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A floating shelf is a form of shelf with its wall fixings hidden within the shelf board, with no visible supporting brackets. [1] [2] [3]
It is believed that late 1950s contemporary designer Magnus McCormick invented the term floating shelf, however it is unclear if he was the first to use them.
Floating shelves are a good fit for a contemporary minimalist style interior. [4] They can be used to expand storage space, atop a radiator to double as storage, as overhead storage, or inside a hallway to double as a console table. [5]
A floating shelf can be supported on hidden rods or bars that have been attached to studs. A thick floating shelf may be made of a hollow-core shelf glued to a cleat. [6] A floating shelf may have two or more channels open from the back towards, but without reaching, the front, into which slide fasteners attached to the wall, typically held in place by screws inserted through the bottom of the shelf. [7] Depending on the thickness of the floating shelf t-brackets can occasionally be used. Named for their distinctive 'T' shape, t-brackets distribute the weight of the shelf and fit securely within drilled holes with the aid of an anchor to provide additional support. [8] There are also corner shelves, which may use different supports to make them "float".[ citation needed ]
Floating shelves are often not suitable for carrying heavy loads, since the short vertical distance between their fixing points towards the wall gives a relatively large torque from the shelf loading compared to the holding power of the screws against the wall. As an example, one supplier of typical floating shelf supports suggests that floating brackets with a diameter of 12 mm can support a shelf at least 22 mm thick loaded with (a relatively modest) 20 kg, and 18 mm brackets can support 30 kg on a 28 mm shelf. [9]
A 19-inch rack is a standardized frame or enclosure for mounting multiple electronic equipment modules. Each module has a front panel that is 19 inches (482.6 mm) wide. The 19 inch dimension includes the edges or ears that protrude from each side of the equipment, allowing the module to be fastened to the rack frame with screws or bolts. Common uses include computer servers, telecommunications equipment and networking hardware, audiovisual production gear, professional audio equipment, and scientific equipment.
A closet is an enclosed space, with a door, used for storage, particularly that of clothes. Fitted closets are built into the walls of the house so that they take up no apparent space in the room. Closets are often built under stairs, thereby using awkward space that would otherwise go unused.
The bottom bracket on a bicycle connects the crankset (chainset) to the bicycle and allows the crankset to rotate freely. It contains a spindle to which the crankset attaches, and the bearings that allow the spindle and crankset to rotate. The chainrings and pedals attach to the cranks. Bottom bracket bearings fit inside the bottom bracket shell, which connects the seat tube, down tube and chain stays as part of the bicycle frame.
A bookcase, or bookshelf, is a piece of furniture with horizontal shelves, often in a cabinet, used to store books or other printed materials. Bookcases are used in private homes, public and university libraries, offices, schools, and bookstores. Bookcases range from small, low models the height of a table to high models reaching up to ceiling height. Shelves may be fixed or adjustable to different positions in the case. In rooms entirely devoted to the storage of books, such as libraries, they may be permanently fixed to the walls and/or floor.
A table is an item of furniture with a raised flat top and is supported most commonly by 1 to 4 legs. It is used as a surface for working at, eating from or on which to place things. Some common types of tables are the dining room tables, which are used for seated persons to eat meals; the coffee table, which is a low table used in living rooms to display items or serve refreshments; and the bedside table, which is commonly used to place an alarm clock and a lamp. There are also a range of specialized types of tables, such as drafting tables, used for doing architectural drawings, and sewing tables.
Kitchen cabinets are the built-in furniture installed in many kitchens for storage of food, cooking equipment, and often silverware and dishes for table service. Appliances such as refrigerators, dishwashers, and ovens are often integrated into kitchen cabinetry. There are many options for cabinets available at present.
A butt joint is a wood joint in which the end of a piece of material is simply placed against another piece. The butt joint is the simplest joint. An unreinforced butt joint is also the weakest joint, as it provides a limited surface area for gluing and lacks any mechanical interlocking to resist external forces.
A bracket is a structural or decorative architectural element that projects from a wall, usually to carry weight and sometimes to "strengthen an angle". It can be made of wood, stone, plaster, metal, or other media. A corbel or console are types of brackets.
Pallet rack is a material handling storage aid system designed to store materials on pallets. Although there are many varieties of pallet racking, all types allow for the storage of palletized materials in horizontal rows with multiple levels. Forklift trucks are usually required to place the loaded pallets onto the racks for storage. Since the Second World War, pallet racks have become a ubiquitous element of most modern warehouses, manufacturing facilities, retail centers, and other storage and distribution facilities. All types of pallet racking increase storage density of the stored goods. Costs associated with the racking increases with increasing storage density.
A shelf is a flat, horizontal plane used for items that are displayed or stored in a home, business, store, or elsewhere. It is raised off the floor and often anchored to a wall, supported on its shorter length sides by brackets, or otherwise anchored to cabinetry by brackets, dowels, screws, or nails. It can also be held up by columns or pillars. A shelf is also known as a counter, ledge, mantel, or rack. Tables designed to be placed against a wall, possibly mounted, are known as console tables, and are similar to individual shelves.
An adjustable shelf is a shelf that can be adjusted according to needs. The most common variant is that the height intervals can be adjusted to accommodate various items. This allows more flexible use to hold items of value for storage, display or sale. Like fixed shelves, the horizontal planes are normally made of strong materials such as wood or steel, but their exact vertical positioning can be varied - usually through the use of uprights into which supporting brackets or the shelves themselves can be fixed at different heights.
A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood, coated steel, or synthetic materials. Commercial grade cabinets usually have a melamine-particleboard substrate and are covered in a high-pressure decorative laminate commonly referred to as Wilsonart or Formica.
A French cleat is a way of securing a cabinet, mirror, tools, artwork or other objects to a wall. It is a molding with a 45 degree slope used to hang cabinets or other objects. The method has been described as simple and strong, but also elegant since it often can be mounted hidden behind a cabinet.
In library science and architecture, a stack or bookstack is a book storage area, as opposed to a reading area. More specifically, this term refers to a narrow-aisled, multilevel system of iron or steel shelving that evolved in the 19th century to meet increasing demands for storage space. An "open-stack" library allows its patrons to enter the stacks to browse for themselves; "closed stacks" means library staff retrieve books for patrons on request.
The cultural property storage typically falls to the responsibility of cultural heritage institutions, or individuals. The proper storage of these objects can help to ensure a longer lifespan for the object with minimal damage or degradation. With so many different types of artifacts, materials, and combinations of materials, keepers of these artifacts often have considerable knowledge of the best practices in storing these objects to preserve their original state.
An angle bracket or angle brace or angle cleat is an L-shaped fastener used to join two parts generally at a 90-degree angle. It is typically made of metal but it can also be made of wood or plastic. Angle brackets feature holes in them for screws.
A shelf support is a fastener used to hang a shelf from a wall. It can be an alternative to built-in shelving or adjustable shelving.
The 32 mm cabinetmaking system is a furniture construction and manufacturing principle used in the production of ready-to-assemble and European-style, frameless construction custom cabinets and other furniture. The system is in wide use globally, partly owing to IKEA using some of its elements in its furniture. Characteristics are the columns of 5 mm holes on 32 mm centers. In addition to the 32 mm standard, there are other but less frequently used systems. The system allows reconfigurable shelf placement and spacing.
A tool board or tool wall is a board for hanging tools onto, and is typically mounted on a wall or as a folding cabinet which rolls on wheels. Such boards are often found in workshops, and often consists of plates made of wood or metal. The tools are often hanged onto the tool board via hooks, screws, cane holders or other types of tool holders, and these are often attached to the board through pegs.
A furniture screw can refer to any type of screw used on furniture. Different types of screws have different uses in furniture.
Free from distracting brackets, floating shelves seem to defy gravity by having no visible means of support.