Basic Concept

• Regular shelves work by mounting a bracket to a wall stud, then resting a plank on that bracket. In some cases, the bracket is a separate piece. In others, it's an integral back plate. With floating shelves, the bracket is mounted to the wall first, then covered by the shelf itself. Depending on the size and materials of the bracket, floating shelves can be just as sturdy as bracket style shelves.
  
  

The Shelf

• The shelf of a floating shelf is a hollow box built so its inside edges can fit over the wall bracket much like a thimble slides over the tip of your thumb. Carpenters build the shelf by first constructing an internal frame with one side inset, then laying thin sheets of wood over the frame. This makes an attractive, unified surface with one long edge open to receive the bracket.
  
  

The Bracket

• The bracket for a floating shelf is called a "cleat." It consists of a single beam of wood, plastic or metal sized to fit inside the box of its shelf. Carpenters mount the cleat to two or more wall studs, taking care to keep the cleat level. Some pre-fabricated kits use specially molded cleats, while others use a simple piece of lumber.
  
  

Mounting

• One a carpenter mounts the cleat, he then slides the open end of the shelf over the cleat. He then attaches the shelf by screwing it to the horizontal edges of the cleat. Some kits use plastic cleats molded to exert outward pressure once mounted, eliminating the need for screws.
  
  

Kits vs Scratch

• You can buy many floating shelf kits that come with the shelf prebuilt and a specially designed cleat. These are convenient, attractive and easy to mount even for people with no carpentry skills. If you do have carpentry skills, you can build a floating shelf for about half the cost of a pre-fabricated model.