Replies

1. 
   silver77 | Oct 03, 2009 05:24pm | #1

   Nothing beats a stud or wood blocking-always the first choice-there should be studs at both sides of the duct. I've been known to put a hole where the shelf will cover it and go fishing with a piece of coat hanger for a stud-

   2nd-pl premium and large toggle bolts through the sheet metal-not real strong, not real good- but could be an option

   silver

1. 
   toddhunter | Oct 03, 2009 06:38pm | #2

   If I go for the stud, I'll need to put a block on the outside to reach it. The shelf isn't that long. I suppose a decorative 1x from stud to stud, then the shelf brackets into that. A little bulky, but I don't like the idea of piercing the ductwork. It also may not be centered too well, requiring covering up the screws.

1. 
   Dinosaur | Oct 03, 2009 07:31pm | #5

   a decorative 1x from stud to stud, then the shelf brackets into that.

   Congratulations! You have figured it out pretty much by yourself. That is precisely how you do it.

   Take a router to the edges of the 1x and put on a bead or ogee or whatever spins yer wheels. It'll look like you worked twelve times longer on it than you actually did.

    

   Dinosaur

   How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....

1. 
   toddhunter | Oct 03, 2009 07:34pm | #6

   thanks

2. 
   silver77 | Oct 03, 2009 11:38pm | #7

   Right on...best solution.OTOH, on a job, last week the owner asked me how I would fix a 4' section of wall rail that fell off...he said another carp had said to put a board from stud to stud and the rail brackets on top.I didn't think it would match his older home so I went fishing in the old holes for the studs...they had just missed them so...easy fix.always annuda way to skin a catsilver

3. 
   PatchogPhil | Oct 04, 2009 05:07am | #8

   Sometimes that doesn't work aesthetically. The best positioning for the shelf may not line up correctly for the stud-to-stud placement. 

   Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?

1. 
   Dinosaur | Oct 04, 2009 05:36am | #9

   As a matter of fact, it almost never lines up the way you want. Murphy's Law, you know....

   What the smart carp does in a case like that is to make the exterior 'blocking' wide enough so that it is centered on the shelf's desired position, which usually means it'll have to span at least one more stud bay and possibly two.

   Remember, unlike 2x blocking inserted between studs inside the wall, this 'surface blocking' does not have to end at a stud. It can run past it far enough to  appear centered on the desired position of the shelf one wishes to mount on it. Once the blocking is screwed into two or three studs--whether they are centered on the overall length of the blocking or not--it'll hold up the shelf no matter where on the blocking that is mounted.

   Dinosaur

   How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....

2. 
   PatchogPhil | Oct 03, 2009 07:06pm | #3

   I've never tried it, maybe this would work. Or some variation.

   Remove drywall strip piece where you want the shelves to go, from stud to stud. Replace with 1/2" (usually thinner in reality) or 3/8" stable wood (cheap plywood will cup/curl). Tape and skim over with setting compound. Prime & paint to match existing. Install threaded inserts into wood strip where you need shelf support.

    

   Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
   

1. 
   toddhunter | Oct 03, 2009 07:26pm | #4

   Now that's an elegant solution.

3. 
   AitchKay | Oct 04, 2009 05:49am | #10

   I've never seen a toggle bolt tear through sheet metal, so I'm puzzled that all of these posts over-complicate the situation.

   If my aesthetically-desired anchor point falls between studs, as it will most of the time, I'm tickled pink if I'm so lucky as to find that there's a bombproof anchor like a duct to hook onto.

   Always caulk these penetrations, though -- given the pressure differential, you'll end up with "soot" marks on the wall eventually if you don't.

   AitchKay

1. 
   silver77 | Oct 04, 2009 11:29pm | #11

   Interesting post and POV...especially :"Always caulk these penetrations, though -- given the pressure differential, you'll end up with "soot" marks on the wall eventually if you don't."bet you didn't read that in a booksi;ver

2. 
   toddhunter | Oct 05, 2009 04:47pm | #12

   So you just drill through the duct and use a toggle bolt? That's a big hole, yes?

1. 
   AitchKay | Oct 05, 2009 05:34pm | #13

   For a heavy shelf or cabinet, yes. For a light shelf, screws should hold nicely in the sheet-metal -- with metal framing, standard blocking is a runner with its flanges snipped and folded flat at each stud.They're a bit heavier gauge than ductwork, of course, but you can always use a few more screws.AitchKay