1

My wife put some heavy clothes on this closet rod and it broke. It's not really a standard closet rod that goes the length of the closet opening. It's one of those 'half' ones that allow you shelves in the middle.

I need to add some support to this closet rod. The weakness mainly stems from the fact that the shelf side is very thin wood (Fake wood at that), and the bracket uses very short screws.

In my pictures, I'm thinking the red dots are where I need to add some wood support and use a longer screw in the bracket.

enter image description here

enter image description here

enter image description here

I have two main questions:

1) Is this the best way to go about the solution?

2) Should I use fake (Like this whole closet insert) or real wood?

amalik
  • 141
  • 5
  • 15

1 Answers1

4

One simple thing to try that would not be too much work would be to re-mount the plastic bracket in nearly the same place on the center divider panel as before. Instead of the short screws use some bolts like these:

enter image description here

Select the bolt diameter that will work with the mounting holes in the bracket. Select bolt length sufficient to protrude through the bracket plus the thickness of the shelf side panel plus enough extra to engage the nut.

Drill suitable holes all the way through the side panel of the shelves at the location that you would re-mount the bracket. Clamp on a scrap piece of wood against the opposite side where the drill will come through to prevent chip out of the side panel on that side. Then mount the bracket with the bolts through the holes. On the opposite side apply some flat washers as pictured below on the bolts and then spin on the nuts. Tighten the nuts using a screw driver and wrench or pliers to hold the nuts.

enter image description here

Michael Karas
  • 64,542
  • 7
  • 63
  • 144
  • Hi Michael, thanks for the response. I just realized something! The previous screws are not even entering the top shelf. I'm thinking just get 2 longer screws and I should be good, especially if I add a middle bracket. Thoughts? Sorry I missed this earlier.

    http://i.imgur.com/hk3Dovc.jpg and

    http://i.imgur.com/casWTDD.jpg

     – amalik Feb 07 '17 at 16:01
  • I am not so sure that I think longer screws into the edge of the shelf is a good idea. Screwing into the edge of particle board is never a good idea as it does not hold well at all. And if you do not properly prepare the pilot be prepared for the shelf to just split where the edge wise screw enters the material. – Michael Karas Feb 07 '17 at 16:35
  • 1
    I think bolts would be sufficient, and work better than screws in this situation. Using a washer on the opposite side will distribute the load and significantly increase the amount of weight it would hold. Don't bother with the center bracket at all. On the side connecting to the wall, be sure you're either mounted into a stud, or install some heavy-duty wall anchors (the kind that screw in, not the plastic plugs you hammer in). You could also put a piece of wood across the width, anchor it into studs, and then screw the rod into that. – gregmac Feb 07 '17 at 16:37
  • greg, I do have some heavy-duty (50 lbs per anchor) type that screw into the wall (and are designed for with or without a stud). Michael, I will try the bolt idea, my only issue is that I'll have to lower the bracket from its current location on the shelf and wall side, which isn't a big deal but i'll have to deal with the 2 old holes on the shelf side. the drywall side is easy enough to fill the holes, not sure how i would take care of the particle board side. – amalik Feb 07 '17 at 17:03
  • @amalik - Just pick the loose debris out of the old screw holes in the particle board and then just fill the holes with white spackle. It should match to the white of the shelf unit and may not even need painting. If you lower the bracket to bolt it on you will want to lower the bracket on the wall a corresponding amount so that the rod stays level. – Michael Karas Feb 07 '17 at 20:49
  • Hi @MichaelKaras -- I'm getting to this now. The size that fits is 8/32. It looks like 'nylon insert lock nuts' are not the right product. Can you tell me what to get instead? See pics please - http://imgur.com/VZV5J3z and http://imgur.com/Ip0NLn2 -- It's just stuck on the end and doesn't thread down the screw. – amalik Mar 02 '17 at 03:23
  • Assuming I just need a hex nut like this, but will a 8/32 hex nut thread all the way down or do I need a different size? – amalik Mar 02 '17 at 03:30
  • If you have an 8-32 bolt then you just need a plain 8-32 hex nut. There should not be any need for those "nylon insert lock nuts". They are made for applications where vibration and rotation could allow a regular nut to come loose. You could use them but you have to put muscle into it with a screw driver and wrench on the nut. The recommended regular nut will look like in the picture that I originally posted in my answer above. – Michael Karas Mar 02 '17 at 07:45