Why am I writing about this?
We bought two Bergshult shelves and four Ramshult brackets from Ikea.
We got home, and realized they didn’t give us any screws. Then research showed that Ikea doesn’t provide any. Googling for what screws to use came short, so I decided that I am handy enough to figure it out and am now going to fill in that search gap.
Mount the Ramshult bracket to the wall#
I have four Ramshult brackets.
Each bracket needs two different(!) screws with anchors to make it into the wall.
The top screw#
The top one needs to be a pan head screw that can anchor into drywall so the bracket can mount to it.
Length doesn’t matter too much.
This one is not visible, so appearance does not matter.
The bottom screw#
The bottom one needs to be a flat head screw that can anchor into drywall. The flat head allows it to sit in the hole in the bracket.
This screw needs to get to an anchor by going through the 3/4" bracket.
This one is very visible, so appearance can matter. Maybe a dab of paint will suffice.
Mount the Bergshult shelf to the Ramshult bracket#
It looks like we have another combo of flat and pan screws, except this time we are very sensitive to length so we don’t go through the shelf.
The inner screw#
The pan head screw goes into the shelf (we will need to predrill it ourselves) and it must stick out a bit to hook into the bracket.
The shelf is 1" thick. Let’s say we want to go half way into the shelf and leave a quarter inch to hook into, that means we need a 3/4” pan head screw.
This screw is not visible so appearance doesn’t matter.
The outer screw#
The flat head screw needs to go through the bracket and the shelf. The bracket is 3/4” thick. So if we go half way through the shelf, we need a 1-1/4” flat head screw.
This screw can be seen, but not easily, so maybe appearance doesn’t matter.
Screw diameter#
The screw hole for the bottom and outer screws are 4mm wide. #10 screws and bigger are out. The #8 will bite a little bit into the hole, which is fine and perhaps desirable.
Materials#
Requirements#
| Screw location | Description | Length | Attachment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ramshult top | Pan head screw | Anchor length | Drywall anchor or to stud |
| Ramshult bottom | Flat head screw, appearance matters | 3/4" + anchor length | Drywall anchor or to stud |
| Bergshult inner | Pan head screw | 3/4" | Into shelf |
| Bergshult outer | Flat head screw, appareance may matter | 1-1/4" | Into shelf |
Screw likely needs 1/2" to 7/8" into the anchor depending on the type of anchor or if it goes into a stud.
What I Bought#
- These wall anchors - They are not sensitive to screw length, come with a pan head screw to solve Ramshult top, and can take a #8 screw to solve the anchor portion of Ramshult bottom. Those screws can go into a stud if necessary.
- These wood screws - They can go into the anchor I chose, and solve both Ramshult bottom and Bergshult outer. The head is white so I don’t have to paint them. Can go into a stud if necessary.
- These wood screws - They go into Bergshult inner.
What you could buy instead#
- If you don’t care about color, kits like this one tktk can be used for both the top and bottom. You could also opt to paint the heads (probably after you’ve screwed them in, which can be a pain).
- Black screws for Ramshult bottom and Berghshult outer. Or you can get a kit that comes with anchors like this one.
- You could get this all at a local hardware store.
Tools#
Required tools#
- Drill - This light weight one is the one I use, but any will work.
- Drill bits - The anchor I chose needs a 3/16" hole, and the screws that go in the shelf should be predrilled at 1/8", so something simple like this drill bit set will do just fine.
Tools I used to make things eaiser#
- Stud finder - I try to avoid drilling the big hole then finding a stud. I would rather start with the correct size hole, so knowing where the stud is can be helpful. I have something like this stud finder, but you can go with something simpler too.
- Laser level - You should make sure your shelf is level. You could use a standard level but it isn’t easy to carry one long enough. A laser level makes it much easier to get the screws into the right place. I use a Bosch similar to this one.
