Vent: That floating shelf bracket snapped while I was hanging my drill collection

I was in the garage last Saturday, three shelves up, when I heard a crack and the whole thing dropped. Ended up putting plywood backing behind the drywall to anchor them proper - should've done that from the start. Anybody else learn the hard way that cheap toggle bolts aren't enough for heavy tools?

2 comments

2 Comments

rileynelson1mo ago

Man that crack sound is the worst... I had almost the exact same thing happen with my welding helmet rack. Thought I was being smart with those plastic anchors from the hardware store and next thing I know there's a MIG helmet on the concrete floor. Ended up tearing out a chunk of drywall too. Now I only trust those metal snap toggles for anything over like 10 pounds, and I always check what's behind the wall first. That plywood backing trick is solid, I did something similar with a piece of 3/4 inch scrap behind my workbench for the clamp racks.

reesemoore1mo ago

I read an article on Fine Homebuilding that said a single toggle bolt in drywall can hold maybe 50 pounds if you're lucky, but the real problem is shear force from things like drills or anything that sticks out from the wall. That leverage pulls the bracket forward and snaps cheap hardware every time. They recommended those steel toggles that fold up through the hole, or at least two of them per bracket. I switched to those after my dad's socket set took a dive off the garage wall and chipped the concrete floor.