Watch this video to prevent-fix crushed drywall or read the below instructions:

Drywall sometimes cannot handle the compressive force of being sandwiched between the shelf bracket and the wood studs. Older drywall is usually better, new drywall is reliably unreliable. Even if at first it seems to be holding together, we have seen enough instances where later the drywall caves in and the shelf is going downhill. In older construction with plaster walls this rarely occurs.

In any case this condition is simple to resolve or prevent in the first place:

• Use a 1.5” holesaw to chase each pilot hole at the stud locations.
• Cut all the way to the face of the stud to remove a cookie size piece of drywall.
• Now use the same holesaw to make some toy car wheels cut from wood of equal thickness to the drywall, ½” in most cases. You want to use a good dense wood, I like to use OSB or plywood.
• Put these in place of the drywall at each stud location to make a solid connection between the building structure and the steel shelf bracket.
• Alternatively, stacks of ¼” x 1-1/2” fender washers can be used.

Generally No. You might be OK if the shelves are shallow. If they are just ledges, like 6″ deep, it might work okay, but if you aim to put deeper shelves and load them up with books or anything heavy then forget it, you need to open up the wall and add blocking, wood studs, or another suitable bracing to attach to as well as stiffen the wall. The lag screws provided will not work with steel studs. Please refer to the installation guide video, as well as share it with your contractor and let them figure out the best way to proceed.

Usually this does not create a problem. If you decide the play is going to be a problem, some layers of masking tape on the steel bracket can be used to take up the space. Don’t make them too tight or pushing the shelf on could cause the shelf to split. That is very bad and will surely upset your client.

If the wall is already tiled, use a 1.5” diamond drill at each stud location behind the bracket. Core out all the way to the face of the stud, but not into the wood. Use a vacuum to remove any dust from the hole. If the wall is not yet tiled, use a 1.5” holesaw to core out the sheetrock at the exact location where the bracket will be bolted to each stud. This layout must be done very carefully so your shelves will be level from left to right. At this time, you will also want to take into account where the grout lines of the tile will lay out relative to the shelf location so it will have the best possible visual presentation. When installing the tile, carefully cut around the 1.5” holes. The shelf is 1.75 thick. It will only cover the holes if the cuts are made with that in mind, and if the initial layout was done correctly. When the tile is in place, make some 1.5” dia. wood spacers that will bridge the distance from the face of the stud to the back of the shelf bracket. These must be equal or just slightly greater than the total thickness of the sheetrock and tile. The simplest way to make these it to get a piece of wood that is the right thickness and use the same 1.5” holesaw from before. Use a good hard wood that won’t compress like OSB or hardwood plywood. Alternatively, stacks of ¼” x 1-1/2” fender washers can be used. You may need to get some longer lags than the 3” ones we provide. You want a good 2+” of thread embedment into the base material (studs). The brackets when bolted tight should be either not touching the tile or barely touching, otherwise the pressure from tightening the bolts will easily break the tiles.

Watch this video on how to install small shelves under 6"