Skip to main content

Hacker’s Help: Need advice on reinforcing LACK Shelf

Reinforcing LACK shelf without impacting the visual design?

I’m planning to install a LACK shelf (43 1/4” / 110 cm) on a drywall wall but this size is notorious for the support brackets failing.

What’s the best way to reinforce the shelf without severely impacting the visual design?

IKEA LACK

~ Sarah

***

Hi Sarah

It seems there are 2 types of wall brackets for the LACK shelves. One with the prongs, like so …

reinforcing Lack shelf

And the other with a long L bracket for drywalls. It has holes all along the bracket so you can choose ones over studs.

LACK shelf with L bracket

Personally, I’ve not installed the one with the L bracket (and I don’t think it’s for sale here in Malaysia as we have brick walls in most houses).

If you have a choice at your IKEA, I would recommend the LACK bracket with prongs. It would be a tad more secure and stable than the L-bracket. From what I can see it’s impossible for the small lip to hold the wide shelf securely.

See a review of it below. (Or an installation tutorial, if you do get one with the L bracket).

Now, the ones with the prongs will hold a bit more weight (not concentrated but spread across the shelf).

When fixing the bracket to the drywall, the usual precautions:

  • Fix them in to studs
  • Use IKEA’s recommended hole usage (for the 43 1/4” / 110 cm LACK, fasten 5 holes according to the manual)
  • Use expanding drywall anchors with a proper setting tool

Do overload the shelf beyond the recommended weight loading. I also would not display heirloom china on it.

Reinforcing LACK shelf to hold more weight

If you want to strengthen it to hold more weight than the recommended IKEA load, there is a way.

Bino, reinforced his LACK shelf to take on double the IKEA recommended weight. He took it from 15 kg (the max. load specified) to 36 kg (about 80 lbs).

He used a couple of steel anchor bolts and threaded rods through the hollow tubes of the LACK bracket. And basically gave the brackets new bones. 

reinforcing Lack shelf

However, his hack was for a LACK shelf against a solid brick wall.

I found this similar fixing for drywall, though not specifically for the LACK wall shelf.

Probably not the easiest reinforcement to do. But it will hold up.

Good luck on your installation. Let us know if you learn anything new from the process.

Anyone else has advice for Sarah?

Jules

The post Hacker’s Help: Need advice on reinforcing LACK Shelf appeared first on IKEA Hackers.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SKÅDIS: 5 ways to make the IKEA pegboard even better

IKEA introduced its own pegboard system, SKÅDIS, two years ago and I’d say it’s one of the best systems IKEA launched in recent years. I love how super customisable it is, with a growing range of accessories that help keep things organized. It works everywhere, in your wardrobe to bathroom . Probably anywhere you have a flat surface to hang it up. Photo: IKEA.com SKÅDIS pegboard system See it on IKEA.com But no matter how perfect a system, you can trust IKEA hackers to improve on the SKÅDIS. And they’ve settle these 5 issues you may have faced with the handy IKEA pegboard. Read on for their fixes. 5 IKEA SKÅDIS issues and fixes #1 Expensive hooks? You’ll need quite a number of hooks and accessories to fill up the SKÅDIS pegboard, and Kenyer was shocked at how quickly they all added up. So he figured he could make his own hooks to save cost. Photo: Kenyer Over at Instructables , he shows us how to twist copper wires into the SKÅDIS hook shape. It works s...
Post a Comment
Read more

Enjoy Sweet Dreams With These DIY Headboard Ideas

A headboard is one of the last things you see before you fall asleep and one of the first things you see when you wake up. Demonstrate your unique design style by creating your own. Below are some ideas and tips to get you started. Do you think the formula for sleep is on this London bedroom’s headboard? Image: Clifton Interiors Ltd Chalk headboard Create this look with a can of black chalkboard paint. Almost any type of wall – drywall, plaster, wood, brick or concrete – will work, as long is it is properly prepped. Chalkboard paint is easy to apply, dries fast and can be cleaned with soap and water. But you’re not limited to the color black – chalkboard paint comes in just about every color. If you don’t want to use paint, consider chalkboard contact paper – and yes, you can use chalk on it. An Edmonton hockey-themed room. Image: Cameron Homes Hockey goal headboard For the ultimate hockey fan, nothing beats a hockey goal headboard. Complete the scene with a team blank...
Post a Comment
Read more

A beautiful design idea for the IVAR cabinet with doors

A wall of IVAR cabinets with doors engraved is astonishingly captivating. Because IVAR is real solid wood (unlike a lot of flat-pack cupboards), it makes a great blank canvas for CNC machining work and engraving. IKEA items used: IKEA IVAR cabinets in 30mm (12″) and 50mm (20″) depths. IVAR cabinet | IKEA.com Other materials and tools: CNC Router How to engrave the IVAR cabinet with doors: Build a wall of IVAR cabinets to your preference. It’s not too difficult to shorten some in order to fill a wall exactly. I shortened the top row to 695mm and reduced the depth of the middle column to 40mm to create a 50/40/30 sequence so that I didn’t block the window but maximised storage capacity. Take a drawing, trace it in Inkscape or Adobe Illustrator into a black-only flat design. You can simplify the path at this point to reduce the time needed to engrave. Chop up the drawing in Inkscape or Adobe Illustrator into door-sized sections. Save as an SVG. Import the ...
Post a Comment
Read more