I'm currently living in an apartment that doesn't allow me to put anything larger than a finishing nail sized hole in the wall. I have a small bathroom shelf that I would like to put up that consists of a lightweight metal frame with three tempered glass shelves as well as a towel rack on the bottom.
Initially my thoughts went to the 3M command strips. I know they have picture hanging strips that essentially consists of velcro on top of command strips. But I have a feeling that this wouldn't hold up and the shelf would fall down. So I was thinking it might work out to buy the plain command strips and put them directly on the back of the shelf where it would contact the wall. I see that they're rated for around 5lbs each and I believe loaded the shelf wouldn't be more than 10lbs or so. I'm just curious if this would work or if it might end up causing more damage than just putting holes in the wall?
Does anyone have any experiences with hanging something of this nature without damaging the wall?
Best Answer
I would not risk hanging a glass shelf with those strips. They are meant for hanging things directly from (like a towel, hair dryer, etc.), not a shelf that sticks out. Instead of just pulling down on the strip, it will pull down and away, almost a guaranteed recipe for broken glass.
Unfortunately there is no way to anchor something to the wall without proper anchors. If you are able to get the shelf anchored into a stud then the hole should not be all that large - it's the drywall anchors that tend to make larger holes.
If the wall was concrete you might be able to glue it to the wall, but this will leave a larger mess (leftover glue that someone has to scrape off) than screws in drywall.
Perhaps you could offer to repair any damage you are responsible for? Otherwise you should get a free-standing shelving unit.