[Closed] Joiners..how do I build floating shelves?

I talked my dad into making them. 🙂

Rachel

Depends on how much weight you need them to hold but various brackets available - just Google 'invisible shelf brackets'.

i have looked at invisible shelf brackets but the shelf/desk panel slides on to them from the front and I think they would give a bit due to the weight under my elbows, over the full depth of a desk. I think the desk panel would need supported at the sides too but, come to think of it, the underside of the desk probably wont be seen but the higher ones, to hold a printer and possibly heavy files would be. I don,t really want them sagging under the weight so that is why I ws thinking of somehow supporting them from the three sides.

Make up a sandwich panel rather than using a flat board (timber frame with ply or MDF top and bottom), very light and stiff, then just support it at the sides and don't bother bracketing it to the wall. Should span 8 - 10ft and support your computer and elbows on it with no appreciable flex. I knock together temporary workbenches for my workshop that way and a 8ft long panel skinned both sides with 8mm OSB they support my 16 stone in the middle with no real give.

I bought them from Ikea

battens on the walls and then either build the shelves around them or make the shelf and then slide it onto the battens and secure.

ikea +1

The Ikea ones leave you stuck with the standard sizes though. Has anyone tried cutting one down? I did it once (the shelf was going in an alcove) and there isn't much you can do with them unless the cut end is hidden.

Depends to some extent on the quality of the wall. If you are drylined onto thermalite or other soft block, it may be hard to take the load without some deep chemical anchors.
Or is it dry line office space on steel frame or wood?
Or is it solid brick + plaster = easier to do.

Mark height of top of worktop, and then deduct thicknness iof worktop , screw 2 x 1 baton, onto wall, and level with the side battons, cut worktop, or timber to fit onto battons, srew up from underneath, cut a semi circal out one back end to feed cables through.

The same for sheves, but cut the side battons 1 inch smaller than the size of the shelf, plus the depth of rear batton, secure to wall, nowcut a piece of 2 x 1 and fit into front of shelf underneath this will give added depth to the shelf and stop buckling, screw from top , or bracjket frem underneath.

Or just get a joiner with little work to come out and do it for you.

[url= http://www.sdslondon.co.uk/concealed-shelf-supports.html?gclid=CKvZ5-C1laACFQU9lAodyxgweg ]concealed shelf supports[/url]

These may do the job if you only had one wall to fix to, could be used on three walls if channelled into shelf rather than drilled on 2 of the 3 faces.

With three walls to fix to though, as others have said, use battens but make them a feature too.