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I am looking to see if anyone has experience with building a glass shelf cantilevered out of a wall. I saw this demonstrated in a hotel bath in Zermatt, Switzerland and it was pretty impressive… but I could not see exactly how the attachment was constructed.
The shelf was approx .5in thick , 6 ft long and cantilvered out of a tiled wall just above a double sink and counter. It extended out about 9 in from the wall. There was no support on the ends of the shelf. The shelf apparently was anchored back into the wall some distance as it was very rigid. A wall mirror abutted the shelf along its top. I could not see back into the wall by sighting into the edge of the shelf… the interior edge must have been made opaque.
The only way I can think this was anchored (without magic!) would be with a horizontal channel that grips the shelf thickness and is embedded back into the studded/masonry(?) wall. Sees like a pretty severe cut though the wall structure if its done like that.
I am interested in adding such a feature to a bathroom in a new home I am having built… and am looking for any ideas /experience anyone may have had in developing a feature of this type..
Thanks in advance for any assistance!
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Are you certain it was actually glass and not a plastic or plexiglass material? (Not that I'm doubting you either).
If it was glass, I would guess it would be tempered for an application like that. Sorry I don't have the answer though.
MD
*a glass guy that lived next to my parents showed me this trick lookin mirror that had glass shelves like you described glued to the face of the mirror-claimed he hasn't had any problems with falling shelves- this was a number of years ago & he has moved since, but if you email me I'm sure my dadhas his #- I'll trac him down & git the deetsgb
*Don, I've done what you suggest, though the glass was supported by two walls. Cut an 1-1/2" deep slot in a 2x4 partition wall, slightly over the 1/2" thickness of the glass, used electrical tape strategically placed for shims. Shelves were maybe 10" deep, tempered glass. Seems like the same system should work for a single cantilever shelf, maybe increase the depth of the notch to 2", as long as it's in a partition wall. If in a bearing wall I might try to sandwich the glass between two Simpson right angle brackets, again with electrical tape as shims. Good luck,Mike
*i'm not a glass guy, but what you described was reminiscent of "magical" displays at my local glass/mirror dealer...they just used a special two part epoxy to fuse two glass surfaces together. so...is it possible the glass was epoxied to the mirrori wouldn't think something so delicate would be secured too tightly to the framing(especially when tile is involved....imagine having to rip out tile to replace a little glass shelf. if anything it may have extended 1" or so into a kerf in the wall, but again, you wouldn't want to secure it too well....not a glass guy--just a thinkergabe keway
*A possible alternative to tempered glass is a security film that is placed over windows to guard against break in or hurricane damage. It is supposed to be strong stuff. The advantage would be if you needed to drill or cut the glass, you could then put some of this film on it to strengthen it and keep it from shattering if it was hit hard. I looked the stuff up on the Internet a few weeks ago and saw prices ranging from about $2.25/sq.ft. for just film to "starting at $9.95/sq.ft. completely installed..." Just did a search and the first three listings I got (no knowlege about any of these) were:http://www.solargard.com/Products/Safety.htmhttp://www.llumar.com/http://www.highimpactfilm.com
*While not the same application i built "cantilevered" glass shelves for my wife's bathroom. I took a hard maple board and milled it into 7/8" thick, 1-1/2" high strips. Kerfed down the center to a depth of about 1/2". Screwed to studs in the back of the kerf and filled the kerf with 1/4" plate glass extending out from the wall 4". I cut the kerf with a 1 or 2 degree tilt upwards. The shelves looked good and worked perfectly throughout seasonal humidity swings.joe d
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I am looking to see if anyone has experience with building a glass shelf cantilevered out of a wall. I saw this demonstrated in a hotel bath in Zermatt, Switzerland and it was pretty impressive... but I could not see exactly how the attachment was constructed.
The shelf was approx .5in thick , 6 ft long and cantilvered out of a tiled wall just above a double sink and counter. It extended out about 9 in from the wall. There was no support on the ends of the shelf. The shelf apparently was anchored back into the wall some distance as it was very rigid. A wall mirror abutted the shelf along its top. I could not see back into the wall by sighting into the edge of the shelf... the interior edge must have been made opaque.
The only way I can think this was anchored (without magic!) would be with a horizontal channel that grips the shelf thickness and is embedded back into the studded/masonry(?) wall. Sees like a pretty severe cut though the wall structure if its done like that.
I am interested in adding such a feature to a bathroom in a new home I am having built... and am looking for any ideas /experience anyone may have had in developing a feature of this type..
Thanks in advance for any assistance!