instructables
Floating Shelves Entertainment Centre
by mlelievre
Welcome to my first instructable.
I am entering this in the Shelf Contest, so please vote
for me if you feel it's worthy!
Each shelf consists of two parts: The frame, which
get attached to the wall, and the sleeve, which slides
over the frame.
I made the sleeves 24" wide by 16" deep at the top,
and the frames are 19.5" wide by 13" deep. This
turned out to be deeper than I needed, and I may
reduce the depth in the future is they start to sag.
Each frame is connected to the wall with two drywall
Floating Shelves Entertainment Centre: Page 1
anchors using 1/4" x 3" bolts, as well as a 1/4" lag
screw into the stud. I wouldn't try hanging off them,
but they're strong enough to support any device I'm
going to put on them.
Finally, the frames and sleeves are designed so the
the cables and power cords for each component can
disappear into the wall cavity through a hole drilled
into the drywall. I will fish all the signal cables to the
access panel above the middle shelf and then
through the stud to another access panel behind the
TV. All the power cords will run through the wall
cavity, down to the power outlet above the bottom
shelf.
Step 1: Design and Assembly

I don't have pictures of every step of construction, but
I can tell you that for the frame,I ripped 2 x 4's so that
I had two 1.5" x 1.5" pieces.
NOTE: I started by designing the frame and built
the shelf around it. In hindsight, I should have
started by designing the shelf and built the frame
to support it.
The frame was assembled using brad nails and
screws and glue.
The sleeve was assembled using brad nails and glue.
I filled the nail holes, sanded using increasing grits,
and then primed and painted.

Floating Shelves Entertainment Centre: Page 2


1 3
1. Void in back of the sleeve where the frame goes.
Step 2: Layout and Installation
I spaced out the shelves evenly. The top of the top
shelf is in line with the top of the TV, while the top of
the bottom shelf is 1/2" below the electrical outlet.
NOTE: The top of the shelf is above the top of the
frame, so I first marked where I wanted the top of
the shelf and then, using a level, drew a line where
the top of the frame would go (in my case 3/8"
below). I also marked out where the left corner of
the frame would go in relation to that line and
copied it down to the other lines using my level so
all the shelves would be aligned.
Once I had the locations of the shelves marked, I
drilled a 1-3/4" hole for each shelf's cable run. I used
a 1-3/4" forstner bit, they make a lot of dust, but they
Floating Shelves Entertainment Centre: Page 3
1
4
5
1. 3/8" plywood
2. 1/4" plywood
3. 3/4" plywood, rabbited to accept 1/4" plywood.
4. 1" x 1" pine, rabbited to accept 3/8" plywood.
5. MDF trim, added for extra fanciness.
also make a very clean hole, which is good since the
will be somewhat visible from above.
I held up each shelf where it was to go and used a
nail to mark the location of the toggles bolts. I
installed the toggle bolt sleeves in the drywall, and
then hung the frame. For added strength, I screwed a
1/4" lag screw into the stud.
Once all the frames were in, I added the plastic
access panel and slid the sleeves over the frames.
All done, now it's time to place the components on
the shelves and clean up.
 1

2
1

1. 1-3/4" hole for cable run 1. Hole in wall for cables to run into the wall cavity.
2. Countersunk a 1" wide by 1/2" deep hole for toggle bolts

1. Access hole for cable runs.

Floating Shelves Entertainment Centre: Page 4