Wooden boards, fixing screws, wall plugs or cavity fixings, power drill (with hammer action, if fitting shelves into masonry) and electric screwdriver.

Step-By-Step

Fixing individual brackets

Because the shelves' weight will be supported from the wall, there is great stress on the fixing screws. So, the depth of the shelf, the size of the screws and the weight supported must all be considered.

Before you begin, think about what surface you are driving the screws into:

• Masonry: when putting shelves into external walls, the brackets can go almost anywhere. Using a masonry drill, you should insert wall plugs before screwing in the brackets. Screws of around 50mm length will be adequate to support most standard shelves

• Timber-framed wall: if possible, you should screw your brackets to the studs (the vertical timbers in a wooden partition wall) or noggins, (the short, horizontal timbers between the studs).However, so long as not too much weight is rested on the shelf, special cavity fixings can be used to place them elsewhere. If you are having trouble inserting screws into the frame, try lubricating them slightly with wax or oil.

When you know what kind of wall you are drilling into, start by marking two vertical guidelines on your wall, measuring out from the top and bottom of the same wall

Mark points along the line at the desired height through the fixing holes of one of your brackets. Then drill the holes, insert the wall plugs and screw in bracket Using the shelf and spirit level, position second bracket exactly horizontally and use this as a guide to insert the second bracket. Next, just add shelf Sagging is caused by the distance between brackets being too great to hold up the weight placed upon it. Different shelf materials have different strengths:

• Chipboard is the cheapest (but the weakest) material, which forms the centre of many veneered shelves
• Solid wood is strong but tends to haveknots
• Softwoods are often used for shelving as hardwoods can be expensive

• Blockboard is made from glued strips of softwood and veneer. As long as the shelving is cut with the core running along rather than across, it is as strong as solid wood. However, the edges will always need to be "lipped" to cover the core
• Plywood is similar to blockboard, but only made of veneers, with their grain alternating at right angles for added strength. The edge of plywood can be left "unlipped", but is not attractive
• MDF (Medium-Density Fibreboard) is a man-made board which is as strong as solid wood and finishes smoothly on all its edges, so no "lip" is needed
• Like hardwood, glass is used for aesthetic effect. Unlike woods, it does not sag. However, it does shatter and is not suitable for heavy loads. The glass used in shelving is toughened and can be frosted or textured for a particular look

Fixing Vertical Support Shelving

If a shelving system is to work, whether it uses slots or grooves, all upright supports must be exactly vertical and parallel. Some walls are not perfectly flat. Make sure the uprights do not slope outwards

When the uprights are vertical in all planes, fix bracket to each upright. Making sure to support the weight, put shelf on the uprights and use spirit level to make sure it is flat When successful, fix in uprights, install brackets and place shelves

Fixing bar shelving

Bar shelving is literally a bar of wood or material fixed between two walls These are usually placed in alcove spaces, say between wall and chimney breast Firstly, measure the space and cut or buy shelves of the correct length. Then, cut battens to match the depth of the shelves

Putting up bar shelves is like putting up bracket shelves - without the bracket. Instead, the shelves are screwed directly into the wall at the side, with the screws going through wooden support battens

The greatest challenge is that it is unlikely that your walls will be perfectly regular. So, you will need to trim and plane the shelves to make a snug fit One of the main advantages of bar shelving is that they can bear large stress levels