Screwing a hardwood shelf to a concrete wall?

[DFA]

Greetings everyone

I have this shelf, [URL=

I need some way of attaching it to my wall, which is made out of concrete.

Would I be able to pull this off with just drilling some L brackets between the top of the shelf and the wall? I don't know exactly how heavy the shelf is, but it's made out of hardwood.

If not, how else could I go about this? Thanks for reading.

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[Don Phillipson]

[URL=

1. Weigh the shelf unit. Bathroom scales will do. (We do not know if it is 12 inches wide or 12 feet.)
2. Consult a neighbourhood hardware store, that can sell you either fasteners or tools for this task.

[Heathcliff]

One option would be to have it rest on trim that you screw to the walls. Say, 1X3 stained to match. You could screw or tack the bottom of the shelf unit to the trim, although I'm not sure you would need to. I would be leery of attaching it at the top only since that could lead to sagging over time. Especially if it is actually hardwood veneer on particle board. -- H

[ilbebauck]

Drill holes in the concrete wall using a masonry bit, use anchors or as an alternate...something like TapCons (trade name) for concrete , then fasten the L-brackets to the wall using the correct size screws so they really bite. This method will support quite a bit of weight. Any Home Center store will have what you need.

[gfretwell]

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If you are worried go over to the Simpson display (framing clips) and get an epoxy kit. Shoot a little of that in each hole before you run in the tapcon and they ain't coming out.

[Phisherman]

I don't particularly like the idea of drilling Tapcon holes into a concrete wall, but if the loaded shelf will be under 30 pounds go for it. In addition to the the Tapcon screws, use some Liquid Nails. For greater weight, I'd use a long standard.

[charlie]

one might first ascertain whether this is a concrete wall, or a concrete block wall.

[DFA]

DFA had written this in response to

: The shelf is about 4 feet from the corner to each edge of the shelf. It's real hardwood, not covered-up MDF or plywood. I will be attaching this to a concrete block wall.

I'm pretty new to all the home DIY thing, so I'll have to do my research and try to find a panamanian equivalent of TapCons (I'm in Panama right now). Thanks for letting me know it can actually be done.

Thanks alot for the input! And sorry if I got on someone's nerves with posting from thestuccocompany.com. If there is any other way of accessing these discussion boards, please let me know.

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[SteveBell]

Panama right now).

For concrete block, use toggle bolts. Those are the ones with wings that pop out after you push them into the hole.

Concrete block is too fragile for Tapcon-type screws. You might use them successfully, but chances are also good you'll crack the blocks.

[stan]

Agree with foregoing: But surely the wording;

"Would I be able to pull this off with just drilling some L brackets between the top of the shelf and the wall? .......... " is a misnomer?

The idea being to attach it to the concrete (block) wall so it does "NOT PULL OFF"

Also not only the weight of the shelf itself but whatever is likely to go on it? Could be anything from a lightweight vase to a shelf full of heavy books etc.

For example a weight of say ten pounds placed on the shelf is likely to exert some downward force at the rear edge of the shelf and some leverage near the front edge tending to tear the shelf off the wall. A bending moment.

[norminn]

[URL= g338/199/shelfz.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

I had some oak (1" ?) shelves made once which entailed ogee-shaped brackets under the shelves. Brackets were screwed from the top through the shelf. I then attached mending plates to the back of the shelf at each bracket, fastened to the shelf and the bracket...I designed the shelves so that the brackets would be lined up with the studs and the whole thing put up with lag bolts into the studs. These were 6' long, and full of books. Only thing visible in the way of fasteners was the top eye of the mending plate and they were hidden by the books. "L" brackets that I have used always droop at front of shelf with any weight on the shelf, but the method I used would have required the lag bolts shear in order for the fasteners to fail, as the weight was supported at the wall.

[mm]

Might you ever put anything on the shelf?