How to go about properly installing shelves

More shelving; at some point in time, we all need it. This is because the right kind of shelves provides storage without cluttering the interior landscape. Before you invest in shelving however, you must first ascertain where you want your shelves and if they should be decorative of not. You wouldn’t want to add plain white wire shelve unit in the living room, or put something more stylish into a small closet. This is precisely the reason why you must figure out the purpose your shelving will serve. Will the unit function as an organizer for an unruly closet, hold nick-knacks or store books? Will you opt for more decorative custom shelving to hold candles or family heirlooms or add a nice accent to the room?

Once you have answered these all important questions and picked out the kind of unit that best compliments your needs, you will have to obtain the items necessary to install your shelves properly. For tools, a Philips head and flat head screw driver will probably be your best bet along side a small hand held power drill. After laying out the appropriate screws, which more than likely will come with your wall unit, be sure to locate studs in the a wall where the shelves will hang. Although this step can be done by hand, you don’t want to take a chance on being wrong. Stud finders are fairly fool proof and can be purchased at your local hard ware store. Once you find the studs, installing your shelves is but a few steps away. To get started be sure to utilize a good laser pointer or ruler to make sure you are aligning the shelving correctly.

Next, use a pencil to mark the studs so you know where to drill. This step is especially important because you need to make sure the shelving will be strong enough to hold up the weight you intend to place it, particularly if you plan to put anything valuable or irreplaceable on them.
Drill in the marked areas with the hand held power drill.
Pick up one of the shelving brackets and line them up to the appropriate holes so that the screws will be easier to place.
Once the brackets are in place, put the actual shelf on them—step back to admire your handiwork and to see if the is aligned properly.

Now, depending on how big the shelving system is (and how many shelves it has) you may need to mount several brackets. This can add to the amount of time spent mounting the shelves, so plan accordingly. When the shelves are in place, test them with something heavy prior to putting anything you really care about on them. The last thing you’d want to do is to put your grandmother’s China on the shelf and have the thing fall a part on you. After you have been able to establish its sturdiness, it should be good to go! Many people who realize how effortless it is to install a quality shelf find that they will turn towards wall mounted units to add storage space, creating not only long lasting beauty but true value to their homes.