So you've got your channel cut in your shelf, your male bracket attached to the wall, and your female bracket & shelf attached to the male component and you're ready to call the installation finished - but maybe the shelf wiggles and doesn't seem perfectly level. Don't panic - there are a few typical reasons this can occur, and we're going to walk you through each of them so you can troubleshoot your installation. Read on below for a list of common causes from most likely to least likely - we recommend you start at the top and work your way down.
Reason #1: The female bracket is too deep in the back of the shelf.
The female bracket is not installed correctly in the shelf. The female bracket is designed to protrude 1/64" out from the back of your shelf at the bottom in order to embed slightly into the drywall, and prevent any forward slanting of the shelf once installed (note that in tile installations, you will not want to do this, as the harder surface of tile makes this problematic rather than helpful. Read more about installing on tile here). If your shelf is slanting, the first thing to check is that you have installed the female bracket to these specifications - see the diagram below for more information:
Reason #2: The male bracket was secured too tightly to the wall
The second most common cause of a shelf slanting relates to the installation of the male bracket to the surface of the wall. Sometimes, people assume that they need to secure the male bracket as tightly as they can to the wall - this is a mistake, and is going to cause you problems. You want the bracket snug to the wall, but you will want to be cautious not to over-tighten here, as attempting to overly secure the male bracket will result in the flat back pressing/digging into the wall, and disrupting the later attachment of the female component. The flat back corner of the male bracket will be embedded in the wall, and the female bracket will not be able to engage properly. Loosening this connection somewhat may solve your issue.
Reason #3: The set screws haven't been used
We don't just throw these in with your hardware for no reason, these things are important! These are key in securing the male and female brackets together, and locking them in place so a bump from below doesn't send your shelf and it's contents sailing across the room. If the first two situations aren't the problem, this is the next most likely bet. You or your installer spent time drilling those holes for them - there's no reason not to use them and get everything secured! You'd be surprised how often this solves the problem - and they are less permanent than glue!
Reason #4: The shelf hasn't been given a hard tap at the back
One of the key points you'll notice in our installation guide is that once the shelf & female bracket are connected to the male bracket & wall, we tell you to give it a good, solid tap from above at the back side of the shelf (close to the wall). This firm bump/impact is to knock the two pieces into alignment and properly connect them - often if it's wiggling the cause is that it is simply hanging there and the two brackets haven't actually been locked into place.
Reason #5: The shelf was shimmed and didn't need to be
Often a customer will attempt to shim the male bracket against the wall and do so too far. As long as the male bracket is connected snug to high point of the wall (not too hard, just snug), the rest of the male bracket (to the left and to the right) can have a gap of up to 1/4" between the back of the male bracket and the wall. In this scenario, the 2 1/2" pan head wood screws will still be in the stud by 2" (assuming a drywall thickness of 1/4") - This gap should have no negative effect on the holding strength of the aforementioned screw. See the below diagram for reference:
Often times, customers will shim and bring the bracket so far out from the wall that the slanted parts of the male and female bracket can no longer effectively perform their role, and thus the shelf will rock and wiggle. The bottom of the shelf will no longer be able to hit the wall, and on the top there is now too much room. Now instead the fixing any wiggling, the shims actually cause it.
Reason #6: The bracket channel is uneven
Rarely, despite best efforts, the back of the channel on inside the shelf may occasionally have an uneven surface (this one is rare, but we've seen it once or twice, and it's worth noting in case none of these other options are helping). This can lead to an uneven bracket placement where one side sticks out or in more than it should and causes interference in the wall connection. The best way to identify this is to simply press the shelf against the wall and look down from directly above at the connection - this should show you any open space where issues are coming from in the positioning of the bracket, as the protrusion here will cause distance from the wall that is clearly visible.
As you can see above, there are a few different simple factors that can lead to a seemingly wiggly or wobbling shelf - but these scenarios should help find the right solution for you. It's also worth noting that even when properly installed, there should be a very slight wiggling in the shelf (wood and drywall both have a degree of softness, this is inherent in the materials) - this means nothing problematic in the installation - it's not unsafe, or at risk of coming undone. The only way to absolutely cement it, would be the use of an epoxy, but then you are trading that rigidity for the ability to remove the shelf down the line. We hope you found the what you needed within, and if not, you can always reach out to us directly.