Your Shelf Bracket Resource

The basic function or design feature of a shelf bracket is to lend support to bearing weight of the shelf and its contents. Generally, brackets are designed to have an L shape, with one leg getting attached to the wall while the other is fixed to the overhead structure needing support. A bracket could be made of many materials and that include wood, metal and even stone. The choice of material used largely depends upon the weight it needs to support, lest it should get bent or even cracked due weight of the material it supports.

When looking for new brackets for your shelving units at home, you need to consider a few important factors:

1) How Many Shelves Are Being Installed?

You may have a shelving system with just one shelf to many more that may fit in the available area and design of the room. Next, you have to consider the items like books, tools and decorative pieces etc. to be accommodated in the shelves, and you may like to have some additional space for expansion too.

2) What Material Will the Shelves Be Made Of?

You get shelves made from metal, wood, glass or even plastic. The choice of material is especially important to consider for storing heavier items like books or domestic hardware. Shelves made from thinner materials are liable to bend and may even break depending on weight they are supporting. So choose an appropriate material such as metal or wood as per requirements.

3) How Many Brackets Will It Take?

That would largely depend upon the size of the shelf. Nevertheless, a good thumb rule is , the longer the shelf, the more is the number of brackets needed for each shelf. Shelves longer than 30 inches should ideally be provided 3 brackets. Unless adequate support is offered to longer shelves, they are sure to sag sooner than expected and may even break, again depending on the weight they bear.

4) Where Should They Be Installed

Shelf brackets necessarily need to be installed into a stud. If you mount a shelf bracket straight into drywall, it will get torn off the wall when you put weight over it. A stud finder is an easy to use inexpensive tool that you can find in any home hardware store and it’s worth having one at home all the time.
While installing brackets into a solid wall such as brick or concrete, make sure to use wall anchors. Installing these anchors into weak areas (such as mortar) will result to having the same problems as installing directly into drywall over time.

5) How Much Weight Can One Shelf Carry?

That would entirely depend on the material used for making the shelf and what it is going to carry. Normally, a glass shelf wouldn’t support more than 50 pounds whereas wooden and metallic shelves can bear weights varying from 200 to 400 pounds depending on thickness.

Solid brass shelf brackets provide the needed strength and durability and are available in a many ornate designs that add beauty to any shelving system. A bracket remains a focal point of design and an exclusive shelving bracket can convert a dull shelf into a pretty item in the home. You may have shelf brackets that match well with other existing scheme of things at home or even stand alone to get a new and exciting change from the run of the mill kind.