How To Hang Shelves In Cinder Block

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Installing shelves on a wall is a great way to add storage space to a basement or garage. But if the wall on which you're installing the shelves is made of cinder blocks, you'll have to do a little bit of extra work to prepare the wall for shelf installation. By using the right materials and techniques, you'll ensure that the shelves you install will be solidly connected to cinder block walls.

Step 1

Determine where you'll position the shelves. Take the time to carefully plan this step, since changing the positions of the shelves after you've prepared the wall will be time-consuming.

Step 2

Mark the locations on the wall where you'll screw in the brackets for the shelves. The easiest way to do this is to hold a bracket to the wall in the planned position and then mark the screw hole locations with a pencil.

Step 3

Drill holes in the cinder blocks for anchor bolt sleeves. Examine the anchor bolt sleeves for a size code printed on the side. This will be a reading in inches (usually fractions of an inch) that is the diameter of the anchor. Select a drill bit with the same dimension and mount it in a hammer drill. Then, measure the length of the anchor bolt sleeve and place a piece of tape corresponding to this distance on the drill bit. This will prevent you from drilling holes that are too shallow or too deep in the cinder blocks.

Step 4

Drill holes for the anchor bolt sleeves in the locations you marked. When you're done, use a shop vacuum to suck out any debris from the holes.

Step 5

Place the anchor bolt sleeves into the holes and gently tap them all the way in with a hammer.

Step 6

Place the anchor bolts through the shelf brackets you'll be mounting, and line up the brackets with the holes. Screw the bolts into the wall with a screwdriver. When your brackets are installed, you can hang your shelves on them to complete the project.