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Installing Wall Shelves with Standards and Brackets

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Determine Locations for Shelf Standards

Shelf standard locations are marked with painter's tape.

Photo © Jeff Beneke
With the studs located and marked, the next step is to determine where best to install shelf standards. For basic bookshelves, plan to set the standards 32 inches apart on walls with studs spaced 16 inches apart. If your studs are spaced 24 inches apart, plan to attach a standard to each stud.

Shelves should overhang the side brackets no more than 6 inches. So, for example, if you planned to use three standards spaced 32 inches from each other (total span of 64 inches from end to end), you could safely use 6-foot-long shelves.

For particularly heavy loads, check the manufacturer to determine the best spacing for your standards.

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