SUPER HEAVY wall-mounted shelf. Madness or feasible?

[johannlindgren]

Hello everyone,

Surely there are people here who are knowledgeable in these matters.

I've been planning for a long time to mount part of my bookshelf on brackets against the wall, e.g.:
Bracket 1 or Bracket 2. These brackets should hold 200-250 kg each.

I have calculated that I will have about 500 LP records up there (average weight 400 grams) = 200 kg + about 25 kg for the Ikea shelf they are sorted in.

We're talking 225 delightful kilos, say 250 kg to have a margin. I have read that brackets should preferably cover 2/3 of the shelf’s depth (the shelf is 35 cm).

So the question is: Can I dare?

My plan is to place a shelf board at the bottom of the Ikea shelf, just to get "balance" on the shelves. Then to place 3 brackets evenly spaced as support under that shelf board (can you really count 200+200+200 kg for what they should hold?). Concrete wall behind.

Grateful for answers before I get too carried away!

 

[ArneTW]

I would think there might be several weak points...

You will get more tips, but I would have checked the quality of the concrete in the wall... feels like it varies and chosen screws/anchors based on that.

/ATW

 

[BirgitS]

How far will it be between the consoles and what is the shelf (shelves?) made of?

 

[Hep]

Before you get too far into planning, weigh a stack of records. To average 400 grams, it should be a double LP or with substantial booklets. Even thick vinyl with single covers rarely exceed 250 grams.

 

[johannlindgren]

Before you get too far in planning - weigh a stack of records. To average 400 grams, it should be a double LP or with substantial booklets. Even thick vinyl with single covers is rarely over 250 grams.

I might have overestimated a bit, but I'm thinking of an average—some are 2XLP with gatefold and plastic sleeves. Even if the average were taken at 300 grams, it feels like the fundamental question remains due to the high total weight.

 

[Hep]

The fundamental question about the heavy shelf remains, but my experience from work is that they average around 250 grams, and that makes it 125 kilos plus the shelf, which I think affects quite a bit. Cool to have LPs on a shelf, by the way. Mine are stored in a bunch of flight cases - probably to no avail.

 

[Kasken]

If the math is correct and the load is somewhat evenly distributed over the shelf, you are only loading the brackets with about 1/3 of their capacity, so there's likely nothing to worry about there.

The depth of the shelf and the bracket is of greater importance (ha ha). If the shelf is significantly deeper than the part of the bracket protruding from the wall, it will soon become challenging for the bracket. You might be able to counteract this levering effect somewhat by also anchoring the top of the shelf to the wall.

Keep in mind that there will be a significant outward pulling force on the upper screws of the brackets. Use proper plugs.

 

[Kane]

Remember that there will probably be a hell of a pulling force straight out on the upper screws on the brackets. Use sturdy plugs.

Hardly. The leverage arm is short and more than one screw per bracket.

 

[Purre]

Link number two is Habo and their max load is only estimated and not guaranteed. But if you are going to have, say 200kg and use two brackets, they are calculated to handle 500kg, so it shouldn't be a problem if the weight is evenly distributed.
But secured with four screws with plug or expander, it's not a problem to handle the weight if it's proper concrete.
We have two such for a bench without any problems and they are only attached to a wooden wall.

https://habo.com/se/sortiment/hyllor-och-konsoler/hyllkonsoler/konsol-t-profil-15244

 

[johannlindgren]

If the math is correct and the load is somewhat evenly distributed across the shelf, you're only putting about 1/3 of the capacity on the brackets, so there's probably nothing to worry about there.

The depth of the shelf and bracket is of more importance (ha ha). If the shelf is significantly deeper than what the bracket extends from the wall, it will soon get tricky for the bracket. You might counteract this lever effect somewhat by also anchoring the top of the shelf to the wall.

Keep in mind that there will be a strong pulling force straight out on the upper screws of the brackets. Use sturdy plugs.

Exactly, could that thing with 2/3 of the shelf's depth be correct? That is, 35 cm deep shelf = at least 23 cm bracket.

Maybe a strange question but, does it make any difference if I position the bracket's "wall rail" from underneath or atop the shelf? In profile, seen from the wall as a protruding L, or alternatively ┌ (yeah, you probably get what I'm hinting at)?

Initially, I've thought of it as the latter

 

[johannlindgren]

How far will it be between the consoles and what is the shelf (shelves?) made of?

The total width of the shelf is 140 cm. The shelf itself is an Ikea Eket, so the shelf itself is probably not a monster build, but I plan to place a shelf board in pine or something similar underneath (140 cm) for the Ikea shelf to stand on (and be screwed to).

 

[Harald Blåtumme]

Personally, I would have chosen to place these shelves on a shelf resting on the floor, completely unnecessary to consider wall-mounted brackets. IKEA has plenty of such.

 

[johannlindgren]

Personally, I would have chosen to place these shelves on a shelf that rests on the floor, completely unnecessary to consider wall-mounted brackets. IKEA has plenty of such things.

Here is an old sketch & the reason I want to get part of the shelf on the wall is to create some "air" and at the same time get some browsing boxes.

So that's pretty much how I imagined it, except the receiver, etc., will not be placed according to the sketch but instead under the turntables.

 

[Harald Blåtumme]

There were or still are crates for drinks, perfect for storing LP records. Maybe not super stylish, but very practical when you want to browse through the collections. Like you show in the picture, it's roughly how I have it (but with a much smaller collection), difficult to handle. It usually ends with pulling everything out and sitting with a mountain of LPs...

I completely understand the problem, you want to be able to browse through the collections.

 

[Düsseldorff]

You have concrete walls so no problem. If you get really good brackets and really good plugs, you can hang 1000 kg on a shelf without breaking a sweat.