Hi, I'm looking for some ideas about how to hang shelves in closets
where the stud location is not optimal.
I have two closets (nooks really) that I want to add some shelves to.
One is just over 3' wide, the other 2' 4". I was going to do a fairly
simple job - cleats on the wall and painted plywood shelves. The
problem I've run into is I don't know if the studs in the wall are in
good enough places to attach the cleats to.
The larger closet has a single stud in the middle of the back wall,
and one stud on each side (about 16" from the back). With only one
stud in each wall, is the cleat likely to rotate around the nail, or
will the shelf serve to 'lock' the cleats in place?
The smaller closet has two studs on the back wall, but no studs on the
side walls that are within the depth of the shelves that I want. In
this case, I thought about using metal standards on brackets on the
back wall, but the two studs there are quite close together, about 6".
I'm worried that the width between the studs won't give enough
support.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Steve
Perhaps you could add some vertical supports, say 1X2s or 1X4s,
attached to the wall, fromm floor to ceiling inside the closets, and
attach the cleats to these?
--
Larry Wasserman Baltimore, Maryland
[email protected]
Thats what i did, i live in an apartment and didnt want to make anything
permanent, so i cut four 2x2s to about an inch below the ceiling, and screwd
bits of 2x2 as cleats on one edge(you could use two for more heavy duty), i
then measure the width and depth of the closet, cut a MDF square and notched
the corners for the two bys and then just laid the MDF shelf in, watch out for
squareness, if the closet isnt square youll have to cut some clearance around
the edge of the MDF shelf. i used about an 1/8 all the way around.
Jesse M
In article <[email protected]>,
Steve Lewis <[email protected]> wrote:
>Hi, I'm looking for some ideas about how to hang shelves in closets
>where the stud location is not optimal.
>
>I have two closets (nooks really) that I want to add some shelves to.
>One is just over 3' wide, the other 2' 4". I was going to do a fairly
>simple job - cleats on the wall and painted plywood shelves. The
>problem I've run into is I don't know if the studs in the wall are in
>good enough places to attach the cleats to.
>
>The larger closet has a single stud in the middle of the back wall,
>and one stud on each side (about 16" from the back). With only one
>stud in each wall, is the cleat likely to rotate around the nail, or
>will the shelf serve to 'lock' the cleats in place?
>
>The smaller closet has two studs on the back wall, but no studs on the
>side walls that are within the depth of the shelves that I want. In
>this case, I thought about using metal standards on brackets on the
>back wall, but the two studs there are quite close together, about 6".
> I'm worried that the width between the studs won't give enough
>support.
>
>Any ideas?
>
>Thanks,
>Steve
depends on what you're going to use the shelves for.
fair-size shelf-support "angle brackets", held to drywall with _hefty_
"molly bolts" will support a non-trivial load.
[email protected] (Steve Lewis) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Hi, I'm looking for some ideas about how to hang shelves in closets
> where the stud location is not optimal.
>
> I have two closets (nooks really) that I want to add some shelves to.
> One is just over 3' wide, the other 2' 4". I was going to do a fairly
> simple job - cleats on the wall and painted plywood shelves. The
> problem I've run into is I don't know if the studs in the wall are in
> good enough places to attach the cleats to.
>
> The larger closet has a single stud in the middle of the back wall,
> and one stud on each side (about 16" from the back). With only one
> stud in each wall, is the cleat likely to rotate around the nail, or
> will the shelf serve to 'lock' the cleats in place?
>
From a geometry standpoint, three points is all you need to define a
plane. It is sufficient to securely anchor the shelf at each of the
three studs.
Cleats may help you distribute loads, etc., but all you really
ultimately rely on are three stud supports; If you've four or more
studs, only three of them carry the load (at least until one loading
point fails).
If the shelf might rotate because too much load is placed on it'd
front, it'd help to put cleats both above & below the shelf. This is
sufficient from a physics standpoint.