How to Install a Shelf in a Garage's Concrete Wall
- 1). Choose a position for your shelf on the garage wall. Measure the length of the shelf with a tape measure and then mark the proposed location of the shelf onto the wall with a pencil. Use a carpenter's level as a straightedge to keep the length of the mark level.
- 2). Mark bracket locations for the supports of the shelf. Pace a mark beneath the shelf line about an inch from the edges of the shelf, and every 24 inches along the shelf length. Move any marks crossing a concrete seam to the side about 2 inches to avoid mounting the brackets into the weak seam area. Place a mounting bracket onto the marked support bracket lines, with the top of the bracket touching the shelf line. Use the pencil to mark each hole in the bracket against the wall.
- 3). Use a hammer drill equipped with a drill bit the same diameter as the masonry anchors that you're using to hold the brackets in place. Choose the anchors according to supported weight. If the shelf will support 100 pounds of weight, then you need enough brackets to support the weight combined, such as four 25 lb. anchors. Set the drill depth to the depth of the anchors, drill the holes, and then remove any dust from the holes with a nylon brush.
- 4). Place the masonry anchors into the drilled holes and then hammer them in place until flush with the concrete surface.
- 5). Switch the hammer drill for an electric drill containing a screw head bit. Place the bracket back onto the wall and then secure it in place by driving a concrete screw through the mount hole in the bracket and into the masonry anchor. Continue to mount all shelf brackets in the same manner.
- 6). Place the shelf onto the brackets and check for level. Adjust the brackets, if needed, to level out the shelf. Secure the shelf in place by driving screws up into the shelf from beneath, through the shelf mounting holes in the bracket. Ensure the screws are shorter than the depth of the shelf to avoid having the screw poke through the surface of the shelf.