SHELVING - THE DIFFERENT TYPES

Shelving is your best option for utilising your space to maximum capacity.

Shelving is always useful around any home for added storage space, whether it's a shelf in the bathroom, kitchen, garage or workshop. There are various options of shelving to suit different uses, wall construction with various types of shelf material.

When considering which type of shelf mounting to use and the type of shelf material, what will be placed on them and the look of the shelving may need to be considered. What you place on the shelves will influence how strong they need to be, this will have an effect upon the material used for the shelving itself, the distance between supports, and the method of supporting the shelving

The shelving styles discussed in this article are:

• Built-in shelving - a useful way to use an alcove (often found both sides of a chimney breast). The actual alcove effectively provides two vertical ends and supports for the shelves are fixed to the sides of the alcove.
• Fixed brackets - probably the most common arrangement - brackets are fixed to the vertical wall and the shelving is placed across them.
• Adjustable shelving systems - custom made for the job, these usually use vertical rails with adjustable height brackets to = achieve different shelf spacings - these are useful but may be costly.

The method chosen to secure the shelving to the wall will be influenced by the type of wall in question; walls may be masonry covered in plaster, masonry dry lined with plasterboard or plasterboard or lathe and plaster studding. Each type of wall will require a different approach to fixing the shelving, these are explained on our page for how to make strong fixings.

Shelving faults