Bookshelves

[GB]

I want to build some bookshelves. What's a good material to use for the shelves themselves - around 30 cms deep?

I know this sounds like a daft question, but I want it to be reasonably cost-effective as the finished shelves will be 2.7m high by 3.2m long. At say 11 shelves x 3.2m, that's an awful lot of material (35 linear metres) to purchase just for the shelves, without any uprights.

I'm thinking of just painting them gloss white, although I might compromise with a laminate finish.

We've got lots and lots of books lying around the house to load onto it, so it needs to be pretty strong. I was thinking that MDF isn't that strong or would need a lot of support to avoid sagging.

Any ideas?

[Owain]

Sagulator suggests 25mm MDF with 12x25mm parana pine lipping will be adequate.

Although if you have a back to your bookcase you will presumably be able to have intermediate support to the shelves rather than just at each end?

Owain

[John Rumm]

Last time I wanted some cheap and reasonably "chunky" looking shelves, I went to the local wood place and bought some window boards. These are designed for internal windowsills, and are about 1" thick with a bullnosed leading edge...

A cheaper way is to get some sheet material of some sort (ply / MDF), cut it to just under the full depth front to back, and then stick a lipping on the front (glue and biscuit or brad nail). You can make the lipping much thicker than the shelf (just align with the top surface) to give it more visual weight, and also to reduce sagging.

Full width support along the wall will also eliminate sagging. If you don't want that to be visible, then make it from stock half the shelf thickness, and screw it to the wall, then rebate the back of the underside of the shelf so that it ends up covering the support completely. As in this description:

[Roger Mills]

Bookcases from IKEA?

[Nick Odell]

I like timber book cases. That's what I've got. But as you say, the materials cost an arm and a leg.

Our music library uses an industrial steel-framed system and, as you can imagine, the weight of music scores and parts is the equivalent of placing all the heaviest of books on all shelves so I'm impressed with the sturdiness of the shelves.

The actual shelves are made from a rectangular frame of 2x1 laminated top and bottom with hardboard and with a snake of cardboard in the middle to do what the honeycomb does in cheap doors. Cheap, light, and very strong because of the laminations and if you are planning to paint them, ideal, I would have thought.

I still prefer wood.

Nick

[Phil L]

The shelves will only be 30cm apart if you use 11 of them (the top and bottom are two, then 9 shelves at 30cm centres equals 270cm) is 30cm (1ft) tall enough for all the books?

this sounds way too big to be skimping on materials, are you sure it needs to be so big? it sounds like it's going to cover an entire wall, also, painting it will be a laborious task, maybe better to lay out a little more on the timber and stain each plank before assembly

[The Medway Handyman]

[Dave Liquorice]

That's BIG, as just plain shelves all the same depth it will look flat/boring and dominate the room it is in. Do you really mean 2.7 m high? that's nearly 9' most ceilings are 8', lower in rabbit hutches...

Firstly take a look at the books you want to put on the shelves, it's a big book that needs a 30 cm deep shelf. Paper backs are happy on 18 cm or a bit less. Then see if you can have some deep shelves for the big books and shallower ones for the smaller, place the deep shelves at the bottom and the narrower ones at the top.

Break up the 3.2 m run with verticals say on the 1/3rds, this will also provide support. You are already appear aware that that amount of books will be HEAVY. We had this made in Ash:

2.3 m high 2.8 m wide. Upper shelves are 17 cm deep, lower ones 22 cm, central section designed for CD's. Note how the verticals curve back with the narrower shelves, "lightens" the look a great deal.

Oil based gloss white never dries completely, I'd be wary of the books sinking/sticking to it. Water based might be different but why gloss?

I'm another who likes wood though.

[Jim K]

28cm if you allow something for the thickness of each shelf...

Jim K

[Tim Lamb]

I use 18mm blockboard faced with alder (I think) The visible edge is finished with a decorative hardwood strip. One benefit of this is that you can mitre the visible joints and hide structural halving.

[GB]

Thanks to everyone for their input.

The dimensions are correct - old house with tall ceilings - but I'll think about how many shelves to put in and how close together.

We have a lot of paperbacks, and they can generally go two deep on 30 cm shelves.

We used silk finish instead of gloss for all the doors, so I guess that makes sense for the shelves. I hadn't realised that oil-based paints never set, and we don't want the books sticking to the shelves. The room already has white shelves in there, so white seems sensible, but I'll check out melamine faced MDF.

I should have said that I was thinking of uprights at 60-80 cms intervals.

Ikea may be a hell of a lot less work .....

[Windmill]

Clever, and a lot cheaper than the Spur metal shelf brackets I used long ago to provide support for MDF shelves for my vast junk collection.

And nicer looking.

[Windmill]

Or even Argos.

[John Rumm]

There is a technique using half lap joints and some rebates for making free standing shelf units in such a way as all the bits just slot together - and don't require fixings. Hence you can finish everything when flat, and then just build in situ. The stuff also knocks down again easily. Fairly quick and easy to build as well if you have a router or a saw with a dado blade. I can draw you a diagram for the wiki if its of interest?

[Theo Markettos]

I'm not the OP, but I'd be interested in that.

Theo

[polygonum]

And don't spam us...

[Dave Liquorice]

Argos really cheap and no chance to examine before purchase. But if decent suitable flat pack stuff can be found and examined it will be a lot less work than building and finishing from scratch.

[Tim W]

Last year I looked in Ikea and found a plain white bookcase which would fit my alcove for £30. Mrs W said 'Can't you make one?' so I did. Cost of materials (Softwood panels and paint)was £120. Madness.

As a young man I did a lot of custom library fitting, so a couple of other comments:

300mm deep is way too much. There is no standard size but 220 deep is ample for hardbacks excluding art books and atlases, 160 deep for paperbacks. It will make a lot of difference to your materials tally.

If you have to paint, use a roller, with a brush to smooth the front edge.

Tim W

[John Rumm]

Huh?

[charles]

If you want to keep folders (mine hold music) then you ned more than 220mm. My main bookcase has shelves 240mm deep and the folders just overhang. not very neat.