Putting up a shelf is a common household task, but many people think it’s difficult. This job can be made very simple when the correct preparation has been made. If you follow these simple steps and useful tips, you’ll be able to put up your shelf in no time at all.
Book Shelf
To put a shelf up in your house, you should start off by getting all of the required tools ready for use. You will need the following:
• The shelf and brackets/shelving kit you wish to put up
• Screws and plugs/anchors
• A drill with a drill bit that is slightly smaller than the screws you’re using. This can be a battery or mains operated drill (if using battery-powered drill, make sure your drill is fully charged before you start).
• Pencil
• Screwdriver/screwdriver attachment for your drill
• Spirit level
• Tape measure
• A hammer may be required but not always necessary.
Depending on where you’re putting the shelf, you may want to use an electrical detector so you don’t drill/screw through any electrical cables that are running through your wall. Once you’re satisfied the area is safe to drill in, place a light mark on the walls where the holes will be drilled. You might want to measure the distance between these to make sure they’re positioned correctly. Make sure the marks are level using a spirit level rather than the tape measure as the ceilings and floors may not always be level. If they’re not level, your shelf won’t be either. Once you have got the initial marks level, you’ll want to mark where each hole on the bracket needs to be drilled
You are now ready to drill your holes. Try to keep to the marks that you’ve made on the wall — if your drill slips off of them the shelf won’t be level — and tap in your plugs or anchors so that they’re flush with the wall. Then secure the bracket to the wall using the screws.
You’re now ready to fix your shelf to the bracket. You may want to measure the distance between each end of the shelf and your bracket so they’re evenly spaced. Before the shelf is fixed to the brackets, you’ll need to use your spirit level again just to double check that it’s all level. If it’s slightly out you may just want to tap one of the brackets up or down slightly to correct this and make the shelf perfectly straight. Once this is done you can attach the shelf to the brackets and step back and admire your perfect handy work. You can now decorate your shelf as you please.
To summarize, putting up a shelf does not have to be a difficult task, or a man-task, all you need to do is follow these simple steps:
• Prepare tools
• Check for electrical cables running through walls
• Mark where brackets are to go
• Check that marks are level
• Drill holes
• Fix brackets
• Put shelf on brackets and check level again
• Fix shelf to brackets.
If you follow these steps, you should have a perfectly level shelf every time.
