Wall Ledges for Dummy DIY Carpenters

Wooden shims

We occasionally run across a familiar-seeming name in our file of potential nominees, sometimes because the freelancer shares the name of a famous person and sometimes because they've been featured before. It's the second reason this time, since we had already run across eHowian Kenneth Crawford before when we came upon the piece he wrote for HomeSteady.com, "How to Install a Target Wall Ledge."

Crawford, who's already proved he knows nothing about lawn mower tires, was kind enough to explain what a wall ledge is:

"The Target wall ledge is a shelf without visible brackets."

That describes a lot of products, which is fortunate because Ken's link to a Target product page has disappeared in the seven years since he scraped it. Whatever the case, Crawford apparently came across a complaint or two that, according to him, meant

"Some adjustments are sometimes necessary to install a Target wall ledge because the brackets on the shelf are not set out far enough to hook the wall mounting bracket."

His "solution" to the problem was,

"Common wood shims available at hardware stores provide the necessary extension necessary for the wall shelf to hang properly."

That's not why we nailed Kenny for his dumbassery, though. This is why:

"Drill a pilot hole at each stud along the level line with a 1/4-inch drill bit... Drill a hole the same diameter as the wall anchor with a bit the same diameter as the wall anchor... Insert the wall anchor sleeve into the center hole and tap it in with a hammer until it is flush against the wall."

Wait, what? Place a wall anchor into a stud? Dude, that's not gonna work!

And speaking of "not gonna work," Crawford wanted his readers to use those shims he mentioned like this:

"Loosen the screws securing the shelf bracket on the back of the Target wall ledge. Drill a 1/4-inch hole in the center of each shim. Place a shim on the back of the wall ledge, lining up the hole in the shim with the screw mounting hole."

Does this putz even know what a shim is? What it looks like? And, more to the point, that you'll never re-tighten the screws on the back of the ledge if you loosen them? Idiot! If you actually need shimming (you probably don't), just put a washer or two between the wall bracket and the wall when you install it!

No wonder Ken's our Dumbass of the Day again!

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