We congratulate David (from Prior Lake, Minnesota) on his vision and his execution of installing a beautiful granite shelf using our carved wood brackets. Thanks for including us in your project and sharing your experience David!

David chose a stunning Black Galaxy granite slab that measures 8 foot long, 12 inches wide and 1-1/4’ thick. All told, this beautiful piece of granite weighs 160 pounds. As you can imagine, David was very concerned about securely installing it on his wall, especially with young children in the home. Working with the design professionals at InvitingHome.com, it was determined that four extra-large Chicago wood brackets would be required.

To ensure solid support, each of the brackets was installed using two 3 inch long #10 wood screws. David used a laser level set on a tripod to run a straight and level line to align the wood screws. A stud finder ensured that the wood screws would be securely screwed into a solid wood stud.

Each Chicago wood bracket has two solid metal inserts which mate with the #10 wood screws, allowing for precise alignment. After all four of the wood brackets were installed, pilot holes were drilled and an additional #10 wood screw was screwed through the top of the bracket at an angle into the wood stud in the wall.

Silicon adhesive secured the granite slab to the brackets. David applied a bead of silicon to the top of each corbel and on the back wall where the granite slab would meet it. As you can see from the photos, David also added a 1/2 round maple trim piece on top of the granite shelf. David explained that this trim was not for support, but to account for the fact that the wall had about a 1/4 bow that was clearly visible when the straight granite slab was installed. The trim piece nicely covered the visible edge and also prevents the granite slab from tipping.

Before the installation, David finished the brackets with three coats of clear, water-based polyurethane. Finishing the brackets took about 4 hours, which includes at least 1 hour of drying time between coats. The installation of the brackets and granite shelf took about 2 hours.

As a word of advice, David recommends running your lines with a laser level that adheres to the wall vs. on one that uses a tripod stand. If a tripod stand is used and the floor underneath it is not level, line deviation will occur. And as with any laser line, it is a good idea to check its line level with a traditional level.

Advice from the Experts

When installing a shelf such as seen above it is important that the brackets depth used be at least two-thirds of the overall depth of the shelf. In the example given the Chicago extra-large wood bracket with a depth of 9 inches was the right choice for the job.