anyone have experience securing shelving, etc. to steel studs. i've gotta put up some adjustable height shelves at work and we have steel studs behind drywall. should i just be using molly/toggle bolts or is there a product designed to attach heavy items to steel studs? the whole metal stud thing is foreign to me. thanks in advance.
-c
Mollys will work well. Requires a smaller hole than toggles, look neater and easier to install. Can also remove screws and reinstall without having toggle drop forever into the wall cavity. Use a good sharp drill bit so you don't have to push hard and deform the steel stud when drilling.
If this is just for light stuff, and needs to look pretty, Mollys will work fine. If this is for the back room, and shelves will be heavily loaded, I'd screw a decent grade of 3/4 plywood to the wall with lots of screws, and hang the shelf standards off that. (Go look how Ma Bell hung the hardware in your telephone room.) The plywood will stiffen the hell out of the wall and spread the load. You can always try Mollys first, and if they tear out, cover it all with plywood and start over.
aem sends...
Perhaps I wasn't clear with the part about a sharp drill - The mollys are to be installed through the steel studs, not just into the sheetrock, so they are anchored to the metal. I installed a bunch of commercial adjustable display racks this way with no issues.
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