On May 9, 11:00*am, "giga" wrote:
"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message

news:R5ZUj.5$%X1.1@trnddc08...





"Swingman" wrote:

BEWA Mantles end up being the resting place of expensive "objects
d'art"
(if not for this resident, perhaps for the next) and because of this fact
you may well be doing yourself a favor to "over engineer" ... you do NOT
want any unpleasant call backs from "friends".

What material is the wall? This information is important to an effective
solution.

Self tapping screws can be used into the metal studs, but, depending upon
the wall material, I would also routinely throw in a few molly bolts in
between the studs for the wall half of the French cleat.

If I were doing this job, shear load is not going to be a problem;
however, cantilever loading could be.

As someone suggested, the wider the French Cleat, the better. 6"-8" would
be a good starting point, 12" if there is room.

I would attach this cleat using #14, coarse thread, self tapping, S/S,
flat head, sheet metal screws (At least 2-3 per stud) along with
construction adhesive.

Just you're basic belt and suspenders design approach.

Allow the adhesive to cure 10-14 days before using.

Lew

I should have elaborated a bit...

The wall is garden variety drywall.
The mantle itself is 8" deep and about 4" thick. It's done with a torsion
box, so it's not solid cherry, but it sure ain't balsa wood. It's the
cantilever force I'm concerned about. That's a lot of weight hanging as far
as 8" out from the wall, with only 4" of surface area against it. I'm not
sure that adhesive would be much of an aid in this case. The cleat itself is
Lee Valley's aluminium Z-clips
(http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/pa...,41308&p=4...),
two sections of 2' each. It's not very wide, but I reckon I could drill
pairs of holes instead of singles in each location, but maybe not #14.

Bob

I suppose it is a bit late for this idea, but I would have approached
it a little differently.
I would have built a torsion box with a tapered (45-degree) removable
front and screwed the back part of the box directly (and flush) into
the studs, with a long screwdriver, and then re-inserted the front
'panel'.... even before applying the finish....maybe.
Those cleats are going to keep your box away from the wall, aren't
they? Or are you letting them in?

(I'm not trying to belabour a point here, but I do run into these
situations, so I'm keeping an eye on this thread.)