Alcove Shelving

The simplest way of supporting shelves in an alcove is to screw wooden battens to the side walls at whatever spacing you need. If your alcoves are wide or your shelves will have to carry heavy loads, you can provide extra support by fixing a third batten across the back wall, between the two side battens.

1. Work out the shelf spacings you need, and mark the shelf positions you want on one side wall.
2. Cut support battens from 38 mm x 25 mm (1 1/2 in x 1 in) softwood to a length just less than the shelf width.
3. Drill two clearance holes (to take the body of the screw) in each batten, then use a drill countersink bit to make the recesses at the top of each clearance hole so that countersink screws will fit flush with the batten.
4. Hold one of these battens against the lowest shelf mark on the wall and punch the hole positions in the wall with a bradawl.
5. Drill and plug the holes and screw the batten to the wall.
6. Check whether the alcove side and back walls are square to each other at each point where you want to put a shelf. A try square is the best tool for this.
7. If the walls do form a true right angle, measure and cut the first shelf to length.
8. If they don't, cut out the shape of each internal angle on a piece of card, and measure the width of the back wall. Use the card to mark the first angle on your shelf, and cut that end of the shelf. Next, mark the alcove width along the rear edge of the shelf, then mark the second angle on the shelf and cut it. The shelf should now match the irregular shape of the alcove.
9. Rest one end of the shelf on its support batten, put your spirit level on top, and hold the second support batten beneath the shelf at the other end. Get the shelf level and mark the screw hole positions through the batten as before.
10. Lift out the shelf, drill and plug the holes, and screw the second batten into position.
11. Lay the shelf on it and test its fit.
12. Repeat steps 1 to 11 to fix the other shelves. You may find it easier to work in the alcove if you leave the shelves out until you've finished fixing all the battens. If you want them fixed in place temporarily, nail them to the battens with panel pins.