Shelving throughout the house is a useful thing to have, and can be both practical and attractive. If you have large amounts of wall space, the use of shelves can break it up in a way that allows you to make a feature out of the wall, placing books, vases or anything else of interest on there. Practically, they keep things off the floor, and can make a room feel warmer and cozier if set out correctly. You will likely find that putting up a shelf seems a bit tougher at first that you may have thought, but if you plan it out carefully, then there is no reason for it to be as such. You will find that the shelf is a good entry in to the world of DIY as well, as it is fairly simple, but a sold shelf is a great achievement, and you will wonder what you could be doing for yourself next!
To put up a shelf, you will need to know what the wall is composed of, and this is where it can be complicated. If you are putting a shelf up on an existing outer wall, then you may need to drill in to the masonry or brickwork of the house, though in newer houses this is not as likely. For that you will need a masonry drill, and heavy duty rawl plugs. If you are going in to stud wall, or dry wall as it may be known, the plasterboard will usually be too weak to take anything heavy that is screwed directly in to it, and you will most likely need to use a stud finder to locate the wooden studs that hold the wall up, and to screw directly in to them. You should be able to get an idea of what your wall is made up of, as knocking it will reveal if it sounds solid of hollow, and that will be a good indicator. If you are concerned that you aren’t sure, then do a bit of research online to see what results you get.
Have a look at the wall, and think about where you want the shelf. If it is a shelf that needs to be reached, make sure it is reachable! If it is a series of shelves, then you need to think about the gaps between them - do they need to be a certain height, in order to fit things on the shelves? These are all important practical things that seem obvious but are often forgotten! You should also think about the fittings that you need, if the shelf material is heavy in the first place, then you will need strong shelf brackets, and you may need a few of them for each shelf. Unfortunately, there are so many variables, that you will need to identify this yourself!
Drill in your holes and insert your rawl plugs for one end of the self, where you want it in terms of height. You can mark out the holes by putting a couple of dots through the bracket, with a spirit level in place. Once one bracket is up, place the end of the shelf board on it, and put the spirit level on the board. Holding the other end of the shelf with the bracket, line the spirit level up, and when it is level, pencil in the two dots for the next bracket, at the other end. Once this bracket it up, re check that it is all level before you screw the board to the brackets, and you’re good to go! Battersea Secure Storage can give you some other storage and organizing ideas.
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