Fitting Instructions

How to Fit Floating Shelves

Floating shelves should be mounted onto exterior walls or interior stone and breezeblock walls. They can only be mounted to partition walls if you can locate the timber studs or noggins behind the plasterboard. The supporting brackets must have something solid to screw into. For partition walls, we can position the holes into the shelf accordingly for you – simply let us know where you need them. Please call us for any advice, but if you cannot locate the studs or noggins, we advise using our timber or chrome brackets as an alternative. Please see our wall shelves for these alternative fixings for plasterboard walls.

The concealed fixing brackets we supply with all of our floating shelves are the most versatile and heavy-duty fixings available. These simple-to-fit brackets will hold up to 35kgs between 2 brackets (including the weight of shelf). Shelves over 1200mm in length are supplied with 3 brackets, and over 2100mm with 4 brackets.

Tools you will need

  • Spirit level

  • Drill
    (with 10mm drill bit)

  • Spanner
    (10mm or adjustable)

  • Tape measure

  • Pencil

  • Small quantity of silicone sealant

Step
1
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Step 1 of 10 – Safety (please do not skip this step)

Use a wire/pipe power detector to ensure that there are no electrical cables or water pipes in the wall where you intend to position the shelf. You do not want to electrocute yourself, or flood your house!

Step
2
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Step 2 of 10 – Position

If you are fixing to an internal stud wall, locate the studs or noggins that you intend to drill into.

Step
3
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Step 3 of 10 – Draw a level line

Use the spirit level and a pencil to draw a perfectly horizontal line along the area of the wall where you intend to mount the shelf. If your spirit level has a measure on it, draw the line to the full length of the shelf. If not, use a tape measure and redraw the line a couple of times, until it is the same length as the shelf.

Step
4
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Step 4 of 10 – Mark holes for brackets

Usual method – Measure from the centre of the pre-drilled holes in your shelf to the nearest end of the shelf and transfer these measurements onto the line you have drawn on the wall.

Alternative method – Offer the shelf up to the wall (with the pre-drilled holes facing upwards) and mark the centre of the holes onto your drawn line. Don’t worry if your positioning isn’t absolutely perfect but if you do spend the time trying to position your marks as accurately as possible, it will make the rest of the procedure effortless.

Step
5
of 10

Step 5 of 10 – Drill into the wall

Use a 10mm wood drill bit for studded walls or 10mm masonry bit for stone, brick or breezeblock walls. Drill into the walls on the dead centre point of all your bracket markings. Drill holes 60mm deep into the wall to fully accommodate the rawl plug.

Step
6
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Step 6 of 10 – Insert rawl plugs

Insert the supplied rawl plugs into the drilled holes. Ensure that the rawl plugs are fully inserted and that they all sit flush to the wall – tap with a hammer if necessary. If any of your rawl plugs are sticking out, they will prevent your shelf from sitting flush to the wall when mounted.

Step
7
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Step 7 of 10 – Insert concealed brackets

Screw the concealed brackets all the way to the wall using a 10mm or adjustable spanner – but do not fully tighten them at this point. If necessary, pliers can be used for this task but it is not recommended – a suitable spanner is a lot easier.

Please note that using the supplied washer will strengthen the overall support of the shelf but will also produce a small 1.5mm gap between the wall and the shelf. If you don’t intend to store heavy weights on the shelf, you can dispense with the washer so the shelf fits completely snug to the wall.

Step
8
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Step 8 of 10 – Offer up the shelf to the brackets

The arrow on the back edge of the shelf points to the top side of the shelf. Please ensure the shelf is fitted with this surface on the top. Slide the pre-drilled holed areas of the shelf onto the brackets. The holes are 14mm wide (2mm wider than the brackets) so the shelf should fit with ease. If not, slowly re-adjust the brackets using the spanner until the shelf slides on easily.

Step
9
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Step 9 of 10 – Level the shelf

You will have noticed that the main body of the bracket is positioned off-centre from the screw end. They are designed this way so that you can perfectly level the shelf. With the shelf positioned ¾ of the way onto the brackets, place the spirit level onto the shelf and adjust the brackets with the spanner to tighten them as fully as possible to the wall and level the shelf. If you have a long shelf (1200mm+) you will have three or four brackets which will require a little more time to adjust than smaller shelves that use only two. Remain patient and be prepared to adjust each bracket several times to ensure a perfectly level shelf.

Step
10
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Step 10 of 10 – Fix the shelf

Now the brackets are tightened and level, slide the shelf off the brackets, insert a small amount of silicone sealant into the pre-drilled holes and onto the end of the brackets. Slide the shelf back onto the brackets for the final time and push fully up to the wall. The sealant will dry and set after approximately 2 hours. Using the sealant will completely fill the excess space in the drilled holes and prevent the shelf from tipping forward, or sliding off the brackets.

Got A Question?

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0800 772 0275

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