I have a pair of 4 foot shelves. They are a foot deep. How far in should I mount the brackets?Thanks
the 2 x 4s are 16 apart. I would put the brackets 32 apart, making sure you screw into the 2 x 4s, and let the shelf ends overhang 8 on each side
depends what you are putting on them, the heavier the items then the closer to the middle is best, light items could be held at either end, you haven't stated the materials the shelves are constructed from but as a general rule I'd mount the brackets about a foot in from either end to give good medium range.
alot depends on the weight you intend to put on the shelves, however with 4 foot shelves I would put 3 brackets spaced equally beginning about 6inches from either end of the shelf. If you don't use 3 brackets or even 4the shelf will eventually warp and sagnot a pretty sight!
First, you should make sure you secure the brackets into something solid like a stud. If the whole wall is solid anywhere will work. If your wall is not fully solid, find a set of studs that are shorter than the shelf. Mount the brackets first and then center the shelf. You didn't say what you would place on the shelf, what type of material the shelf is made of, or how thick the material is. Solid wood generally is better than plywood or particle board. Thicker generally is better than thinner. When building bookcases, I never let a single shelf span more than 30 without some type of midspan support. In a bookcase, I can screw or nail through the back to support the back edge of the shelf or I can add a stiffener to the front and back edges to reduce deflection when weight is applied. I also check for any crowning (slight bend in the shelf) and make sure the crown is up so that gravity and weight will tend to flatten it out. If the starts down, gravity and weight will only tend to make the crown worse.
As they are very deep shelves, and if you are going to put heavy itmes on them, I would put the bracket into the wall studs. These are usually 16 on center. Find a wall stud near the center of where you want the shelf. Measure 16 to both sides of this stud, and put you brackets there. This will put them 32 apart, or 8 inches from either end of the shelf.
