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?

On 21/04/2013 11:53, GB wrote:
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?

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:

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?...Floating_shelf



--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On 21/04/2013 11:53, GB wrote:
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?




Bookcases from IKEA?
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.

On Sun, 21 Apr 2013 11:53:02 +0100, GB
wrote:

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?

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

GB wrote:
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.

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?

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?

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

On 21/04/2013 11:53, GB wrote:
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?



http://www.woodbin.com/calcs/sagulator.htm

--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On Sun, 21 Apr 2013 11:53:02 +0100, GB wrote:

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.

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:

http://www.howhill.com/images/bookcase.jpg

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.

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

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.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On 21 Apr, 14:44, "Phil L" wrote:
GB wrote:
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.

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?

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

Jim K

In message
, Jim
K writes
On 21 Apr, 14:44, "Phil L" wrote:
GB wrote:
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.

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?

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

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.

--
Tim Lamb

GB wrote

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?

Its certainly true that real wood is a lot better than
MDF for sagging, but it costs a hell of a lot more too.

It's not clear how much you care about the appearance,
you can get real wood at a reasonable price if you are
prepared to use wooden floorboards, say 18mm thick.
But you'd need to be able to cut the tongue or groove
off the side that faces out into the room. Not clear if you
can do that, tho the supplier should be able to do that
for you if you cant.

The other approach is to just have much closer spaced
verticals and use laminate coated MDF. I do those sort
of shelves with slotted 25mm Dexion square tubing
that I weld into very shallow rectangles, normally full
floor to ceiling height and dynabolt those to the
concrete block walls. I put aluminium flat 12mm
things in the slots which are vertical and the shelves
sit on those. So its trivial to have as many verticals as
you need to stop the 12mm MDF from sagging even
with a very heavy load like in the pantry where I have
a couple of years supply of marmalade in 600ml glass
jars on that 12mm coated MDF without any sagging at all.

Looks great.

On 21/04/2013 15:33, Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Sun, 21 Apr 2013 11:53:02 +0100, GB wrote:

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.

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:

http://www.howhill.com/images/bookcase.jpg

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.

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

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.


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 .....

On 21/04/2013 19:30, Rod Speed wrote:
Any ideas?

In my last house I had loads of books and couldnt be bothered building
anything so I got a load of new bricks and used them as the vertical
supports every 3 bricks high I placed a wooden shelf and the another 3
bricks etc etc I had a bookcase about 6 feet high and 7 feet wide and
used a wedge to tilt the verticals slightly back against the wall.

What about constructing out of that metal frame stuff for shelving (hexi
something or other I think) and face it with wood, including the actual
shelves.

John Rumm writes:

On 21/04/2013 11:53, GB wrote:
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?

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:

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?...Floating_shelf

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, Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ O n e t e l . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost

GB writes:

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

Or even Argos.




--
Windmill, Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ O n e t e l . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost

On 21/04/2013 21:04, GB wrote:
On 21/04/2013 15:33, Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Sun, 21 Apr 2013 11:53:02 +0100, GB wrote:

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.

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:

http://www.howhill.com/images/bookcase.jpg

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.

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

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.


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 .....

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?



--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

John Rumm wrote:
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?

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

Theo

On 22/04/2013 09:38, Windmill wrote:
John Rumm writes:

On 21/04/2013 11:53, GB wrote:
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?

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:

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?...Floating_shelf

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.

And don't spam us...

--
Rod

On Mon, 22 Apr 2013 08:41:36 GMT, Windmill wrote:

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

Or even Argos.

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.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On 22/04/2013 10:47, Theo Markettos wrote:
John Rumm wrote:
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?

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

There you go:

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?...standing_shelf

(rather thrown together - so feel free to fix obvious broken stuff!)


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On 22/04/2013 12:24, John Rumm wrote:
On 22/04/2013 10:47, Theo Markettos wrote:
John Rumm wrote:
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?

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

There you go:

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?...standing_shelf

(rather thrown together - so feel free to fix obvious broken stuff!)


I rather like that.

--
Rod

On 21/04/2013 11:53, GB wrote:
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?


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

On 22/04/2013 11:16, polygonum wrote:
On 22/04/2013 09:38, Windmill wrote:
John Rumm writes:

On 21/04/2013 11:53, GB wrote:
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?

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:

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?...Floating_shelf

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.

And don't spam us...

Huh?


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

In article ,
Tim W wrote:
On 21/04/2013 11:53, GB wrote:
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?


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 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.


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

Tim W

--
From KT24

Using a RISC OS computer running v5.18

On 22/04/2013 14:26, John Rumm wrote:
On 22/04/2013 11:16, polygonum wrote:
On 22/04/2013 09:38, Windmill wrote:
John Rumm writes:

On 21/04/2013 11:53, GB wrote:
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?

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:

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?...Floating_shelf

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.

And don't spam us...

Huh?


Spur people spam us, sorry if my brevity made it look as if I were
complaining about someone here now.

--
Rod

On 22/04/2013 17:54, polygonum wrote:
On 22/04/2013 14:26, John Rumm wrote:
On 22/04/2013 11:16, polygonum wrote:
On 22/04/2013 09:38, Windmill wrote:
John Rumm writes:

On 21/04/2013 11:53, GB wrote:
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?

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:

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?...Floating_shelf

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.

And don't spam us...

Huh?


Spur people spam us, sorry if my brevity made it look as if I were
complaining about someone here now.

Ah, ok... yup was trying to work out how "nicer looking" comments
counted as spam ;-)


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

polygonum writes:

On 22/04/2013 09:38, Windmill wrote:
John Rumm writes:

On 21/04/2013 11:53, GB wrote:
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?

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:

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?...Floating_shelf

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.

And don't spam us...

Huh ? Are you saying I should have trimmed more? Shouldn't have
mentioned a manufacturer's name? What spam??



--
Windmill, Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ O n e t e l . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost

On Sunday, April 21, 2013 11:53:02 AM UTC+1, GB wrote:

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

Unchopped firewood has its uses. If you can use intermediate verticals to divide the shelf lengths up then it might be doable. A debarked front edge certainly adds character. But you'd need a big saw, which can of course do many other projects.


NT

On Sunday, April 21, 2013 3:33:04 PM UTC+1, Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Sun, 21 Apr 2013 11:53:02 +0100, GB wrote:



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.



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:



http://www.howhill.com/images/bookcase.jpg



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.



I'm thinking of just painting them gloss white, although I might

compromise with a laminate finish.



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?

??
The traditional white glossed shelves with cupboards at the bottom either side of a fireplace have been popular for years, and I've never heard of books sticking to them.
Agreed it can take a long time for the paint to harden though, especially if its put on thick.
Is oil-based eggshell the same ?
Simon.

On 23/04/2013 06:49, Windmill wrote:
polygonum writes:

And don't spam us...

Huh ? Are you saying I should have trimmed more? Shouldn't have
mentioned a manufacturer's name? What spam??



The company wot now flogs Sp*r shelving has repeatedly spammed this group.

I should have put something like "And, unlike the Sp*r company which has
a history of spamming here, they do not spam us."

--
Rod