How hard would it be to screw shelves onto brackets in twin slot shelving

[DIYHandyPersonNot]

The handynan fitted the brackets for me months ago, I’ve finally got round to getting the mdf shelves cut to size and I’ve painted them. But now the handyman has no availability for 6 weeks.

I’m so fed up with boxes of books all over the floor. If I bought an electric screwdriver and Wickes who sold me the twin slot brackets told me what size screw to use on the 18mm thick shelves, could I conceivably DIY? How hard would it be?

Thanks for any input!

Should be pretty easy. Practice on a spare bit of wood first.

Search YouTube for videos of putting up shelves and you’ll find plenty of instructions.

And you might do better with a lightweight electric drill which converts to a screwdriver rather than than just a screwdriver. That way you can drill a pilot hole first.

but start on YouTube.

You definitely need a drill and some sort of rawl plugs to put shelves up.

Round here you can also borrow tools Olio and I think the council also offer a tool loan service
It's definitely doable. YouTube is your friend and measure and check lots.
You need drill (better than electric screwdriver), spirit level, measuring tape and probably some rawl plugs

Assuming the brackets look something like this and the uprights have already been fitted, then it shouldn't be too difficult to screw the wood to the brackets, however there's a couple of things to watch out for.

1. The screw length is critical as you need it to go through the bracket and only partway through the wood. if the wood is 18mm I would measure and aim for 12mm penetration. Getting the correct length/ width screw can be challenging on larger brackets.
2. Be aware if the shelf is placed snug against the upright, you won't be able to remove the shelf without unscrewing it from the bracket as it needs enough clearance to hinge up.

Good luck!

This is all incredibly useful, just what I was hoping for. Thank you very much all of you!

In the past for books I've never bothered screwing into the brackets. The load of a shelf full of books is static and just pulling one out here and there doesn't unbalance anything.

I've put some of those shelves up recently and will be using for stuff where I probably do need to fix the shelves a bit more, but I've decided it looks like too much hassle to try and get a pencil through the small hole and the long length of bracket to mark for pilot holes (I'm using melamine shelf board so pilot holes are essential). I plan to use a nano tape (gorilla, no nails sort of thing) between the bracket and the shelf. Might not work, but worth a try!

You'll need 2 different screws because the brackets are tapered. The front one will be shorter than the back one. Goldscrews will easily screw into face of MDF without a pilot hole. A normal manual screwdriver will work well, but ensure perfect size for screw. As mentioned above, the length of screw is essential. You want to screw well into to MDF, but definitely not break through top surface. b&Q's pick and mix isle is good for this. You can take your brackets and a small piece of MDF with you. Push the screws through, checking that less than 18mm pokes out. Pick the thinnest screw available in the length you need.

Be careful lining up the shelves before screwing them in. I.e push them back and make sure they are central and everything lines up. If they are wonky it'll look bad. Probably start with top shelf and work down.

Thanks for the great practical tips @torqrench, so helpful - every single bit of that is new information to me.
I thought the same @Tupster, the weight of the books pins down the shelves safely. But I’ve got a toddler grandchild so have to go belt and braces on the stability.