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Hesitant Handyman Builds - The Extended Floating Shelves!

So if you follow me on Instagram,  you’ve probably seen my posts about making a set of floating shelves for our Sunday school class. As a bit of background, one of my friends has just become our Sunday school teacher, and he came into it with a vision for what he wanted the place to look like–specifically, the vision involved a Fixer-Upper inspired coffee bar with a chalkboard wall and shelving above it. His vision for the shelves went over my head initially, but on the drive home from lunch with his family, my wife said something that made it all “click”–and while it wasn’t something I’d done before, but once I knew what he was looking for, I knew I wanted to take a crack at it if he was cool with it. He readily accepted my offer to build it,  so with very little prompting, I was off to buy lumber.


The plans I used came from Shanty2Chic–you can find their original build post here. I had to make some modifications to the plans to fit my needs, which required me to do a little of that thing that I hate–Math. I spent most of my teenage years asking “When am I ever going to use this again?” and had been able to exist rather blissfully without having to do very much for most of my 33 years on this earth. Then I took up carpentry as a hobby, and like that, I realize my high school geometry teacher is probably thinking “Never going to use it again, huh?”

Shanty2Chic’s original plan made three 33 1/2″ shelves. I didn’t need three shelves–the idea was to have two, but I needed the length of them to be comparable to the reclaimed dresser that Kirk and Kristin had refinished to serve as the coffee bar, which was about 50″ long.  I bought the same amount of lumber as Shanty2Chic’s original build, admittedly being too lazy to figure out exactly how much less I’d need, and as a result a wound up with a few extra pieces of 2×3, an entire unused 1×4, and 3/4 of a 4’x8′ sheet of 1/4″ plywood (in my defense, Shanty2Chic’s post called for a 4’x4′ sheet, but they didn’t have any in stock, so I wound up having them halve the 4×8 and then cut me the required strips. I felt pretty stupid when I realized due to my modifications to the project, I could’ve easily gotten away with a 2’x4′ sheet. Sorry Mrs. Stroum–I should’ve paid better attention in geometry…).

I made a pair of shelves that were 49 1/2″ long–the required lumber (or “software,” as I like to call it) to do the project is as follows:

The hardware:

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Wood prep:

For the brackets made from the 2×3 studs, the original plan divided the first stud into three 32″ lengths. The important piece here is knowing the length of the shelf you’re looking to create, especially in a situation where you’re putting it above an object (a 50″ coffee bar, for instance) that’s a specific length. Since I needed to get relatively close to that length, all I really needed to do was cut the stud in half at 48″

In case you’re thinking of trying to modify this for another sized piece, say 40″, just a word of warning–you might be tempted to cut your brackets at exactly the length you want the shelf to be. If I’m being impatient (which happens frequently), I sometimes forget to account for things like finish pieces that add to the overall size of the project. For this shelf plan, you’ll be adding about 1 1/2″ to the piece (3/4″ to either end). In my case it put me at an overall length of 49 1/2″, which was close enough to the coffee bar length that I felt okay with it. If you’re a perfectionist, and it’ll give you an ulcer if everything isn’t exactly the same length, make sure you account for the extra length (If you’re going to do a 40″ shelf, you’ll want to cut your bracket base at 38 1/2″, for instance). If you don’t, your 40″ shelf is going to be 41 1/2 inches.

I cut the tops (the 1x10x8′) in the same manner as the first stud–I just cut it down the middle at 48″. I did cuts for both using the stop on my miter saw stand, so everything turned out the same length.

For the support pieces, I’ll admit I got carried away. Shanty2Chic’s post had three supports per shelf, needing a total of nine shorter (7 3/4″) lengths of 2×3. Because I was making a pair of longer shelves, I actually only needed eight–four  for each shelf. Ryobi gifted me a wonderful miter saw a few months back, though, and once I set my lumber stop and got rolling, before long I found myself with a total of twelve 7 3/4″ lengths of 2×3. Whoops.

Once I had Home Depot cut the 4’x4′ section of plywood into 9 1/4″ strips, I didn’t have to do any additional cutting–they were already 48″ long. I did, however, wind up with five strips of 1/4″ plywood, which left me with more spare parts.(If you do the math before hand, folks, stuff like this doesn’t happen. Learn from me so you don’t have to find an excuse to build more shelves to clear your stock. =)

When cutting the 1×4 for the face piece, keep in mind that this will be the only piece of wood that’s actually cut to the length of the project–It needs to cover the edge of the plywood at the bottom and the edges of the shelf top and end pieces. In my case, it was cut at 49 1/2″. I then cut the four end pieces (9 1/4″ 1×4) from what was left after the shelf faces were cut.


Application (a.k.a. Assembly)

First off, you’ll be drilling pocket holes. Lots of pocket holes. Pocket holes for DAYS.

Okay, I might be exaggerating, but really–you’ll wind up putting 2 pocket holes in the end of each of your shelf supports. I actually got off easier than Shanty2Chic’s post–I was drilling in one whole support less! The number you do will ultimately depend on the size of your shelf and how many of them you’re building. I put a support every 12″ in my shelf, Shanty2Chic’s shelves were about 16″. Ultimately, you’ll want to ensure there’s enough support without unnecessarily weighing down the project.


Another little deviation from the original build post–I pre-stained my shelf pieces. While I totally got the value of doing the stain once everything was installed (Easy cover for nail holes), the fact of the matter is that if you see my garage floor, you’ll know that I’m a messy stainer who really has no business applying stain in a building with carpet. Even with a drop cloth, I probably would’ve ruined something.

When it came time to install, I located the studs in the wall I was mounting to and predrilled my holes (I realize the Spax screw box says no predrilling required, but I’m a little paranoid, especially given this is something I installed at my church). A friend held the bracket in place, and I proceeded to drive the 3 1/2″ screws into the studs with my impact driver.

Whitney’s post sang the praises of her Ryobi impact driver, and honestly–she’s right. I’ve had the same driver since Christmas, but this was really the first time I’ve gotten to use it for anything like this. I barely had to touch the trigger and my screw was more than halfway in–once it bit the studs, it locked the brackets to the wall solidly. I didn’t try hanging from the brackets like Whitney did (I’d not dare guess her weight, but I’m reasonably sure I weigh substantially more than she does), but I put some of my weight on it and that sucker wasn’t budging.


Once the brackets were mounted, the rest was a cake walk–install the top and bottom pieces with wood glue and brad nails, then install the end pieces, and finally the face. I had some nail marks left from the brad nailer, but I was able to touch them up with a stain pen.

I will say, installation is primarily a two person job–you’ll at the very least want someone else to hold the brackets while installing them to ensure they’re level. It’s a little less required for the finish pieces, but still recommended. Unless you really WANT to prove that you can hang a 49 1/2″ face piece with a brad nailer while holding it in place with your forehead. (Don’t ask how I know that. =)

So what do you think? Leave a comment with any crazy things you’ve done to finish an install!

 

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