securing shelves to steel studs
 

anyone have experience securing shelving, etc. to steel studs. i've gotta
put up some adjustable height shelves at work and we have steel studs behind
drywall. should i just be using molly/toggle bolts or is there a product
designed to attach heavy items to steel studs? the whole metal stud thing is
foreign to me.
thanks in advance.
-c

securing shelves to steel studs
 

Chris Miller wrote:

anyone have experience securing shelving, etc. to steel studs. i've gotta
put up some adjustable height shelves at work and we have steel studs behind
drywall. should i just be using molly/toggle bolts or is there a product
designed to attach heavy items to steel studs? the whole metal stud thing is
foreign to me.
thanks in advance.
-c

Mollys will work well. Requires a smaller hole than toggles, look neater
and easier to install. Can also remove screws and reinstall without
having toggle drop forever into the wall cavity. Use a good sharp drill
bit so you don't have to push hard and deform the steel stud when
drilling.

securing shelves to steel studs
 

Pete C. wrote:
Chris Miller wrote:
anyone have experience securing shelving, etc. to steel studs. i've gotta
put up some adjustable height shelves at work and we have steel studs behind
drywall. should i just be using molly/toggle bolts or is there a product
designed to attach heavy items to steel studs? the whole metal stud thing is
foreign to me.
thanks in advance.
-c

Mollys will work well. Requires a smaller hole than toggles, look neater
and easier to install. Can also remove screws and reinstall without
having toggle drop forever into the wall cavity. Use a good sharp drill
bit so you don't have to push hard and deform the steel stud when
drilling.
If this is just for light stuff, and needs to look pretty, Mollys will
work fine. If this is for the back room, and shelves will be heavily
loaded, I'd screw a decent grade of 3/4 plywood to the wall with lots of
screws, and hang the shelf standards off that. (Go look how Ma Bell hung
the hardware in your telephone room.) The plywood will stiffen the hell
out of the wall and spread the load. You can always try Mollys first,
and if they tear out, cover it all with plywood and start over.

aem sends...

securing shelves to steel studs
 

aemeijers wrote:

Pete C. wrote:
Chris Miller wrote:
anyone have experience securing shelving, etc. to steel studs. i've gotta
put up some adjustable height shelves at work and we have steel studs behind
drywall. should i just be using molly/toggle bolts or is there a product
designed to attach heavy items to steel studs? the whole metal stud thing is
foreign to me.
thanks in advance.
-c

Mollys will work well. Requires a smaller hole than toggles, look neater
and easier to install. Can also remove screws and reinstall without
having toggle drop forever into the wall cavity. Use a good sharp drill
bit so you don't have to push hard and deform the steel stud when
drilling.
If this is just for light stuff, and needs to look pretty, Mollys will
work fine. If this is for the back room, and shelves will be heavily
loaded, I'd screw a decent grade of 3/4 plywood to the wall with lots of
screws, and hang the shelf standards off that. (Go look how Ma Bell hung
the hardware in your telephone room.) The plywood will stiffen the hell
out of the wall and spread the load. You can always try Mollys first,
and if they tear out, cover it all with plywood and start over.

aem sends...

Perhaps I wasn't clear with the part about a sharp drill - The mollys
are to be installed through the steel studs, not just into the
sheetrock, so they are anchored to the metal. I installed a bunch of
commercial adjustable display racks this way with no issues.