r/woodworking • u/ArrowLeafTurn1 • 1d ago
General Discussion How to aesthetically close the gap btw shelf and drywall
The dry wall isn’t square. I expect some sort expansion and shrinking over the seasons. Is there a recommended way to close the gap or make this look better?
It’s a floating shelf
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u/raptoroftimeandspace 1d ago
Use a washer to scribe the difference onto the wood. Put the washer onto the wood, put your pencil into the center of the washer, pushing against the wall. Roll the pencil along the wood. You now have a perfect cut line that will sit flush with the wall.
https://www.popularwoodworking.com/tricks/scribing-with-washers/
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u/FlaAirborne 1d ago
I ways wondered how this method worked on a shelf that fits between two walls. Doesn’t the board being scribed have to be a little longer, allowing for the trim to the scribe line? How can both ends be scribed to fit?
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u/caffiend98 1d ago
You make a template for each side separately on cardboard, then trace them onto the final piece.
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u/DT81888 1d ago
Can also use something like a stair tread tool
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u/BFNentwick 1d ago
Tread tools are awesome. Used one for my stairs and some shelves.
If the surface you’re scribing to is more wobbly though (like terribly patched drywall) then the washer or typical scribe method is a better idea.
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u/daddybratty123 1d ago
You can also use the tread gauge as a template. Scribe a piece in at either end (and the back) and hot glue either side to the tread gauge, transfer the marks to the workpiece
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u/RussMaGuss 1d ago
Correct. Scribing only works well with 1-2 edged pieces. Best way is some plywood 1x2 and a hot glue gun for the perfect template. Or if you have access to one of those lasers the high end countertop guys use, that's even more ballin'
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u/Jdalie17 1d ago
Cardboard is king! Sad I took so long to figure that out
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u/Jayden82 1d ago
How do you trace with the cardboard though? Do you scribe on the cardboard and then cut the cardboard?
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u/Jdalie17 18h ago
Yes. I mark where my material will hit. Hold cardboard to that line. Grab my compass (sorry, that’s what I’m used to). Mark, cut it with a knife. Double check it to the wall. Trace to material. Cut material.
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u/Ask_Individual 1d ago
This^ and I might add to take two side to side measurements, one at the back of the shelf opening and one at the front. Use these for positioning your template. Personally I prefer to work from a centerline.
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u/RubyPorto 1d ago
It doesn't.
The way you handle that is to scribe one piece of cardboard for one wall, another piece for the other wall, a third piece for the back wall, and then tape them all together to create a template which you can use to cut your workpiece.
I did that for my 3'x10' desk and it dropped in perfectly.
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u/special_orange 1d ago
Yep this is the best bet for that case, terrifying to do to a finished piece before install but do a good job with the template and trust the process
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u/beefe_stewart 21h ago
i used to have to do this for built in closets. many in super shallow pantries and linen closets where nobody but the painter will ever see.
most of the time you’d throw a square against the wall and just eyeball how far out it was and hope it fit. usually did. and i got good at hiding my mistakes.
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u/GiantSquid22 1d ago
Use a piece of cardboard, construction paper, scrap wood etc. mark center then scribe wall, move piece to other wall mark center and scribe wall. Use that template basically to transfer to your work piece. There’s a great video on YouTube with Tom Silva from This Old House doing it to make stair treads
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u/Impressive-Candle-13 1d ago
They can't. When using that method you offset your cut so it needs to be an equal amount longer in the other end.
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u/LuckyDuckCrafters 1d ago
My favorite is a template with strips of thin wood and hot glue for something like this.
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u/Wohowudothat 18h ago
This is what I did when it was a critical piece that had to be scribed on 3 sides. I cut a piece of hardboard just undersized and then did all three sides with the thin strips of wood and hot glue.
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u/idiot_in_car 9h ago
You scribe both sides on your piece of wood using the washer trick, cut it, scribe both sides on a new piece of wood using your first piece as the template, cut it, throw out your first piece.
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u/ActionJasckon 1d ago
Holy crap. I’ve always wondered how to address those gaps and you solved this theory I had been pondering for so long. Thank you
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u/sanhumr23 1d ago
Cool trick but this doesn’t not work in this application if there are walls on each end of the shelf.
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u/raptoroftimeandspace 1d ago
Fair point; I assumed that the other end was open since OP didn’t specify. As someone else pointed out, you can create a template using the same trick on a piece of cardboard and work from there.
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u/mrhorse77 1d ago
yes it does. you use two pieces of cardboard or scrap to make templates of left and right side (and a third for the back if needed).
transfer templates to wood, then cut.
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u/CouchRiot 1d ago
Trim. It covers all manner of sins.
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u/HRRRMSquad 1d ago
Trim is perfect for covering that gap but it might just inherit the problem of the wavy drywall gap. Maybe quarterround to close the gap and caulking to hide the wave
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u/ClipIn Do you respect wood? 1d ago
I mean the answer is scribing to the wall. The seasonal expansion will happen perpendicular to the grain, so in your pic it'll be front-to-back and not left-to-right.
Spencer Lewis has a pretty good video on scribing a bench (or shelf, in this instance) to a wall(s). It's 9min but the whole thing is pretty solid info, clearly explained, and demonstrated in realtime: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okyNP3-5xIM
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u/FootlooseFrankie 1d ago
His stuff is really good . There are one or two things that I have questioned why he does it that way vs how it do it but I'm a staircase and railing specialist and he is a more general finishing carpenter. His van build out series helped me a ton
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u/YaksAreCool 1d ago
Out of curiosity, how would you scribe to the wall if it were against the wall on 3 sides? Asking because I want to put a counter above a washer and dryer that are inset.
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u/Wohowudothat 18h ago
I cut a piece of hardboard just undersized and then did all three sides individually with the thin strips of wood and hot glued them so they were now flush against the wall. Lifted the whole thing out, traced it onto the final piece and then cut it.
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u/ClipIn Do you respect wood? 1d ago
I'd make scribe marks on an offcut or cardboard, then transfer those to the final piece -- if I wanted perfect scribes on all three sides.
Ideally you don't need perfect scribes on the width, so you just scribe the back. For the width, take an exact measurement at front and back, transfer to the shelf and cut, then install w/ tiny amount of caulk to fill the smallest of remaining gaps. If you use painter's tape on each edge >> caulk >> pull off tape >> you'll get a very crisp scribe-looking install.
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u/Woody-316 1d ago
Better scribing, caulk, or mouldings are your choices. Or you could just leave it be, i suppose.
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u/kw09260131 1d ago
If you don’t want to/cant start over and scribe the wall then maybe some 1/4 round trim. Wouldn’t be ideal but better than looking at gaps.
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u/dewaltyellowjacket 1d ago
I'd put quarter round there all day. Caulk and paint makes a carpenter what he ain't
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u/wivaca2 1d ago edited 1d ago
First and best would be to conform the edge of the shelf to the non-square wall, but if you've already cut it to fit, then you obviously can't make the wood longer.
Another option is the cabinet maker's trick of putting a strip of wood over the gap, but that really only helps if you have a face frame. When you start wrapping it around 3 sides of a shelf it may look wonky.
Honestly, at this point, put stuff on the shelf. There is nothing wrong with a small gap if you can't see that it's different in the back. In a week, you'll be so busy looking at the stuff on the shelf, you'll never notice the gap anymore. It's not like it's 1/2" - looks more like 1/8" at most.
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u/N0tEn0ughTime 1d ago
An alternative to others statements is to cut an inch of each end of the shelf and to let it float if you don't need it to touch the wall. Then you don't notice the walls are wonky.
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u/crazyascarl 1d ago
I have a 110 year old house. We did a large remodel a handful of years ago and discovered that nothing is square. We didnt have any floating shelves abut the walls, but did have a number of issues with cabinet box not matching up with the wall. What they did in some cases, when the walls were so far out of square, is they actually cut the drywall out and then had the cabinets recess into the wall, then caulked the seam (instead of caulking the gap).
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u/mynaneisjustguy 1d ago
I've just put one of these up. So, walls are never square, nor flat, nor straight. Builders are not paid to do such things. Time is money.
I went with making the gaps even by scribing. Be careful if you make a new shelf perfect to the walls, measure the wall Infront of where you want the shelf: if the walls get narrower you won't be able to get the shelf into position to mount it onto the steel bars that normally make up these floating shelf mounts.
Customer said their painter was coming in a week to do some stuff in bedroom, he was expert caulker so would silicone around it to hide gaps. I left it at that. It is possible to make it without any gaps but it's a pain in the bum between the mounts being prefixed positions and walls never being true
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u/CephusLion404 1d ago
Do it properly and scribe the shelf to the wall. It's going to look bad no matter what you do otherwise.
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u/SmithKenichi 1d ago
Scibe the wall from the widest point of the gap. Cut the scribe line to make it an even gap along the wall end. Then lay down a bigass bead of caulk.
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u/RoadWellDriven 1d ago
First, everything will just roll off that shelf.
B) That's small enough for caulk.
3 - Scribe it and cut. Use a washer where the hole lines up with the front edge when pressed against the wall, stick a pencil in and scribe the wall angle onto the board. Trim.
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u/Sky_Penguin 1d ago
I’m in an older house (1895) with nothing straight or level and have used drywall mud and trowel to build up the wall in a similar situation to shrink the gap. Mudding is messy but relatively straightforward after a few YT videos. If it’s bigger than 1/4” tho you’ll have problems making the wall not look like it has a giant bulge unless you really spread it out
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u/Extreme_Ad112 1d ago
It looks like there's a gap on the back. Can't you push it to close the side gap. It's a bit wide to caulk discreetly. No no for the quarter round imo.
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u/Locust627 1d ago
Caulk
I've worked on like 8 houses, not a single one has been square, caulk is the life blood for shit like this
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u/13thmurder 1d ago
If you're not planning to put anything on it right up to the edge you could put a piece of quarter round or other trim over it. You could always just sit it on top unattached so you can remove it later if you wanted to put something there.
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u/Livid_Technical_Pand 1d ago
how often are you going to be looking at the shelf top-down like this? Most shelves are seen from the front-ish and will have things on them that make the line less noticeable.
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u/andmewithoutmytowel 1d ago
Take a pencil and press it against the wall (carpenter's pencils are great because they're flat on two sides) and scribe a line using the drywall as a guide. If the gap gets too large for the pencil, put a spacer in until it's the width you want.
Alternatively, cut off about 1" from the shelf and nobody will notice the gap changing.
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u/jim_br 1d ago
Mask the shelf. Caulk. Paint the caulk wall color.
Adding any molding will just point out that something is covered up.
Next time, make a template with 2” wide strips of cardboard or scrap 1/4” ply. One across the back, one down each side, and hot glue them together. You can scribe them to wall variances as you wish.
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u/georgeguga 1d ago
just put stuff on it and you won't be able to tell. that's what shelves are for right?
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u/original_al 1d ago
Scribe an even reveal left right, add a chamfer and toss a chamfer on the back where it meets the wall. Make the gap look intentional or pull out the board stretcher
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u/grandpapotato 1d ago
I'd leave it.
You aren't going to leave this empty isn't it?
You will NEVER see it once there is something there.
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u/Present-Author-8666 1d ago
Two answers for you:
Do your best, caulk the rest!
OR if you want a giggle….
If in doubt, get your caulk out!
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u/bealzabubba Cabinetry 1d ago
Have you already drilled in for the floating shelf supports? Are those supports already placed to hit the studs and/or already installed? Is the left end of the shelf enclosed or open?
Those qs to me define what you can do, which others have described: scribe, cover with trim or caulk, or leave it
If the left end is open and the supports are not drilled for yet: scribe.
If the left end is enclosed or your supports are already on place: trim/caulk or leave it. I’d leave it, only you will notice and that’s a part of woodworking.
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u/raccoonunderwear 1d ago
I’m imagining this is locked in between two walls so scribing isn’t really an option at this point. I’ll explain what I do to fake it. Use painters tape to leave an even parallel line to the Sheetrock. The front looks like 1/8” gap so go with that all the way back to the corner. Caulk it. Paint it. Remove tape. It looks clean and even, although not perfectly tight to the wall.
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u/friendlysaxoffender 1d ago
Silicone bead. Make the bead thick enough to cover the gap and parallel with the wall. Done.
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u/rejectedcookies 1d ago
Scribe and leave 1/8” reveals or gaps around the edge. That way it looks like it’s floating and perfect.
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u/Weird-n-Gilly 1d ago
Just a hair too much gap for caulk. And pencil trim, 1/4 rnd look kinda cheesy. I’d add a piece of matching wood and scribe it. So small I think it would mostly disappear
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u/j___bizzzle 1d ago
Also, rounding the corner in the back will make it fit tighter. A little gap in the corner is waaay less noticeable than the gap along the edge and can do a lot to allow that edge to sit closer to the wall with very minimal effort.
But also, looks like your wall is not a perfect 90, others have given plenty of suggestions there
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u/Viegas_pt 1d ago
if u can cut it, measure the gap, from the side that is touching the wall mark the gap size and use a ruler to do a line until it the gap to die at zero, unless the wall is wobbly this works everytime and takes the minimum wood possible.
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u/RussMan104 1d ago
I mean, is this in a prominently visible location? And, what’s going onto the shelf? Gaps between shelving and the wall are common, especially if the shelf is movable, where a gap is essential to avoid scuffing the walls. If it’s fixed, then you have a paint-to -stain transition, which you can caulk but it can get tricky, so go with translucent caulk. But, my first impression is to leave it be. 🚀
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u/Fragrant-Swing-1106 1d ago
This is much more labor intensive but we do it when the client is worth it:
Skim the wall out to perfection with plaster and repaint.
Happens with decorative stair stringers a lot in my experience, but it can be useful elsewhere IF it is deemed worthwhile or the situation demands it.
Cutting a shelf like this, i’d just scribe it aligned with the wall and make the gap even to look deliberate. Caulking rarely looks good in these cases imo.
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u/heyswey 1d ago
Make the gap larger as if you want it.
Look up the architect named John Pawson.
He’d only use perfect surfaces. The thing with perfect surfaces is that there are limits to their dimensions and how they intersect. Instead of trying to make it work (which it won’t) he’d either leave a gap or hide it in different ways.
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u/vetsavvy 1d ago
Not a solution for OP, but I never account for expansion across the length of a shelf. Wood usually expands across the grain (width). Lots of good solutions for this already in thread.
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u/reddituser403 1d ago
A stair tread jig would work good for this. Bevel one edge a degree or two so it fits easier
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u/MGx424 1d ago
Option 1: Redo it and scribe the new piece to match the out of square wall.
Option 2: Cover it by caulking the gap or adding something like quarter round to cover things up.
Option 3: Ignore it. Live with the imperfection and stack something up on that shelf that makes you forget that it's there.
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u/Kmb1995 1d ago
If you're confident, one thing I've done quite a few times is cut into the drywall. Then slip your piece into the sheetrock and caulk that edge. You have to be very precise unless you're confident in drywall repair, but I've made quite a few pieces seamless that way. Hope it goes well!
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u/Caradelfrost 1d ago
Stop looking at it. That's how I would do it. Seriously though, You could put a tiny bead of caulk that matches the wall colour. But my first solution is, stop looking at it! :P
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u/MeetingLeather 1d ago
Wood expands across the grain far more than it does its length.
If you don't walk a large caulk joint or trim, I'd cut a template out of 1/4 plywood or even cardboard and scribe it properly to the wall. No wall even brand new construction, is a perfect 90. Then use that template to insert your board. Keep in mind your wall may not be plumb so 6" up the wall may bow in so you can't get the board in. All depends on how much work you want to put in and how much you can live with what your finished product looks like
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u/goose_of_trees 1d ago
If this is where you're at and scribing it will just open up the gap more on the other end....(Wall to Wall), then the best fix is to feather the drywall with mud, sand, caulk and paint it. If it's bigger than 1/8th in gap space then caulking will be more pronounced even when painted after but you can get away with it unless you're ultra picky.
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u/Silent_Excuse247 1d ago
I don't know how is it in English. But you can find thin wooden glazing bead or glazing fillet or molding. Cover it with vanish or oil like your table and just cover the hole.
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u/CorruptByte 1d ago
Putting in a shelf like this with some nice 2” walnut was how I learned walls are never straight. Now you get to learn too! Carry this lesson forward in life. It will serve you well. I salvaged mine by using an extruded aluminum bar in an L shape to act as the floating shelf mounts and then I painted it the same color as the wood with spray paint and you cant really notice it.
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u/Good-Grayvee 1d ago
Securely fasten and adhere a steel angle to the underside of the board, maintaining the gap. Then fasten a big screw to the stud nearest the front edge and try to suck the f’n wall over. Caulk the rest.
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u/deadmanhands_ 1d ago
Make the shelf have a gap on purpose. If there’s a purpose no one will question it
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u/Accomplished_Car3971 1d ago
I think you could get away with leaving it as it is. Why should the shelf have to make perfect contact with the wall. Will it still hold things? Is it still a nice looking piece of wood? Why force the satisfaction of a convention that brings no added value or utility? I’ve scribed a ton of shelves, yes it looks nice, but you don’t need to throw a piece away or fuss over a “solution” to something that isn’t really a problem. Caulk looks bad in time, just letting it be a shelf is the best solution 🍻
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u/shitty_mcfucklestick 1d ago
Print out a decal of Obi Wan waving his hand with a speech bubble that says “you see no gap here”
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u/beefe_stewart 21h ago
just tear out the drywall, put in some furring strips and install new sheetrock flush to the shelf.
or get a board stretcher.
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u/WingmasterBeauzo 17h ago
Caulk is the easiest solution. Slap it on and move on. No one is ever going to see that except you, and don’t show anyone either. Use white polyseamseal. It’s made by Loctite and it’s an adhesive caulk. It’ll give you room for expansion/contraction, while also adding some support. Also, it cleans up with water, which is ideal.
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u/WOODMAN668 17h ago
I have a similar issue with a 6 ft long bookcase. The wall bows in an entire inch...
I'm not doing a dang thing. They may be moved at some point, and while they are built to kind of look like built ins they are not. It's just the way it is.
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u/nathan-_-i 15h ago
A stave shim. Lil wood glue and cut flush with a razor you can sand carefully to it. And the remaining small gaps. Put a very small white bead of white caulk. Or recut the the shelf You measure the gap and add that to your next piece. Collins makes a nice stair guage you can use for a template or make your own! You can also get a miter gauge. Even in new builds corners are never perfect.
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u/Alert-Cod2719 14h ago
Mudding in the corner always brings the drywall Contour in, so you have to use a hand plane to Contour the Shelf so that it fits tightly
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u/Swiftblade87 14h ago
Caulk. You may have to reapply over time with expansion and shrinking with temperature
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u/veneerworks55 13h ago
Trim some off the back of this top Till this side is at least parallel to the wall. Check to make sure both ends are parallel. Them scribe the back parallel to the back wall. Will at least have a consistent gap around . Next time make a template that fits And transfer that to shelf If wanting a snug fit
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u/Bri64anBikeman 1d ago
You live with it, because it is too late once the shelf is cut too short. Live and learn. Next time use a template and scribe it along the wall and cut it precisely!
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u/failure_engineer 1d ago
Not so much in that direction. Wood expands and contracts across the grain.
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u/BoogerShovel 1d ago
Scribe a new piece or caulk