High end floating shelves using only a power drill

Before and after

When we first visited what is now our house, my wife was pretty clear "Those upper cabinets have to go. We need floating shelves". And yes, she was basically suggesting a new item for my to-do list.

But I did not want to buy a bulky miter saw or spend days cutting mdf and putting it together. So I had to think on a different solution.

The concept

If you search for DIY shelves online you are going to find hundreds of different approaches to the same concept.

For us, the list of musts was:

1. Aesthetically pleasing to my wife's eye (and yes, this is a moving target)
2. Cheap
3. Durable
4. Sturdy

To accomplish all of that I got (in order):

1. Patience and a new account in Pinterest
2. Already cut dried lumber from the local store (Lowes)
3. Treated wood with an exterior varnish (maybe a little bit overkill but they will be in the kitchen)
4. Brackets fixed to the studs (not applicable to my European friends) where possible. If there were no studs (they should be spaced 16 inches in general) I used toggle bolts.

The materials

• Painters tape
• Wood / Lumber
• Brackets
• Screws in case we are lucky and we hit a stud
• Toggle bolts
• Varnish (forever satin)
• Microfiber cloths
• Sand sponges 80, 120 and 220

The tools

• Power drill. Yes, its $30. And yes, It works.
• Screwdriver. If you don't have any and you are planning to do more DIY stuff, I would recommend this set
• Small drill bit
• Big drill bit.
• Laser level
• Tripod (for your laser lever)
• Measuring tape
• Markers

The process

Disclaimer: I'm an engineer. I'm obsessed with steps and sequence. If anything you are going to find too many details in this guide. But I like it that way (please do not judge me).

Prep work

It may seem obvious but the first thing that you need to do is define the location of the shelves. Remember, we are going to need our friends at the store to cut the lumber for us. For this step I do recommend having the brackets already (to mark the holes). There are probably a few different ways of doing it but this what works for me:
a. If you are installing this in the kitchen as I was, please make sure that you check the location of all your outlets, gas lines, etc. I don't want you to be drilling a gas line. No fun.
b. Turn on your laser level and set it up wherever you want to put the bottom of the brackets. If you only need to do one shelf you can probably get away with just a level.
c. Mark with tape the location of the brackets. The brackets can be anywhere within the shelf but I like to leave around 0.5 inch (or 10 mm) from the edge of the wood to the bracket.
d. Put the bracket over the tape and mark the location of the holes. Again make sure that you are not going to blow your house or electrocute yourself when you drill at that location.

Do you think that we are going to drill now? You could but I suggest that you check your WAF (Wife Approval Factor). After getting your approval, check the spacing between brackets, add as much overhang as you like (that 0.5 inches) and head over the local store (I used Lowes just because I get 5% back). Once you are there, buy the lumber, overcome your fears and ask the nice people that work there to do some cuts for you (based on your measurements). Boom, no need for a fancy miter saw for this project.Now you have the pieces and the brackets.

Wood treatment

The wood that we just bought is nice but it's not fit for purpose. If you are doing this on your kitchen as I did or even if you just want these shelves to last, you need some kind of protective layer on top of the wood. The process that I am going to describe it's not difficult but it takes a little bit of time. Here are the steps:

1. Sand the wood with the 80 grid sponge. Easy, right? Then is when you may need to use you brain a little bit. Open the can (duh), damp your microfiber cloth in there and apply a fine coat on the wood. How do I apply the product an all the faces you ask? I told you that needed that thing that rest over your shoulders. One idea to avoid a mess is to use some kind of protective layer on the floor (a.k.a. carboard) and some supports so you can flip the wood over. I would put those temporary supports where the bracket will sit so nobody sees any marks.
2. Let it dry for at least 24 h (please) . Sand now with a 120 sponge and apply another coat.
3. Repeat 2 but now use a 240 sponge and apply your final coat. And yes, we want these things to last.

I know. It takes three freaking days. Life is hard.

Bracket Installation

Drilling day! We can finally get to fun stuff (kind of).

Quick recap:

1. We have the position of the brackets marked with tape and marker
2. Our shelves have been treated with three layers of varnish

Now we have two scenarios (if you are in the States or any country where studs and drywall are a thing):

• The brackets is over a stud
• The bracket is between studs (and we have checked that it does not hit anything like electrical ⚡ or plumbing)

Whatever the case may be, I like to start small. Please check again that all the marks are where they are supposed to be and start drilling the the small drill bit. If the drill bit has made it 1 inch in and still goes you have hit a stud. If it is already loose, you only have drywall and will need to use toggle botls

Installation over a strut

Pretty easy. Just need to follow these steps:

1. In case you are drilling through tile, make sure that that you drill with the 1/2 drill bit the tile. Please do not go through the stud. Mark your drill bit with tape if you know that you cannot control yourself when you start drilling.
2. Position the bracket. Without installing, do a mockup. Check if the screw can go trough the hole in the bracket. Sometime you need to sand down the hole a little bit to help it (i.e use the drill bit that you alredy have to make the hole bigger).
3. Using your power drill screw the screws (I know, I'm brilliant)

Installation on drywall / brick

You are going to follow the same steps with a slight modification:

1. Drill the hole with the 1/2 inch drill bit
2. Introduce the plastic piece through the hole and pull back as per the instructions
3. Please please make sure that you check that the bolt provided with the toogle bolts kit.
4. Put the bracket into position and screw the bolt using a screwdriver. Please do not use a power drill. You will break the plastic.

Shelf installation

Once you have the brackets into position, you can put the wood over them and use the provided small black screws to secure them to the brackets. You have finished!

I realize that the tiles look different too. Are you interesed on a guide for that too? Please let me know at hello@agustindiez.com