How thick should my glass shelves be?
Most display shelves should be 3/8" or ½" thick. For an extra impressive (and expensive) architectural look - choose 3/4”. Exceptions are shelves in china cabinets. These are generally supported from the sides as well as the back and 1/4” thick glass is normally used. Smaller shelves, carrying light items (bathroom shelves with shampoo and toiletries for example), can be 3/16” or 1/4” thick.
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What's the best edge work for shelves?
Ask your glass shop for a flat polish. To save money, the back edge of the shelf can be seamed rather than polished. Seamed is the term glassworkers use to describe a rough sanding of the edge of the glass to remove the sharpness.
Using insider glassworker's lingo can help get you the best pricing when ordering shelves.
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How do I install shelf clips?
Single wall shelves are best installed by screwing the brackets or clips through the drywall into wooden studs. If studs or a wooden substrate is not available nylon drywall anchors (right) are normally adequate.
With corner or niche shelving the force acting on the brackets is less so it is not necessary to find studs. In practice it is easier to use drywall anchors.
If you are putting up a lot of shelves an inexpensive laser level makes accurate, level installation easy.
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How many brackets do I need for wall shelves?
Use common sense - a deeper shelf with a heavier load will require more brackets than a narrow shelf with a light load.
Maximum bracket spacing for 3/8" shelves is 16" to 20". In practice this means that shelves more than 34" long need 3 supports, and shelves longer than 54" need 4 supports.
For shelves up to 34" long, use the rule of 5 (right) to determine bracket positioning.
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Do glass shelves need to be tempered?
Tempered glass is required by building codes, for shower doors, sliding doors, entryways and stairways where glass is in close proximity to pedestrians. This is because tempered glass breaks into harmless fragments (right) rather than potentially lethal shards.
Tempered glass is not normally required for residential display shelving but check with your glass professional if you are in doubt. Thin (3/16" or 1/4") glass for retail store shelves is generally tempered because the additional resistance to breakage is a benefit in commercial applications.
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Can shelf brackets be installed on mirrors?
No, brackets cannot be mounted onto wall mirrors. Possible installation methods for shelving on mirror walls include gluing glass shelves to the mirror (OK for small 3/8 or 1/2" thick shelves) or fabricating cut-outs (holes) in the mirror to allow the brackets to be attached to the substrate (labor-intensive, expensive and unsightly).
For best results, plan the shelf and mirror installations together and place the mirrors between the shelves.
