I was using some metal shelf supports (made by Rubbermaid, bought at
HD) to mount a shelf on a brick wall and started to wonder about the
correct way to do this. Where one of the support legs is longer than
the other, should the longer one be put under the shelf or against the
wall? Or if the shelf is deeper, should the long leg be put under the
shelf for more support? My sense is that the longer leg should be
against the wall and the support should be chosen so that the smaller
leg is long enough to support 75 - 95% of the shelf depth. Any
thoughts or rules about this? In my brief Google search, I failed to
find anything definitive.

On Sep 7, 1:46 pm, Jimbo wrote:
I was using some metal shelf supports (made by Rubbermaid, bought at
HD) to mount a shelf on a brick wall and started to wonder about the
correct way to do this. Where one of the support legs is longer than
the other, should the longer one be put under the shelf or against the
wall? Or if the shelf is deeper, should the long leg be put under the
shelf for more support? My sense is that the longer leg should be
against the wall and the support should be chosen so that the smaller
leg is long enough to support 75 - 95% of the shelf depth. Any
thoughts or rules about this? In my brief Google search, I failed to
find anything definitive.

I agree with your sense, I prefer to mount the longer leg on the wall,
geometry permitting.
Joe G