Installing Glass Shelves

Last weekend, we decided to install glass shelves in Brad's office. This is something he has been wanting to do for a while.  We actually found ones he liked at Ikea, but they were being discontinued and they did not have enough in stock. So we decided to venture to Home Depot and see what we could find. We found some 36 inch solid glass shelves that would work perfectly. The brackets were sold separately and this caused quite the dilemma. He wanted the appearance of floating shelves, so we found some bingo brackets. They stick directly out of the wall and the glass just sits on top of them. The problem is that they have to be mounted into a stud. At the time, we were not confident that the studs would line up perfectly enough for our shelves to be even. We were shooting for four shelves, two on each side of a picture that was centered on the wall. We bought backup brackets that were just silver bracket kits. They attached to the wall in 5 places, so studs were not required. It was the length of the glass and the glass just rested in the bracket. This bracket was bulkier than the bingo brackets, so it was not ideal but would be a good alternative.  So we walked out with 4 glass shelves, 4 bingo brackets (we needed 8 but our Home Depot only had 4), and 4 silver bracket kits. We figured we could return whatever didn't work. 

So here is what the wall looked like before: 

When we got back, I started doing all the measuring. I used a stud finder to first find all the studs. We then decided what heights we wanted each shelf, and I marked that. Lastly I decided how many inches from the wall we wanted each bingo bracket. This needed to line up on a stud, but had to be exact so that the brackets lined up perfectly. Then I marked all three and made crosshairs for Brad for his drilling. I did this on both sides to make sure the studs would work and we would not have to resort to the silver bracket kits. To our surprise, the studs did line up perfectly and we could move forward with the bingo brackets. 

Following the instructions on the bingo brackets, Brad drilled a pilot hole at the crosshairs that I noted.  Using a ratcheting screwdriver, he inserted the screw into the stud. The screw has three parts. There is a 3 inch section that screws into the wall. That is followed by a 'collar' which is supposed to remain outside of the wall. Then there is an one inch screw that remains outside that the bracket attaches to. The first two brackets worked perfectly.

The second two were a pain. We had great difficulty getting the screw to go through the stud. We could get it about half way in before having to resort to a wrench and t-shirt.  We used the t-shirt to protect the threads on the screw. 

The top two shelves were a major pain! We were getting to a point where we both had blisters and we were stripping the screws. It took us many hours to finish these last two shelves. When we finally got the screws in the wall and noticed the stripping of the screws, we realized we would not be able to get the brackets completely on.  

Good bracket  

Bad bracket

We borrowed a friend's file and that helped us to fix some of the stripped screws and attach the bracket more. We also invested in some good grip gloves to help us grip the bracket and keep from getting more blisters. Here is the completed project: 

We are both really happy at how the shelves look, but we would never recommend those brackets to anyone. They were cheap and awful. They seem to be providing the support that they claim, but the labor required would not be worth it again!  We also decided to remove the current picture and look for a nice Transformers, Power Rangers, or GI Joe picture.