical anchors.
You actually should not use an anchor (and impossible to use a toggle bolt) if you are mounting right over a stud. If you use a power drill then you could make enough of a hole in the stud for the anchor, but it really won't hold very well and it is not designed to be used that way.
Screws Into Studs
The gold standard is long screws into studs. With wood studs (metal is also possible but a little different), you typically drill a pilot hole through drywall and into the stud. Then hold the shelf support over the hole and drive a long screw through the support into the stud. Typically I would use 2" - 3" screws. You don't want to use screws that are too long in case there are wires running through the middle of the studs, but you do want to get around an inch or so into the stud, plus 1/2" for drywall plus ???? for the shelf support - so 2" is typical.
With screws into 2 studs, a shelf or cabinet can support a LOT of weight. But if you can only get into 1 stud due to factors beyond your control, then you can either:
- Use screws into one stud and use anchors for the other support(s). This will stabilize the shelf quite a bit compared to anchors alone.
- Mount a strip of wood horizontally into 2 studs and then use wood screws to attach the shelf supports to the wood. This will also normally be quite strong.
answered 2 hours ago
manassehkatzmanassehkatz
11.2k1440
2
Good answer. I'm not at all surprised that the shelf fell if that's all that was holding it. Nearly every time I buy something that mounts on the wall, it comes with those little plastic things. I almost always throw them away and either mount it directly to the studs, or use toggle or Molly bolts.
– Mark
2 hours ago
add a comment |
There are two typical ways to attach a shelf (or heavy mirror or whatever) to a wall with screws:
Anchors
Anchors are the "plastic things". They come in various sizes/strengths - 30 lb. rating is typical. The way you normally use them is with a hollow wall. In other words, you don't use them if you are mounting over a stud. You drill a hole - or normally I just poke a hole with a screwdriver if the wall is made of drywall - in the wall slightly smaller than the anchor. Then push the anchor in, narrow end first, so that the wide end is flush with the wall surface. Place the shelf support over the anchor and drive the supplied screw through the support and into the anchor. The anchor will expand slightly, hopefully providing a tight grip on the drywall.
A variant is a toggle bolt, where a part goes through the wall, flips/expands and is pulled to the inside of the wall when you put in the screw from the outside. I prefer toggle bolts as they are a bit stronger than typical anchors.
You actually should not use an anchor (and impossible to use a toggle bolt) if you are mounting right over a stud. If you use a power drill then you could make enough of a hole in the stud for the anchor, but it really won't hold very well and it is not designed to be used that way.
Screws Into Studs
The gold standard is long screws into studs. With wood studs (metal is also possible but a little different), you typically drill a pilot hole through drywall and into the stud. Then hold the shelf support over the hole and drive a long screw through the support into the stud. Typically I would use 2" - 3" screws. You don't want to use screws that are too long in case there are wires running through the middle of the studs, but you do want to get around an inch or so into the stud, plus 1/2" for drywall plus ???? for the shelf support - so 2" is typical.
With screws into 2 studs, a shelf or cabinet can support a LOT of weight. But if you can only get into 1 stud due to factors beyond your control, then you can either:
- Use screws into one stud and use anchors for the other support(s). This will stabilize the shelf quite a bit compared to anchors alone.
- Mount a strip of wood horizontally into 2 studs and then use wood screws to attach the shelf supports to the wood. This will also normally be quite strong.
answered 2 hours ago
manassehkatzmanassehkatz
11.2k1440
2
Good answer. I'm not at all surprised that the shelf fell if that's all that was holding it. Nearly every time I buy something that mounts on the wall, it comes with those little plastic things. I almost always throw them away and either mount it directly to the studs, or use toggle or Molly bolts.
– Mark
2 hours ago
add a comment |
There are two typical ways to attach a shelf (or heavy mirror or whatever) to a wall with screws:
Anchors
Anchors are the "plastic things". They come in various sizes/strengths - 30 lb. rating is typical. The way you normally use them is with a hollow wall. In other words, you don't use them if you are mounting over a stud. You drill a hole - or normally I just poke a hole with a screwdriver if the wall is made of drywall - in the wall slightly smaller than the anchor. Then push the anchor in, narrow end first, so that the wide end is flush with the wall surface. Place the shelf support over the anchor and drive the supplied screw through the support and into the anchor. The anchor will expand slightly, hopefully providing a tight grip on the drywall.
A variant is a toggle bolt, where a part goes through the wall, flips/expands and is pulled to the inside of the wall when you put in the screw from the outside. I prefer toggle bolts as they are a bit stronger than typical anchors.
You actually should not use an anchor (and impossible to use a toggle bolt) if you are mounting right over a stud. If you use a power drill then you could make enough of a hole in the stud for the anchor, but it really won't hold very well and it is not designed to be used that way.
Screws Into Studs
The gold standard is long screws into studs. With wood studs (metal is also possible but a little different), you typically drill a pilot hole through drywall and into the stud. Then hold the shelf support over the hole and drive a long screw through the support into the stud. Typically I would use 2" - 3" screws. You don't want to use screws that are too long in case there are wires running through the middle of the studs, but you do want to get around an inch or so into the stud, plus 1/2" for drywall plus ???? for the shelf support - so 2" is typical.
With screws into 2 studs, a shelf or cabinet can support a LOT of weight. But if you can only get into 1 stud due to factors beyond your control, then you can either:
- Use screws into one stud and use anchors for the other support(s). This will stabilize the shelf quite a bit compared to anchors alone.
- Mount a strip of wood horizontally into 2 studs and then use wood screws to attach the shelf supports to the wood. This will also normally be quite strong.
answered 2 hours ago
manassehkatzmanassehkatz
11.2k1440
There are two typical ways to attach a shelf (or heavy mirror or whatever) to a wall with screws:
Anchors
Anchors are the "plastic things". They come in various sizes/strengths - 30 lb. rating is typical. The way you normally use them is with a hollow wall. In other words, you don't use them if you are mounting over a stud. You drill a hole - or normally I just poke a hole with a screwdriver if the wall is made of drywall - in the wall slightly smaller than the anchor. Then push the anchor in, narrow end first, so that the wide end is flush with the wall surface. Place the shelf support over the anchor and drive the supplied screw through the support and into the anchor. The anchor will expand slightly, hopefully providing a tight grip on the drywall.
A variant is a toggle bolt, where a part goes through the wall, flips/expands and is pulled to the inside of the wall when you put in the screw from the outside. I prefer toggle bolts as they are a bit stronger than typical anchors.
You actually should not use an anchor (and impossible to use a toggle bolt) if you are mounting right over a stud. If you use a power drill then you could make enough of a hole in the stud for the anchor, but it really won't hold very well and it is not designed to be used that way.
Screws Into Studs
The gold standard is long screws into studs. With wood studs (metal is also possible but a little different), you typically drill a pilot hole through drywall and into the stud. Then hold the shelf support over the hole and drive a long screw through the support into the stud. Typically I would use 2" - 3" screws. You don't want to use screws that are too long in case there are wires running through the middle of the studs, but you do want to get around an inch or so into the stud, plus 1/2" for drywall plus ???? for the shelf support - so 2" is typical.
With screws into 2 studs, a shelf or cabinet can support a LOT of weight. But if you can only get into 1 stud due to factors beyond your control, then you can either:
- Use screws into one stud and use anchors for the other support(s). This will stabilize the shelf quite a bit compared to anchors alone.
- Mount a strip of wood horizontally into 2 studs and then use wood screws to attach the shelf supports to the wood. This will also normally be quite strong.
answered 2 hours ago
manassehkatzmanassehkatz
11.2k1440
edited 1 hour ago
answered 2 hours ago
manassehkatzmanassehkatz
11.2k1440
answered 2 hours ago
manassehkatzmanassehkatz
11.2k1440
answered 2 hours ago
manassehkatzmanassehkatz
11.2k1440
11.2k1440
2
Good answer. I'm not at all surprised that the shelf fell if that's all that was holding it. Nearly every time I buy something that mounts on the wall, it comes with those little plastic things. I almost always throw them away and either mount it directly to the studs, or use toggle or Molly bolts.
– Mark
2 hours ago
add a comment |
2
Good answer. I'm not at all surprised that the shelf fell if that's all that was holding it. Nearly every time I buy something that mounts on the wall, it comes with those little plastic things. I almost always throw them away and either mount it directly to the studs, or use toggle or Molly bolts.
– Mark
2 hours ago
2
2
Good answer. I'm not at all surprised that the shelf fell if that's all that was holding it. Nearly every time I buy something that mounts on the wall, it comes with those little plastic things. I almost always throw them away and either mount it directly to the studs, or use toggle or Molly bolts.
– Mark
2 hours ago
Good answer. I'm not at all surprised that the shelf fell if that's all that was holding it. Nearly every time I buy something that mounts on the wall, it comes with those little plastic things. I almost always throw them away and either mount it directly to the studs, or use toggle or Molly bolts.
– Mark
2 hours ago
add a comment |
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