In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Marcus Fox wrote:

I have fitted some shelves into an alcove between two chimneys. The
shelves are approx 70 cm across and 30 cm deep. The shelving material
is combiboard (sandwiched plywood) about 18mm thick. These rest on
battens 2 cm x 4.5 cm x (depth/width) which are screwed to the wall
on either side and at the back with nine screws (approx 5cms long) in
total (3 x 3).

Would these shelves support a sustained weight of about 60 kg? Reason
I'm asking is I want to put a 10 gallon fishtank on one of them and I
don't want it coming down for the obvious reasons. Any suggestions on
reinforcing them if needed? Or would it be best to just put them on
the floor, or bottom shelf (resting on a couple of bricks to
reinforce) to raise it above the skirting?

Marcus

I think that the shelf itself is ok, But it needs to be better supported -
particularly at the front.

First the back and sides: I would use a minimum of five screws for the rear
batten - either 2.5 x 10 or 3 x 10 (rather than your 2" screws) to make sure
that a goodly length goes into solid brickwork. I would use longer screws at
the sides too - but 3 each side is enough.

Without additional support at the front, the shelf is in danger of sagging
in the middle. I would support it with a length of 1.5" steel angle, going
right across the alcove with the ends supported by the side battens. If
desired, you could put a lip downwards from the front of the shelf to hide
the angle.

--
Cheers,
Set Square
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