How to Anchor a Bookshelf

Bookshelves are tall and heavy pieces of furniture, especially when they have books on them, and they can topple over due to earthquakes or other disruptions -- like a climbing toddler. To prevent your bookshelves from falling over, take steps to anchor them into your wall. Anchoring your bookshelf is a good step toward making your home childproof, and it is also a relatively cheap part of disaster preparedness.

Stud finder
L-brackets
Electric drill
Screws

Instructions

- 1
  Locate a stud in your wall using a stud finder.
- 2
  Set up the bookshelf so that its back is set flush up against the wall where the stud is.
- 3
  Place an L-bracket snug to the wall on the top of the bookshelf. One leg of the "L" is against the wall facing up, the other is on the bookshelf.
- 4
  Screw two screws into the L-bracket to hold the bracket to the wall using an electric drill. The screws you use to attach the bracket to the wall should be at least 2 inches long. Make sure that you place the screws so that they attach to the stud behind the wall.
- 5
  Screw two screws into the lower leg of the L-bracket to connect the bracket to the bookshelf. These screws can be shorter, as 2-inch screws would extend into the display area of the bookshelf.

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