kai463•2d ago

So I hit 37 failed attempts at building a floating shelf

The bracket system from Home Depot just would not stay level in my plaster wall, no matter how many toggle bolts I used. Some people online say to just use a French cleat for everything, but others swear by these specific brackets if you hit the studs. Has anyone actually gotten those things to work in an old house?

2 comments

2 Comments

richardh442d ago

Yeah, @campbell.max has the right idea calling it compacted dust. I swear my walls are just old paint holding hands over a void. Those brackets are a joke unless your studs are perfectly spaced, which in these houses they never are. The French cleat crowd might be onto something, but at this point I'm ready to just glue the shelf to the wall and call it a day.

campbell.max2d ago

Feel my pain, I've got a pile of bent brackets and broken dreams in my garage. My old house walls are basically compacted dust and wishful thinking. I tried hitting studs, but they're spaced like they were laid out by a drunk carpenter. At this point, I'm half convinced the French cleat people are just messing with us.