How to hang a shelf on a plasterboard wall: 5 mounting methods

The question of how to hang a shelf on a drywall wall has several correct answers. It all depends on what kind of load the structure will exert on the gypsum plasterboard sheathing, and what materials we will have at our disposal.

I will tell you how you can hang light shelves with minimal labor, and also describe the installation technology for heavier structures.

For lightweight structures

Method 1. Adhesive mounting

After completing the sheathing and finishing, we may have a question about how to attach the shelf to the plasterboard wall. The problem is that drywall is a rather fragile material, and therefore it will crumble under load. This means that when hanging shelves, we will have to use a variety of devices that will allow us to compensate for this lack of drywall.

The choice of mounting method directly depends on two parameters:

1. The weight of the shelf itself.
2. The planned load on it.

We will build on them when planning work.

For decorative shelves, stands for small photos or keys in the corridor, you can use adhesive mounting. This method is the easiest to implement:

1. We apply markings on the wall for the installation of a decorative object.
2. According to the marking on the surface sheathed with GKL, we apply a thin layer of contact adhesive.
3. We apply the same layer of glue to the back of the shelf.
4. We withstand the glue for a while (depending on the type of composition) and press the shelf against the wall. The clamp should be tight, but not too tight: it is desirable to dose the effort so as not to crush the drywall.

The described technique practically does not require labor costs, but its reliability is also low.

Method 2. Fixing on self-tapping screws

If we are dealing with a structure whose mass is small, but does not allow the use of the adhesive method, you can simply fix the shelf with self-tapping screws. The choice of fasteners depends on where we will carry out the work:

• if the shelf will be installed simply in drywall or in a wooden frame element, then we use wood screws (black);

• if the position of the shelf can be adjusted so that the fasteners fall into the metal profile under the skin - we take self-tapping screws for metal with a drill.

The length of the self-tapping screw must be sufficient to completely pass the GKL and go deep into a wooden beam or steel profile. With a single-layer sheathing, it is desirable to use elements from 25–35 mm.

The instructions for doing the work are extremely simple:

1. Choose the installation location. As I noted above, it is desirable that the fasteners fall either into the vertical racks of the frame or into the horizontal crossbars.
2. Put marks on the wall.
3. We attach the shelf to the wall and tighten the screws according to the marks. It is advisable to use a screwdriver: this way the hole will not “break”.

With excessive tightening, the fastening reliability may decrease due to a violation of the integrity of the cardboard layer. And it is also undesirable to unscrew the screws and re-tighten them back: the thread destroys the gypsum, and when re-attached, it will hold much worse.

For heavier shelves

Method 3. Expanding and drop-down dowels

Now let's figure out how to hang a heavy shelf. Here, ordinary self-tapping screws cannot be dispensed with - it is advisable to either use special dowels, or solve the problem in other ways.

Let's start with a description of special fasteners - fortunately, it is on the market in a fairly wide range:

Perhaps, the described mounts have one significant drawback - a rather high price. But if we consider that we need only a few of these dowels to hang the shelf, then this disadvantage can be considered insignificant.

Method 4. Through anchor

However, sometimes you have to decide how to screw the shelf to the drywall if the load on it is high, but you can’t use a special dowel. This situation arises, for example, when there is a minimum gap between the casing and the wall, which does not allow the installation of an expansion sleeve.

Here you can do it like this:

1. First, using a drill or a screwdriver with a drill installed, we make holes in the plasterboard sheathing. The diameter of the holes must be equal to the diameter of the fasteners used.

Here, the rigidity of the entire system comes to the fore, so I recommend working with dowels of 8-12 mm or more, even if a thinner product is enough for reliable fixation. The thing is that a thick dowel will not sag under the weight of the shelf, and the load on the edge of the hole in the plasterboard will be minimal.

1. Then we change the drill to a puncher and use a drill to make a socket for the anchor sleeve in the load-bearing wall. The depth of the nest must be no less than the distance from the load-bearing wall to the outer surface of the plasterboard.
2. We insert an anchor sleeve made of durable plastic or metal into the drilled hole.

1. We fix the sleeve with a locking screw with a cap or a hook. When screwing, the sleeve will gradually open, and most of the load will fall on the main wall.

When implementing this method with your own hands, it should be borne in mind that when drilling a nest with a puncher, and when hanging a shelf, the hole in the gypsum board will increase slightly. So it’s worth installing fasteners in advance - then at the finishing stage we will be able to mask the defects that have arisen.

Method 5. Mortgage

And finally, the universal answer to the question of how to fix a shelf on drywall . If you want the hinged structure to hold “tightly”, it is better to provide for its installation in advance:

1. When installing the frame for the cladding of the GKL, we select a place on the wall for installing the shelf.
2. In the chosen place, we fasten a wooden beam or a thick board with anchors to the main wall. We select the thickness of the element in such a way that the gap between its surface and the wrong side of the plasterboard sheathing is minimal.

Tip: be sure to mark at the level of the mortgage on adjacent walls, floors and ceilings. This will make it easier for you to find it!

1. After sheathing, we find a mortgage (by marks or by tapping drywall). We hang the shelf on ordinary self-tapping screws, twisting them through the gypsum board into a tree to a depth of at least 40 mm.
2. If the shelf is heavy, use the method described in the previous section. The use of a embedded beam will not only not interfere with the installation of through anchors, but will also strengthen the fastening unit.