How to fit the shelf in place
Shelf support studs.
This is the most common and cost effective way to support kitchen shelves, In most cases, existing cabinets have pre-drilled holes on the sides, intended for support studs, so all you need to do is, measure* the diameter of the hole, we supply 3mm, 4mm, and 5mm support studs HERE which covers the majority of standard kitchen cabinets, (if yours is different, contact us, we will always try to find you a solution)
If your cabinets have no holes, don’t worry, we sell matching drill bits for each size of our studs HERE, so you can drill the holes yourself.
This option is easy and looks neat. [make sure holes are evenly drilled – need advice, contact us].
Question
My existing shelves have 4 small holes in the underneath, for the shelf support stud to go into the underneath of the shelf, do I need to have the same holes drilled in the new shelves? Answer. No, you don’t need to use studs which go into the underneath of the shelf, we sell flat support studs HERE where the shelf sits on top of the stud, it does the same job, lets keep it simple, drilling these holes, need to be accurately measured and drilled, and can add to the cost, it is not usually essential.
Support battens.
Below is a diagram of support battens in use.
This option is usually used when fitting a shelf onto a room wall direct, where you need wider supports to allow for uneven walls and measurement inaccuracies, but this can also be used in cabinets, especially as they give you much stronger support than studs, so something to consider when using your shelf for heavy weight.
Batten fixings are proportionally larger and more visible than the other support options.
Plastic connectors.
There are several types of plastic connectors, all of them come in various colours, so they can be matched up to the shelf, they are all screw-in.
Connectors are neat looking and will give you a stronger support than shelf support studs, but are not as discreet, it is a good compromise between battens and shelf support studs.
Imperial & Metric.
Our site works on “MM”, remember, 1cm = 10mm, and 15cm = 150MM etc…
1 inch = 25.4mm etc… round off measurements to the closest millimetre.
Please see a measuring diagram below.
Tips:
When measuring the width of a shelf, we advise ordering 1 or 2mm smaller, to avoid oversize and the need for re-trimming on site.
Taking measurements from an existing shelf if you have one, will usually be easier and give you more accurate results, than measuring the inside of a cabinet.
To get accurate measurements, use a steel tape measure (Fig 1), material tape measures (Fig 2) can give poor results.
Edging material.
The edging material we use is mostly ABS plastic, (more hard-wearing and longer lasting than traditional melamine edging), matching the melamine finishes.
Thickness of edging.
Thin edging (regular) 0.4mm thick.
Thick edging 2mm thick.
The thick edging will have a slight radiused finish whereas the thin edging will be dead square, the thick edging gives you a more robust edge finish, withstanding wear and tear. See illustration
Please note: the edging thickness [thin or thick] will be included in the sizes you have entered; you do not have to allow anything for the edging thickness.
Edging preferences.
FRONT EDGED ONLY - Edging will be applied on one "WIDTH (LENGTH)" dimension. Suitable for internal shelves (e.g. cabinet shelves) where only the front edge is visible.
Front + sides - suitable for exposed shelves e.g. a wall display shelf or a radiator shelf, where the front and the sides will be visible.
Full edging - suitable for a tabletop, doors, or for any panels where all edges will be visible. Some people will choose to have all edges edged on all shelves, even inside a cabinet, giving the shelf a better finish.
For any special edging requirements, you can go to the “specials” page, or contact us direct, to request a quotation.
