How to attach floating shelves to a concrete wall

The shelf mounting brackets we make can be attached to any sturdy wall whereas the bolts into the wall must be matched correctly to the wall structure.

The lag screws we supply are for attaching to wood studs, they do not work for masonry.

The right anchor for one type of masonry might be wrong one for another. The best choice for the job comes down to the site conditions as well as the preference of the person doing the work.

The most common masonry wall here in Florida is hollow block with wood furring and drywall. As long as that is the case 1/4” tapcons can work very well in hollow block however you must drill with care so not to chunk out the inside of the block. You must also use 3/16" flat head tapcons as jack screws similar to short video below: 

There are lots of types of masonry anchors just as there are as many more kinds of masonry walls. Most common we see are hollow concrete block, solid or filled concrete block, or if you are very unlucky the dreaded cellular structural terra cotta block (only very old buildings) and the list goes on.. On top of that you must consider what is between the face of the masonry and the shelf bracket. Gypsum drywall or plaster most likely, but what's behind that is another question mark. It could be wood furring, steel hat, rigid foam, or some combination. Which combination, and how they are attached, in most cases, matters. The planning phase of your project is the time to figure out what is behind the surface of the wall and exactly how you'll attach to it.

We can definitely work through a plan with you or your contractor on this detail please use the contact form to get in touch.