Uncategorized
Making Your Own Shelves with Scaffold Boards
Jul
Making Your Own Shelves with Scaffold Boards
If you’ve been eyeing up your walls thinking they could do with a bit more character, a scaffold board shelf might just be the thing. These shelves are sturdy, full of history, and bring a warm, lived-in feel that new timber simply can’t replicate.
Why scaffold boards?
Scaffold boards are typically made from slow-grown pine or European whitewood, giving them a lovely grain pattern and a good weight for shelves. When reclaimed, they often carry marks of their previous life: paint flecks, saw marks, or the odd knock here and there, which all add to the charm.
They’re also deep enough to hold books, plants, and records comfortably, and they can be cut to any length you need.
How to prepare them
-
Choose your boards: Look for straight boards with fewer deep splits. A bit of cupping can add character, but you’ll want them reasonably level for shelves.
-
Clean up: Give them a good brush down to remove dust and grit. You can use a wire brush if there’s stubborn dirt in the grain.
-
Sand: Start with 80 grit to remove splinters and finish with 120 or 180 grit to keep some texture while making them pleasant to touch.
-
Finish: You can leave them raw for a rustic look, oil them to bring out the grain, or apply a hard wax oil for added protection. Danish oil or a clear wax works well if you like a natural finish.
Fixing them to the wall
You’ve a few options:
-
Brackets: Simple and visible brackets keep the look traditional and make fitting easy.
-
Floating shelf brackets: These give a clean look, letting the scaffold board appear to float on the wall.
-
Industrial pipe brackets: These work well if you like an industrial edge to your décor.
Always make sure you’re fixing into studs or using suitable wall plugs, as scaffold boards can be heavy, especially once loaded up.
Why we love them
Using scaffold boards for shelves is a great way to bring warmth and a sense of story into your home while saving quality timber from going to waste. They’re practical, timeless, and you can cut and finish them exactly to fit your space.
If you decide to give this a go, we’d love to see what you create. Send us a photo of your scaffold board shelves in their new home, or let us know if you’d like us to prepare some reclaimed boards ready for your next project.
