What Everyone Should Know Before Putting Up Floating Shelves

Floating shelves are a great way to create the illusion of space in apartments or flats and houses that have a shortage of it. They are called this because you cannot see any brackets or fixtures that are holding them up. They are mounted onto the wall by using hollow doors that are specifically cut to size and slid over an already mounted timber or lumbar stud. The result is floating shelves that look stunning and flow with any room in your home.

Floating wall shelves are perfect for putting up those old photo frames and other decorative adornments that you have been keeping locked up in your attic or garage. Little items like statues, trophies, gifts, displaying your homemade crafts and any other things you can think about would suit perfectly well on these shelves. Of course we have to be realistic and not place items that are too heavy on these shelves.

Before we jump head first into projects like these we have to establish what we need them for and where. Floating glass shelves for example look great but they are mostly suited for bathrooms and classy sitting rooms. Establish what and where you want it then we can go on from here.

What items are you going to need? Here’s a quick list:

1. Hollow door pieces that are cut to size.

2. Table Saw or circular saw.

3. Small screws

4. Different grades of sandpaper.

5. Good quality wood glue.

6. Measuring tape

7. Your selection of color paint.

Now that you have the necessary items we can get to the actual point of installing and mounting the floating shelves. These steps are basic and require common sense but feel free to consult a professional if you are unsure.

• Select which wall in your home that you can use. It’s recommended to choose wide open walls with lots of space.

• Color and finish. You want the finished product to look amazing so choose carefully. Select colors that will complement the rest of your home.

• After you’ve chosen where to mount the floating wall shelves you can start cutting the hollow door into the lengths you decided.

• Cut cleats to fit into the shelves by using 2×4 bits of timber.

• Using a level and stud finders carefully make the necessary markings of where exactly you’re going to mount the shelves.

• Mount the cleats onto the wall that you are going to use to slide the shelves over. Use the level to make accurate measurements.

• After the cleats are mounted first slide the shelves over the cleats and make sure they fit. Once happy take them off and sand them clear of any debris.

• Place glue on cleats and inside hollow. Carefully slide the shelves onto cleats and secure by nailing or screwing it into the cleats.

After your floating shelves are up you can place your books and decorative items as you see fit. Unlike floating glass shelves that are easier to mount these require more attention to safety and detail.