We’ve all seen the old comedy sketches where a DIYer steps proudly back after filling up newly-installed wall shelves – only for them to immediately collapse or for everything to slide off onto the floor. But in reality, creating sufficient storage and display space is serious business. The ability to make and fit shelves is a valuable skill that will bring a smile from grateful family members in homes everywhere.
Although there are many pieces of furniture offering ready-made rows of shelving, building your own wall shelves is not only much cheaper, but also more versatile. Shelves can be fitted into alcoves and tailored to suit the room function. The shelving can be arranged in a layout to suit different sized books, vases and other display items, pots and pans or clothing accessories.
So where to start? The most basic way to create more storage is to buy ready-made shelves in wood, board, glass or metal and place them onto brackets or shelf support strips which are simply attached to the wall. Brackets are on show, so choose metal or wooden brackets suitable for the room décor. Fixed brackets screw directly into the wall and the only tools required are a drill with masonry bit, spirit level, screwdriver and wall plugs. An alternative is adjustable shelving, using brackets that slot into pre-fixed uprights and can be easily repositioned.
A drawback of ready-made wall shelves is the pre-determined lengths. To make the best use of available wall space, buy lengths of timber or manufactured board and saw to the exact size required. Whichever option you choose, remember that all shelves will sag under heavy loads if the support brackets are too far apart.
Spacing of brackets varies with the type of board used and the expected load.
A useful guide is:
- With 12mm particle board and ready made veneered or melamine-faced shelves, allow 450mm for heavy loads and 600mm for light loads.
- With 19mm particle board or 12mm plywood, this can be increased to 600mm for heavy loads and 750mm for light loads.
- For 19mm plywood, blockboard, MDF or natural wood, space brackets at 750mm for heavy loads and 900mm for light loads.
Brackets are available in various sizes. For adequate support, they should span between two-thirds and three-quarters the width of the board.
Accurate positioning is vital. Draw a pencil line across a straight batten to mark where the shelf is to go and keep using the spirit level to check all horizontal or vertical lines. Make sure the overhang at each end is equal. With adjustable shelving, the uprights should be placed so there is a quarter length of the shelf at each end.
When fitting several shelves into an alcove, measure for each shelf separately, as the walls may not be square. Brackets are generally not needed here, as the back and side walls provide support. Instead, the shelves can sit on top of inexpensive wood or metal support strips. With wooden battens, cutting the front ends at an angle and painting them the same colour as the walls makes them less noticeable.
A power jigsaw makes light work of following a scribed line to cut wall shelves to the required size. If sawing through lengths of veneered plywood or MDF, you will be left with an unattractive exposed edge. Solid wood trim can be bought to cover and protect this.
More advanced DIYers will be able to make attractive shelf units with timber ends; but for the majority of amateurs, shelves fixed to brackets or support strips are the most straightforward way to provide loads of useful storage space.
So now you can put up your shelves with confidence; let us know how you get on and send in some pictures of your work!