Rather draw it in 3D first?
Alcove shelves in 3D
Three shelves that don't sag, in the alcove by a chimney breast.
FreeThen make it for real · an afternoon · Beginner
Put up alcove shelves
Nine battens, three shelves and about twenty screws into the wall. Print this page and take it to the alcove.
- Two lengths of timber, 44 × 18 mm, 2.4 m long
- Three shelves, 900 × 300, from 18 mm board
- 21 screws into the wall, 12 to fix the shelves down
Rather draw it in 3D first? Alcove shelves in 3D: three lessons
What you need
To buy
- Two lengths of planed timber, 44 × 18 mm and 2.4 m long, for the battens
- Board for the shelves, 18 mm MDF or plywood: three pieces 900 × 300. Most shops cut them for you; a half sheet, 2,440 × 607, gives four
- About 25 screws, 5 × 70 mm, and wall plugs to suit them
- About 15 screws, 4 × 40 mm, to fix the shelves down
- If you like: filler and sandpaper, ready for paint
Tools
- A tape measure, a pencil and a square
- A spirit level, 600 mm long or more
- A hand saw
- A drill: wood bits 2.5, 4 and 5 mm, a countersink, and the masonry bit the plugs ask for
- A screwdriver, or a screwdriver bit for the drill
- A cable and pipe detector
Check the wall with a detector before you drill: cables and pipes often run straight up, down or across from sockets and switches. Wear goggles to drill brick.
Cut list
Nine battens and three shelves
Battens 44 × 18 mm, shelves from 18 mm board, for an alcove 900 wide and 300 deep. Sizes in millimetres.
| Piece | Size | How many | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Back batten | 900 × 44Along the back wall, wall to wall: 3 screws | 3 | Along the back wall, wall to wall: 3 screws |
| Side batten | 282 × 44300 − 18: it stops at the back batten. 2 screws | 6 | 300 − 18: it stops at the back batten. 2 screws |
| Shelf | 900 × 300Each cut to its own level's width | 3 | Each cut to its own level's width |
Your alcove isn't 900 wide? Use your own sizes: each back batten is as long as the alcove is wide at its level, each side batten is the depth less 18, and each shelf is the width by the depth.
5 steps
Step 1 of 5
Measure and mark
- Measure the alcove wall to wall at the back and at the front, at each shelf's height. Walls are rarely straight: go by the smallest at each height.
- Measure the depth, from the back wall to the front of the chimney breast. The side battens are that less 18.
- Mark the bottom of each level's battens on the back wall: 400, 800 and 1,200 up. Measure up at one end only, then draw the line across with the level: floors are rarely level either.
Step 2 of 5
Cut, and drill the battens
- Cut a back batten for each level, to that level's width, and two side battens for each level, 282 long.
- Drill each batten for its screws with the 5 mm bit: 50 in from each end and, on the back ones, one in the middle, all halfway up. Countersink the holes so the heads sit flush.
- Cut the shelves to each level's width and to the depth. Write bottom, middle or top on each, underneath.
Step 3 of 5
Fix the back battens
- Hold the bottom batten on its line, check it with the level and mark the wall through its holes.
- Drill the marks with the masonry bit, push in the plugs and screw the batten on. Check it's still level before the last screw goes tight.
- Fix the middle and top ones the same way. A wall that sounds hollow is plasterboard: use fixings made for it.
Step 4 of 5
Fix the side battens
- Hold a side batten on the chimney breast, its back end against the back batten and its top level with it.
- Check it's level from the back to the front, mark through its holes, then drill, plug and screw it on.
- Fix one on the wall on the right the same way, then do the other two levels.
Step 5 of 5
Fit the shelves
- Lay each shelf on its three battens. If a wall leans in, sand or plane the shelf's end until it drops in.
- Screw it down, two screws into the back batten and one into each side batten: drill through the shelf with the 4 mm bit and countersink, then a 2.5 mm pilot hole into the batten.
- Fill over the screw heads and sand, ready for paint. Then the books.
Alcove shelves in 3D: three lessons