How To Build Thin Floating Shelves

There are a ton of floating shelve tutorials on the internet, but a lot of them result in bulky, thick shelves. Personally, I like a bit of a thinner look. These shelves will be 2.5″ wide and won’t require you to rip any boards with your table saw.

Materials/Tools Needed (Note: I make a small commission from affiliate links)

• Nail Gun
• Miter Saw
• Circular Saw and Kreg Rip Cut (or have your local store cut your strips for you)
• Drill/Impact Driver
• Random Orbital Sander
• 1×3 boards
• 1/2″ plywood sheet
• 2×2 Furring Strips
• 2.5″ wood screws
• 3″ wood screws
• 1″ wood screws
• 1.25″ brad nails
• Wood Filler/Putty
• Wood Stain
• Polyurethane

The first thing you need to do is determine if your shelves need no end pieces (shelves between two walls), one end piece (shelves abutting one wall-as shown in picture above) or two end pieces (shelve abutting no walls). This will determine the length of your cleat and your front board. For the purposes of this tutorial, I am going to say that I want my shelves to be 8 inches deep and 60 inches wide.

Cut List for shelves (per shelf) that need no end pieces (between 2 walls)

• 2 – 1/2″ plywood strips at 7.25″ wide cut at 60″ long
• 1 – 1×3 board cut at 60″
• 1 – 2×2 furring strip cut to 59.75″ long
• 4 -2×2 furring strip cut to 5.5″

Cut List for shelves (per shelf) that need one end piece (shelves abutting one wall)

• 2 – 1/2″ plywood strips at 7.25″ wide cut at 59.25″ long
• 1 – 1×3 board cut at 60″
• 1 – 1×3 board cut at 7.25″
• 1 – 2×2 furring strip cut to 59″ long
• 4 -2×2 furring strip cut to 5.5″

Cut List for shelves (per shelf) that need two end pieces (shelves abutting no walls)

• 2 – 1/2″ plywood strips at 7.25″ wide cut at 58.5″ long
• 1 – 1×3 board cut at 60″
• 2 – 1×3 board cut at 7.25″
• 1 – 2×2 furring strip cut to 58.25″ long
• 4 -2×2 furring strip cut to 5.5″

The first step is to build your cleat with your furring strips. Simply screw the short pieces to the long piece through the back side using 2.5″ wood screws. Put a piece on each end and then space the other two pieces about evenly along the long piece. Note that you may need to move these pieces later if they happen to be in the same position as the studs on your wall.

Now you can line them up where you want the shelves on your wall. Mark the stud locations on the cleats and pre-drill the screws into the cleats at those locations about 1/2″. Then you can lift the cleat up to the correct height, screw in one of the screws, ensure the cleat is level and then screw in the remaining screws through the cleat into studs.

Now you can rip your plywood pieces into the correct width using a circular saw and Kreg rip cut, or a table saw, or ask your local home improvement store to rip the plywood down for you. Use painter’s table to prevent tear out on your plywood. After your strips are ripped, you can use your miter saw to cut the pieces to the correct length. Then you can also cut your 1×3 pieces. Sand, stain and poly all your pieces after they are cut.

Once your pieces are cut, sanded, stained and sealed you are ready to install your shelves. I first place the top piece on top of the cleat and nail the piece in place with my nail gun using 1.25″ brad nails. Then you can put the bottom plywood piece on the underside of the cleat and nail it into place. I also add a couple 1″ wood screws to the bottom piece to ensure the bottom will not fall. If your shelves are being installed between two walls, then all you have to is nail on the front 1×3 and you are done! If you have end pieces, nail those on first to the ends of the cleat and into the top and bottom plywood pieces.

Now the last step is nailing the front 1×3 board to the shelf. You can then wood fill or putty the nail holes and you are finished! As always, feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions!