If the footprint of the base where it meets the floor is also 32" x
12.5" in order for it to tip to a first approximation the doors must
weigh at least as much as the rest of the bookcase. This seems
unlikely. How far back from the front of the bookcase are the feet?

I have many bookcases in my homes and none are bolted to the wall.

RB

Lily Fern wrote:
Hello everyone,

As a 30th wedding anniversary present, we bought a bookcase. We went
to a furniture store that does custom building using various
components and options...we have absolutely no experience in this so
we relied on the owner's expertise as to dimensions, etc.

The bookcase is maple, 32" Wx80"Hx12.5" deep. It has one set of glass
doors measuring 60" high which come up to about 64". The top shelf is
therefore fixed and open. There are 3 moveable shelves. We wanted it
deeper to accomodate some atlases but were advised against wasting the
space and additional expense for a couple of volumes which could
reside on the top open shelf. So, at the owner's recommendation, we
went with 12.5" deep.

It's very unstable! Even with heavy books on the bottom shelf, it
will tip forward when the 2 doors are opened. I called the furniture
store and was told that the bookcase is not deep enough to support its
height with those doors, and that I must bolt it to the wall. I was
told this is a common practice and that surely, I understood this
before I ordered it. Unfortunately, it never even occurred to me that
a bookcase couldn't stand on its own four feet, and we're not in an
earthquake prone area so it's not something we think about. If we
have to bolt it to a wall, we can't put it in the room where we want
it.

Am I just terribly dim? Does everybody but me know that you have to
bolt bookcases to walls, and therefore, the owner had no reason to
mention this fact to me? Would it be adequately stable if the depth
were greater, or is it a hopeless cause?

I appreciate any input you have to offer. thanks,
Lily