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I have two 2”h x 15”w x 2.5”d acrylic shelves to hang in my bathroom (almost zero storage for things I use daily—pedestal sink with no counter and a tiny medicine cabinet.)

Studs are 16” apart but obviously the holes for mounting hardware do not span from one stud to the next one over.

Each shelf weighs 5.40oz on its own and is intended to hold ~25oz of the assorted “pots and potions” you’d expect to find in a lady’s bathroom.

Total: 30-32oz of items that will get pretty regular use, coming on and off the shelves when I use them each day.

I have drywall anchors (the barbed plastic ones) which I know I should not use where the studs are, but I would install on the side of the shelves that do not hit the stud.

Will I have to worry about that end of the shelf?

This is the first time I’ve mounted something load-bearing without complete stud support and I really want to get it right!

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  • I calculate (2 x 15 x 2.5) cu.in to be 75 cu.in, or 1.23 litres. Using a density for acrylic of 1.2 g/cm^3, that's about 1.5 kg, or 52 oz. It's still easily supportable, but are there some feature of the shelves that make them not solid to account for them being around 5.4 oz? Or maybe the height was meant to say 0.2"?
    – Andrew Morton
    Commented Aug 3 at 16:07
  • 2" thick? That seems very thick. And at only 2½" deep, those are closer to square posts than "shelves". Or are they 'C'/'L' shaped and 2" is the height of the back? Anyway, if these are a product and not something you constructed yourself, they should have a load rating.
    – Matthew
    Commented Aug 3 at 19:16
  • The acrylic isn't 2” thick. The shelves are 2” high. In the back, and shaped like an ‘L’ with a bit of a lip on the front to keep things from falling.
    – emlocke
    Commented Aug 3 at 20:01

3 Answers 3

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After working for decades in construction using what we called a "plastic anchor kit" with plain plastic wall plugs, I have found these to be more useful. Toggler

They call them Togglers but I believe you can find them by other names.

I used to use an awl to make a hole for a plastic anchor in dry wall since it has a taper that somewhat matches the anchor. A standard plastic anchor like this plastic anchor advertises a shear weight of 23 lbs so I am sure they would hold the weight you are contemplating.

Either way I am sure you'll be fine with the other side of your shelves anchored to a stud.

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Drywall anchors are fine for light plastic objects.

Once you get into expensive breakable objects(Ming vases),you do want better support, either studs or decent wood anchored to the studs.

The 16 inches is on centre usually. Each stud is 1.5 inches wide. So you have 3/4 inch of wood from each centre It might be possible to angle the screws enough to hit the studs on each side. Use a pin/tiny nail/tiny drill bit to find the edges and mark them.

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  • Ah, interesting thought! I should have mentioned that the holes in the shelves are approx 10” apart.
    – emlocke
    Commented Aug 3 at 20:04
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    It should be light enough to use all anchors, missing the studs completely if required to centre it, but hitting one stud does hold better.
    – crip659
    Commented Aug 3 at 20:10
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Anchor 1/2 plywood from joist to joist. Make sure you have screwed into the joist. It should be tall enough for both shelves. Paint it the color of the wall. Mount shelves. Never worry about drywall anchors coming loose.

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