Jag talar inte Ikea.

December 15, 2019 10:51 AM

I don't understand this information about a wall-mounted shelf from Ikea. It gives the maximum weight per shelf, then says this: "Max. load refers to the max. weight before the shelf is risking to slant. Distribute the weight evenly on the shelf to avoid the risk of slanting."

The same phrasing is used for several different wall shelves. What does "the shelf is risking to slant" mean? Does "risking to" mean that there's a risk? To me that sounds different in severity from a "maximum weight," which sounds serious. What potential consequence is meant by "slant?" Do they mean it may sag in the middle? Do they mean that it may pull out of the wall? Do they mean it may slant like a teeter-totter on one of the supports as an axis, and dump everything off at one end? Do they mean the front edge will slant downwards and dump everything off all along the shelf?

posted by SandiBeech to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

I THINK it's (poorly) trying to say that there's a maximum weight, but you can't put all of the maximum weight on one side? I'd imagine if you did that, that one side might pull away from the wall and that side's front edge will slant downwards.
posted by Weeping_angel at 10:54 AM on December 15, 2019 [2 favorites]

The full description says, as the OP probably saw, “Max. load refers to the max. weight before the shelf is risking to slant. Distribute the weight evenly on the shelf to avoid the risk of slanting.” Based on my experience, there is more than a risk of slanting. I had an IKEA shelf pull off a wall once courtesy of inadequate anchors in the Sheetrock wall and massively uneven weight distribution on the shelf.
posted by Bella Donna at 11:01 AM on December 15, 2019

FYI: Not the shelf in question but I think the principal, er, holds even so. Good luck!
posted by Bella Donna at 11:02 AM on December 15, 2019 [1 favorite]

I think they mean slant forward, since it would be unlikely (impossible, really) for the shelf to slant to one side.

So if you're putting small heavy objects on it, don't put it all towards the front.
posted by jonathanhughes at 11:25 AM on December 15, 2019

I'm pretty sure this means that if you place the maximum load on a correctly mounted shelf, evenly distributed, it is fairly likely (ie risky) to eventually start slanting away from the wall. No idea what the actual chance is, they probably tested it and found a break point then lowered the load a bit to account for variance. If you're close to that weight make sure you anchor it correctly and place items against the wall
posted by JZig at 12:17 PM on December 15, 2019

I had a look at the German version as it may be closer to the presumed original Swedish and it talks about "verbiegen" (bend) rather than slant. It translates as:
“Max. Load refers to the limit up to which a shelf can be loaded without the risk of it sagging. Pay attention to even weight distribution on the wall shelf to avoid bending."
posted by scorbet at 3:35 PM on December 15, 2019 [2 favorites]

The Google translate of the Swedish is similar to the German (I don’t speak Swedish, so can’t verify its accuracy.)
“Max. load refers to max. the weight before the shelf risks being bent. Distribute the weight evenly on the shelf to avoid the risk of bending”
posted by scorbet at 3:40 PM on December 15, 2019

Best answer: Risking to = at risk of.

The swedish text is Max. belastning avser max. vikten innan hyllan riskerar att böjas. Fördela vikten jämnt på hyllan för att undvika risk för böjning.

That actually means bending, in this context yes, sagging.
The “arm” of the shelf is wooden brace and shouldn’t tilt forward if correctly anchored to the wall, but if you don’t space your “arms” well the shelf may sag it says.
posted by Iteki at 4:03 PM on December 15, 2019 [3 favorites]