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I read this guide on how to anchor furniture to a wall but it assumes that you’ll need to drill through the back of the item, attach something to the inside, and connect this to the wall.

I have a couple of sets of shelves that have open backs. One, an Ikea Vittsjö, has unused screw holes near the top of the unit:

A view of the Vittsjö shelving unit, looking directly back

(Unusually for Ikea, this item didn’t come with any wall-anchoring hardware.)

Another bookshelf has a bar running along the top back (on the left in this photo):

A view of the bookshelf, looking from the front toward the back-right

I could secure these to the wall by running some kind of strong cable through the screw hole (for the first shelf) or around the bar (for the second shelf). Can anyone recommend some appropriate equipment? If it matters, my main concern is keeping these shelves upright in an earthquake.

bdesham
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  • I have some free standing ladder type book cases. I ran a long wood screw through the back into a stud close to the top on 2 of the uprights on the small shelf and 3 on the larger set this has held up to grandkids climbing the shelves on several occasions and a few small quakes but so far nothing severe but they are still standing after 20 years. (The racks are simple ladders that have planks laid across several ladders these are only about 14" wide and almost 8' tall but just a few screws keep them upright). – Ed Beal Feb 28 '18 at 16:31

2 Answers2

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If IKEA is nearby just go to the customer service (returns) section of the store and ask for a couple wall anchor kits. Otherwise, there are any number of kits available to order online or pick up at a local hardware store. I prefer the kind that use a flat nylon strap. Then you don't have to align everything perfect between wall and shelf. You attach one end to the furniture and the other end to the wall.

Attaching at the top is always preferable because it gives you the most mechanical advantage. If the open-back shelf is tall attach to the top of the top shelf as it won't be easily seen. For the shelf use a wood or metal screw as appropriate. For the wall use a wall anchor.

Keep the connection reasonably tight (don't go wild here) and the furniture can't exert much force on the anchor due to gravity when it tries to tip over.

Stanwood
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Attach it to any structural component you can, as close to the top as you can. That may be the horizontal bar, or around the leg, as you surmised. It may be screwing into the top shelf of a bookcase, either the topside or the bottomside of the shelf. It may be a side panel. Use screws or wrap a cable around.

Always make sure you secure the strap / cable to a stud. Most shelves / furniture are wide enough that they span at least one stud; attach it to the wall at that point.

I like the cable-type anti-tip kits, such as this one on amazon (a bit overkill, but gets the idea across):

anti-tip

They give you a bit of leeway in where you attach to the wall due to the length of cable.

mmathis
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  • The guide I linked recommended a couple of kits like that but neither seem to be quite what I’d need if I’m not actually drilling into the bookcase. I like the cable idea but I’m not sure it would fit through the ~1/4" screw hole on the first set of shelves. Can you make any specific hardware recommendations? – bdesham Feb 28 '18 at 19:05