Back to Basics, Taking a Ride Through my Mistakes
I will be honest, I scoffed at the idea of watching a shelf install video. After all, how hard can it be to attach a piece of wood onto a wall? Harder than it seems, especially when poor planning is involved.
This shelf install is a classic example of what not to do, just like how some of my previous posts have gone. While this post does not highlight a complete failure to install a shelf, it does highlight several mistakes made along the way.
Here is an example of one of the mistakes I made when building the shelf. I should have cut the board an extra two or so centimeters.
The Dreaded Stud Finder
Before I begin with what went wrong, I will come to my own defense first. Perhaps it is specific to my Walmart Hart electric stud finders, but it is terrible at finding studs. Although not the entire cause of the shelf install going poorly, not being able to find the studs certainly added to the difficulty of the project. The one thing the stud finder does a decent job of is finding electrical wires.
In my search to fix the issue (although only after the shelf was installed) I found an alternative to the electric stud finder that I had already known about but dismissed too quickly. The product is the stud buddy, which is just a plastic shell with two strong magnets, but works great.
I will concede a powerful magnet will work just as well, but for the price (around $10) I was not upset buying it. Had I used the stud buddy on the shelf, it might have gone better, as I would have more easily found the studs.
ADD or Poor Planning?
While I don’t want to use my neurodivergents as an excuse, my ADD does make it hard to slow down. Regardless of why, there were key steps that I messed up in the planning of the shelf. Missing the key steps led to a poorly executed shelf install that somehow isn’t so bad.
The First Step Missed
The first key step I missed was making sure the wall itself was square. I really should not have missed this step, as with older homes nothing is square. Which meant that I should have cut at an angle instead of perfectly straight.
I’ll be honest, I am not entirely sure the best method to correct for the wall not being straight. I believe the most straightforward method would be to mark the shortest point and the longest point and draw a line connecting the two.
The picture shows the shelf against the none square corner. Luckily, the edge is almost always not visible as if it was visible multiple issues could be seen. For starters the shelf is not cut straight at all and secondly both screw holes are drilled too close to the end of the shelf.
If I had picked a simpler shelf, such as one that is away from the wall, then I wouldn’t have had to take into account the wall not being square. However, I took the more difficult path due to not knowing it would be more difficult. In addition, I feel as though the shelf being against the wall gave a built into the wall look that I like the look of more.
The picture shows the shelf I installed above the one this post is about. I used shelf L brackets or whatever they maybe called. While the look is not my favorite, it was far easier to do than the shelf this post is about. The shelf is also what I was referring to above when I stated a “simpler shelf”.
The Second Step Missed
The second crucial step was locating the studs. For some reason, I had assumed there would be studs right next to the corner of the walls. I suppose I thought that was how framing worked? However, there were no studs to speak of near the corner of the walls, which meant making the screws go at an angle and hoping to hit a stud.
Here is the left side of the bottom part of the shelf. The top screw is hard to see how angled they are, but the bottom screw does well, showing how I had to screw the shelf into place.
The Results of my Poor Planning
Speaking of results, one might wonder, with only two mistakes made, how bad could the shelf be? Eh… the shelf is functional, which I would say checks the biggest concern when installing one. For example, It holds all the kitchen gadgets which weigh a considerable amount with no issues so far.
While functionally okay, the shelf visually is a bit of a different story. Visually, the shelf is okay but has several noticeable flaws.
Some criticisms of the visuals would be that the shelf would look better with a front plate and painted. Furthermore, there are gaps and holes that still need to be filled. I struggled with countersinking the screws, as the countersink bits were terrible.
Lastly, the shelf needs a center brace as overtime the shelf is likely to sag. I also need to drill dowel plugs to hide the screws, but that is an entire task, one which is explained better down below.
The Countersink Rant
The countersink bits drill a hole that is very shallow when not adjusted. However, when adjusted, the screw that holds the drill bit no longer keeps the bit in place. What is even worse is when the screw to hold the drill bit is tightened down too tight, it strips. I am not sure if I am using them wrong or what, but I found them to be a huge struggle throughout the project. While I could name the brand, honestly, all the countersink drill bits I found seem to function the same way.
Despite the countersink problem seeming a bit trivial, it does hinder my overall plan. With all my focus on trying to keep the drill bit into the counter sink, I ended up not creating a deep enough hole. My plan was to wood glue in a dowel to cover up the screws, but there is not enough depth to do so. To remedy the issue I would have to remove each screw and counter sink the screws more, which is not the worst thing but is rather annoying.
The Conclusion and My Recommendations
Looking back, I definitely should have sketched out the final product. Additionally, I should have avoided assumptions and asked important questions like “what variables are uncounted for” in this case the answer would be the angled wall.
An example of variables not being accounted for would be how to run wires. The second top shelf (the shelf with the white brackets) has our coffee makers on it and thus need cords ran to the outlet. As a second thought, I pulled out the hole saw drill bit and drilled a hole in both shelves. Of course on the bottom shelf I drilled too close and nicked the wood.
I could have also looked up plans that have been designed for the type of shelf I was installing. I have found that by following plans (especially with car repairs) everything goes more smoothly.
As for the color, I would have preferred to paint both shelves, but my wife likes the natural look of the wood so they will for now remain unpainted. However, I think that being painted white would make the shelf look further integrated into the wall.
So would I recommend doing this kind of shelf install? I would recommend this project but with reservations. I would recommend a person install their own shelf if they follow some sort of plan. Even if the plans are just listing the materials, sketching out the final project, and writing down the little details.
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