#Small wood shelf brackets how to#
#Small wood shelf brackets install#

Make sure the bracket is level with the first bracket, then mark the holes with a pencil and repeat the same steps used above for installing the first bracket.Ĥ.

#Small wood shelf brackets install#

Next, install the bracket using the provided screws and drilling them into the wall anchors.Īfter installing the first floating shelf bracket, hold the second bracket up to wall where you want to install it. Then, tap the wall anchors into the holes with a hammer. Make sure the bracket is level, then mark the holes with a pencil.ĭrill pilot holes over the pencil marks. Hold the first bracket up to wall where you want to install it. We ended up having to drill into drywall.Īs I said at the beginning of this post, if you are using deeper shelves (closer to 12″ deep), it is important to secure into wall studs! However, if the studs don’t fall where you need the brackets to be then you will need to drill into drywall and use heavy duty anchors with the brackets (similar here). Ideally you really want to hang the brackets on the wall studs. Your brackets will need to be spread out enough to distribute the weight of your shelf. I skipped the top coat since I wanted a very matte look and didn’t need a sealant since the shelf is just for decor.įirst use a studfinder and determine where the wall studs are where you want to hang your floating shelf. I used Provincial by Minwax for my stain color.

Or have your home improvement store make the cut for you.Īt this point I found it was easiest to go ahead and sand and stain my floating shelf. Use a miter saw and cut your 2×8 to size. If you need to make it longer than that you may need to get more than one set of brackets. I made my floating shelf 55″ long so it was about 2/3 the size of our couch since I was installing it over the couch. Cut wood to sizeįirst, determine how long your floating shelf needs to be. But, if you use a different size bracket, make sure to use a different size spade bit! For the 1/2″ bracket rod, use a 9/16″ spade bit. ***Note: Originally, I used a 7/8″ drill bit which works, but after making these again, I used a 13/16″ spade drill bit instead which is just 1/16″ bigger than the 3/4″ bracket rod.

#Small wood shelf brackets how to#

How to Make an Easy DIY floating shelf with brackets However, if you are making wider shelves (closer to 12″ wide) and shelves that are heavier, I would only use these brackets if you can secure them to the wall studs instead of drywall with anchors.įor this tutorial since I only used a 7 1/4″ deep shelf, wall anchors worked well! Although, I do recommend using better quality wall anchors than what comes with the brackets if you do use them. The brackets I used, as well as these alternative floating shelf brackets, can be used for shelf depths of 7″ to 12″. My wood shelf depth was 7 1/4″ because I used a 2×8 board in this tutorial. Here are even more floating shelf bracket options too! Floating Shelf Depths and Hardware Update: The brackets I used are no longer available, but these floating shelf brackets are very similar and only 1″ thick, so they would be totally hidden behind the 2×8 wood board that is used in this tutorial! I decided to go with them because they are heavy duty and I only needed to buy two of them to support my longer shelf with heavier items. However, once hung on the wall it’s really hard to tell unless you get up close. The brackets that I used are about 1/8″ thicker than a 2×8 (which is 1.5″ thick).

The advantages to using these steel brackets were that I could use them with solid wood (that’s 1.5″ thick) and they were easy to install and they are easy to remove (if needed in the future).Īlso, I love that they are hidden which provides a more modern floating shelf look! Floating Shelf Bracket Details But this time I wanted to keep things more simple and use hidden, heavy duty steel brackets (similar here). In the past I’ve made a DIY floating shelf with no brackets for my office makeover. Note, this post contains some affiliate links. This project was super easy and you only need one piece of wood and a set of brackets! It was one of my favorite projects in our modern rustic living room makeover and is a major focal point in the room! On the main wall in our living room, we added an easy DIY floating shelf with brackets.