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The floors are FINALLY done, and we are moving in to our house on Sunday.
I think one of the first projects (my wife wants me) to do is a bunch of bookshelves in the den… all around. These don’t need to be too spectacular, nothing special, just shelves, but I would like them to be fully enclosed on top/ bottom and sides (no cabinets). Can anyone point me towards some guides to how to attach them to the walls, each other, etc?
Any other advice is GREATLY appreciated.
Thanks much and cheers!
– Gary
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gary... bookcases are normally "built-ins"..
you nail cleats to the wall.. place your horizontals.. then your verticals..
then either fixed or moveable shelves..
double -faced MDO makes great paint-grade bookcases
a good rule of thumb is not to exceed 3' for a normal book shelf...
here's a pic of a set under const.....
*Make sketch, think about your lighting scheme now, and think about speaker wiring (wall plugs) from a remote stereo.IMHO, a lower cab with inset doors and upper bookcases looks real nice. I used vanity cabs with no toekick for my cabs and had the rest built in a cab shop - turned out great. I would have said 2'6" for 1x MDO but that's only because it is what I have - Mike S. has lots more experience with this than I.
*Gary,Make your shelves thick and short if you want to load them up with books.Ed.
*"These don't need to be too spectacular, nothing special, just shelves, but ..."I just hate it when they say that!It means I have to build a three thousand dollar unit for the price of something from the unfinished furniture barn.Which is where I recommend going because sometimes you can catch stuff on sale there that is not too spectacular, nothing special, just shelves, but ...
*piffino It means I have to build a three thousand dollar unit for the price of something from the unfinished furniture barn. Which is where I recommend going because sometimes you can catch stuff on sale there that is not too spectacular, nothing special, just shelves, but ... No, for just "shelves" you go to Wharehouse-R-USNice steel shelves already painted gray. So painting, no sagging.
*36" is too long for 3/4" bookshelves. I've always heard 32" is the limit, but anytime they exceeed 24" I use 4/4". Anytime they exceed 40" I put a row of support pin holes centered in the back. If these are gonna be painted you might consider using MDF instead of plywood. It's about 1/2 the price, has more consistant surface and core density, and makes stronger shelves.
*For shelves I like two pieces of 3/4" birch ply, glued together to make a 1 1/2" thick shelf.I've also used a 3/4" piece and a 1/2" piece for a 1 1/4" thick shelf.Dress up the exposed front edge with a piece of "real" wood.
*Pine is cheap, easy to work and can finish up nice. I have a free standing unit I built one afternoon a few years back, it has five foot shelves loaded with books and no sag. I used 1x10 with 1x2 edge bands glued and nailed on both sides. Another option is IKEA.
*Thanks all for the feedback! Now, if you could, tell me how much trouble I would be in for if these shelves did not go all the way to the floor. IE: they would start about 4 feet off the floor and run to the ceiling...Am I simply nuts? Is the unfinished warehouse the place for me?thanks all!- Gary
*Here's an alternative.http://www.monolithicdome.com/gallery/homes/kaslik/pictorialrr.html
*If you want to start off the floor, your unit will need to be basically a wall cabinet. You don't need doors (although glass doors may be nice later), but it needs to be a box that you can hang on the wall.Unless, or course, you get shelf brackets that you screw to the wall and place plywood shelves on them.I'm not sure I would reccomend spanning three feet with a 3/4" shelf. I'd cut it down to 2-1/2 feet or so. If you must have long spans, you can strengthen a 3/4" shelf in a number of ways. one is to double the plywood like Mongo says. Another is to add a band of hardwood to the front (adding one to the back adds even more). Another way is to fix the shelves with continuous support under the back edge and a band of hardwood along the front. If they're going to be adjustable, add a shelf standard in the back so you can support them there as well. If they're going to be fixed shelves make sure you have graduated heights -- a short shelf for paperbacks and a tall shelf for coffee table picture books.12" is deeper than you'll need for most books. I usually shoot for 11-1/2" including the face band.Hope this helps,Dan
*I'm with Jim on the spans.Matt - where do you find cheap pine suitable for shelves?
*Piffin - I got mine at Home Depot, and it needed a little sanding. As for cheap, I just meant compared to cherry, oak, or mahogany.
*One bookshelf method is to build a unit with back nailed to the shelves for additional support. 3/4" solid wood will thus hold most anything at 30" span. Alternate vertical dividers provides more pleasing effect than straight grid. A specifici above floor mounting technique is to screw ledger 1x3 (or even 2X4) to studs with 2 or more each stud >500# capable screws or lags, set bottom shelf of case on the ledger, swing up, attach right angle steel bracket at each stud (not drywall screws!)with screws thru bracket into top of cabinet capable of holding about 200# per 16" spaced studs. Nail or screw bottom shelf to ledger (drywall screws ok for this). This will easily hold 500# per lineal foot on a 4 ft high cabinet with safety margin. A free source of 14 ft. long 1X12 pine is from tubing pallets (local aerospace scrap yard) & 12 ft 1x6 oak from aluminum sheet pallets. Filled flat surface nail holes don't show with books, edge the shelves with 3/4" by 1/4" clear oak trimmings from local hardwood wholesaler scrap pile. I pronounce IKEA as icky.
*i read a thread on FWW forum the other day. a guy had made his own Coffin, then set it up for a bookcase till he NEEDED it.ask the missus for her opinion on this one!good stuff
*Here's a pic of "just shelves" i did for a philosophy prof and lawyer couple--lots o' books. The shelves span 46 1/2" in the widest section. They are made of 3/4" veneer-core AB oak ply with a solid 1 1/2" x 7/8" facing on the front edge. As you can see, no deflection in the shelves. However, the entire bookcase, once loaded, separated almost a quarter inch from the ceiling, so think about beefing up the area where all this weight will be.Can you believe they wanted adjustable shelves?
*I have four bookcases in my house made out of 1x12 clear southern yellow pine. Three have spans of 34.5 inches and a fourth has a span of 39.5 inches. They are all about 7 ft. tall. Two are loaded with books and two are loaded with tools. After more than ten years of use, there's no deflection. Years ago, I read in FWW that fixed shelves, rigidly attached, deflect one-fifth the amount of loose adjustable shelves. I set my shelves in a quarter-inch dado and used screws and yellow glue. Also, I put a quarter-inch plywood back on the bookcases and nailed one-inch brads through the back and into the shelves. I also glued the back edges of the shelves to the plywood back, a process that tended to make a mess. (It didn't matter on three of the cases because I painted them.)I would not hesitate to use this basic design for a 42-inch span. Clear yellow pine is reasonably priced here in North Carolina and I've been real happy with the way it has performed on these and many other bookcases that I've made for customers.