Author Topic: Floating Shelf Idea  (Read 1679 times)
suzukir122
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suzukir123
Floating Shelf Idea « on: April 26, 2022, 07:55:05 PM » Author: suzukir122
So at my apartment, I'm making plans on setting up about four 3 foot floating shelves in my downstairs and upstairs living room. These would be set up
for my F30T12 fixtures I will be buying soon, using them as up-lighting.
So far, I plan on getting these:

1. Ryobi Whole Stud Detector

2. Laser Leveler

3. Cordless Drill with screws

4. Wooden boards for shelving...

5. Tape measurer...

6. Hand saw if needed...

If I end up finding 36" wooden boards or premade shelves already cut to three feet, I'll use those instead. No clue if this plan will be successful,
but it's definitely something I've been thinking about for quite some time now. I'll also be contacting my landlord to see if I'm allowed to set up
shelving, etc. If not... well... this entire idea will be scrapped.
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Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #1 on: May 27, 2022, 09:56:06 PM » Author: suzukir122
So I talked to my landlord today and she says that I'm allowed to install the shelves, as long as I fix all the damages done! >:D
This means my lighting idea will officially be taking shape! Today was a rare good day!...
I've always been a fan of high vaulted ceilings up-lit by strong T12 lighting, so I can't wait for the final result once I'm done with it.
Some of the toughest parts will be finding 3 foot shelves, as well as drilling them in and trusting that they'll stay in place.
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Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend

joseph_125
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Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #2 on: May 27, 2022, 10:29:39 PM » Author: joseph_125
Shelves are pretty easy to put up. Just make sure to put the supports over a stud and they'll be nice and sturdy. Studs are generally on 16" centres so a 3ft wide shelf should hit two of them.

You probably don't need the hand saw, Home Depot and Lowe's will generally cut wood to length for you when you buy it. If not, there's probably precut shelves that are 3ft.
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suzukir122
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Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #3 on: May 27, 2022, 10:53:53 PM » Author: suzukir122
I've also found plenty of shelves online as well that claim to be 3 footers, so we shall see. One of the first things I need before
I start this project is a stud finder. The Ryobi whole stud finder is one of the best ones I've seen online, at least as of now. I will
definitely make sure each shelf is screwed into studs, even though all of those shelves will be in tandem with one another, as well as the fixtures.
Another thing that's got me confused... I'm not sure if I should get shelves with supports, or shelves that I'd drill in.
Shelves with supports honestly sounds like a much better idea.
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Interests:
1. Motorcycles, Cars, Women, and Lighting (especially fluorescent)
2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend

Bulbman256
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Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #4 on: May 27, 2022, 11:49:57 PM » Author: Bulbman256
Glad to hear you got the Go ahead man! T12 is Awesome man. 8)

Incase you need a little extra inspiration, check here: ;D :lfl:

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suzukir122
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Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #5 on: May 28, 2022, 12:39:32 AM » Author: suzukir122
Yeah that pic, @Bulbman256, did inspire me quite a while back. I'll be dealing with eight two lamp fixtures though, and unfortunately
I won't have the ability to climb on my shelves. haha... I wish. I will be dealing with high ceiling as well though, so there's that.
After finding shelves, my next biggest challenge will be finding F30T12 fixtures, OR... converting the T8 versions into T12 versions.
I'd need help finding T8 fixtures that can fit F30T12/F40T12 ballasts, and T12 sockets.
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Interests:
1. Motorcycles, Cars, Women, and Lighting (especially fluorescent)
2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend

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Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #6 on: May 28, 2022, 04:33:22 AM » Author: joseph_125
I usually prefer the traditional exposed metal supports for my shelves. You can mount them anywhere on the board which helps a lot in making sure each support is on a stud. The floating shelves with hidden hardware look pretty sleek but I wonder if they can be adjusted to land on the studs.

It might be a bit more work but if you can equip your strips with dimming ballasts, you can dim the lights down for mood lighting later in the evening too. They make magnetic dimming ballasts but getting one to operate now might require some work tracking down the correct dimmer for them.
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Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #7 on: May 28, 2022, 06:46:07 AM » Author: suzukir122
My only form of dimming will be switching group lights off in the Geeni app.  :lol: I'll of course purchase magnetic dimming ballasts
someday, but not for this idea lol
I'm thinking about getting the internal support floating shelves. I forget what those are called, but the ones where you push the shelves
into the support holders.
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Interests:
1. Motorcycles, Cars, Women, and Lighting (especially fluorescent)
2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend

Mandolin Girl
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Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #8 on: May 28, 2022, 09:11:44 AM » Author: Mandolin Girl
Funnily enough, they're called floating shelves... :mrg:

Have a look at this comment for what I used to fix the shelf uprights.  :wndr:
« Last Edit: May 28, 2022, 09:15:35 AM by Mandolin Girl » Logged

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suzukir122
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Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #9 on: May 28, 2022, 10:19:37 AM » Author: suzukir122
@Mandolin Girl, I'm not sure how I would get that into the wall, but I'm trying to keep damage as minimal as I can to prevent damage fees once I move. lol
Once I move, everything will be removed/taken down.
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Interests:
1. Motorcycles, Cars, Women, and Lighting (especially fluorescent)
2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend

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Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #10 on: May 28, 2022, 07:03:45 PM » Author: funkybulb
 U can make a nice shelf out of cinder blocks and some 2 x 12s
As cinder blocks are heavy and dont have make any holes in the wall.

If u do make it out of 2x4 and plywood sure to hit studs and also look
Behind the wall on other side.  To nake sure u dont hit plumbing or
Electrical.  Other than that when your done.  And moving need fill in
The holes with chulking or toothpaste let it dry.  All they have to do is do fresh coat of paint and they can do that as part of make ready for next person to move in.
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Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #11 on: November 12, 2023, 08:48:29 PM » Author: suzukir122
So this idea is still in the works. I originally changed my plan towards purchasing six footer HO fixtures, with three six footer HO fixtures
in a tandem (in my upstairs loft) being the primary goal/decision maker if measurements proved that I could do that. Well... tape measurements proved
that I can't do that. The loft wall is literally a few inches shy of 18 feet. So since I plan on keeping this High Output R.S, I've decided to reduce
the lengths to five footer HO fixtures instead...  :wndr:...  :DeAtH: I'm dead.
I do not believe that I'll find five footer HO fixtures online, but the search for them has begun. This will be tough.

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Interests:
1. Motorcycles, Cars, Women, and Lighting (especially fluorescent)
2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend

wide-lite 1000
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Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #12 on: November 12, 2023, 08:54:44 PM » Author: wide-lite 1000
Could you just use 4-4' HO fixtures ?  4' HO tubes are a lot easier to find .
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suzukir122
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Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #13 on: November 12, 2023, 09:32:21 PM » Author: suzukir122
@Wide-lite 1000, I thought about that as well. With the way that loft is set up, 16 feet would look out of proportion, as much as I hate
to say it. Same with the downstairs living room... there are a couple areas where I could easily set up five footer fixtures there
as well.
I found a few F60T12 tubes online, although I won't buy them now. I can't find any fixtures for them though... if all else fails, I'll give
in and look for four footer HO fixtures and tubes instead.

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Interests:
1. Motorcycles, Cars, Women, and Lighting (especially fluorescent)
2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend

joseph_125
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Re: Floating Shelf Idea « Reply #14 on: November 13, 2023, 12:36:32 AM » Author: joseph_125
The plus side with using HO tubes is I believe you can get some half foot lengths too, I have some F42T12 HO lamps, they're around 3'6" nominal.
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