Hello all,

My wife and I share a home office, which is about 15'x18', and after
moving in both our desks, two bookshelves, a futon, and a work table,
we have very little room left... or little room left on the floor area
with TONS of room left on the walls. So I was thinking of finding
either cabinets, shelving, or something I can hang on the wall so we
can move the books, CD's, and maybe even some hardware like the
printer, answering machine, etc to the wall hung shelves. If doing
this I'll definitely need something sturdy.

So with this being said, I was wondering if someone has suggestions on
a place to either buy prefab shelves and cabinets or maybe some ideas
on building my own. I'm a newbie DIY'er, so I'm still learning how to
do wood working and such, but I'd be willing to take on such a project
if lead down the right path.

Thanks for any ideas or suggestions -- or stories of you've gone down
this same road.

Sam Alex

On 3 Apr 2006 04:42:39 -0700, "Alex" wrote:

Hello all,

So with this being said, I was wondering if someone has suggestions on
a place to either buy prefab shelves and cabinets or maybe some ideas
on building my own. I'm a newbie DIY'er, so I'm still learning how to
do wood working and such, but I'd be willing to take on such a project
if lead down the right path.

My sister in law actually has a really creative solution to this
situation that I intend to apply in my own home office eventually:
slat wall shelving. A Google search will give you lots of options. I
haven't bought any myself, but when I do, I'll be buying stuff that is
already prepainted a color I want, and I'll buy both shelving brackets
and storage baskets to organize the office wall the way I want. I
like this idea because it's flexible; you can reorganize shelves and
baskets depending on your needs, and you just need to attach the
slatwall to your studs. I don't know whether this stuff will handle
cabinets, though.

Alex wrote:
Hello all,

My wife and I share a home office, which is about 15'x18', and after
moving in both our desks, two bookshelves, a futon, and a work table,
we have very little room left... or little room left on the floor area
with TONS of room left on the walls. So I was thinking of finding
either cabinets, shelving, or something I can hang on the wall so we
can move the books, CD's, and maybe even some hardware like the
printer, answering machine, etc to the wall hung shelves. If doing
this I'll definitely need something sturdy.

So with this being said, I was wondering if someone has suggestions on
a place to either buy prefab shelves and cabinets or maybe some ideas
on building my own. I'm a newbie DIY'er, so I'm still learning how to
do wood working and such, but I'd be willing to take on such a project
if lead down the right path.

Torsion boxes should work for you. Basically, they are wooden frames
with numerous cross pieces between the long pieces. The box is covered
with thin ply. Before covering one side with ply, the box is securely
mounted to the wall with fastenings through one long side. As an
alternative, you could use "french cleats" which are just a piece of ply
ripped at 45 degrees...one piece is attached to the wall, the other to
whatever you are hanging.

The thickness of the boxes kinda depends on the weight of what you are
going to put on them. For what you are talking about, I'd think a frame
made 3/4 x 1 1/2 lumber would suffice. Keep wall fastenings as close as
practical to the top so there is less levering by the payload.

Less someone think you can't put heavy stuff on something like this, let
me say that when I lived in Mexico, all water heaters - even 100 gallon
ones (800# +) - were set on a couple of pieces of 3/4" galvanized pipe
mortared into the walls.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

Okay, when I first read the subject line, I have to admit that the
comedian in me replaced an "a" with "e."

"Alex" writes:
So with this being said, I was wondering if someone has suggestions on
a place to either buy prefab shelves and cabinets or maybe some ideas
on building my own. I'm a newbie DIY'er, so I'm still learning how to
do wood working and such, but I'd be willing to take on such a project
if lead down the right path.


Your local Ace hardware or whatever will have prefinished shelving
covered in laminates that I've used several times in the past. Go to
the shelving aisle and have a look. Wood grain laminates and the
metal brackets. Get yourself a stud finding and put the brackets on
the studs and use 2.5-3" screws with a cordless drill, have a decent
sized level to make sure you're installing the brackets level, and
you're off to the races.

In addition, Ikea has a lot of reasonably priced spiffy looking
shelving products:

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/store...*10 172*10182


Best Regards,
--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/

Lowes sells unfinished wall cabinets (kitchen) that can used as you suggest.

Alternatively, wall cabinets are simple boxes of 3/4" material on four sides
with a thin (plywood or amazonite) back and a couple of doors. An excellent
first project that can be done with a table saw (and router if you want
coped panel doors).


"Alex" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello all,

My wife and I share a home office, which is about 15'x18', and after
moving in both our desks, two bookshelves, a futon, and a work table,
we have very little room left... or little room left on the floor area
with TONS of room left on the walls. So I was thinking of finding
either cabinets, shelving, or something I can hang on the wall so we
can move the books, CD's, and maybe even some hardware like the
printer, answering machine, etc to the wall hung shelves. If doing
this I'll definitely need something sturdy.

So with this being said, I was wondering if someone has suggestions on
a place to either buy prefab shelves and cabinets or maybe some ideas
on building my own. I'm a newbie DIY'er, so I'm still learning how to
do wood working and such, but I'd be willing to take on such a project
if lead down the right path.

Thanks for any ideas or suggestions -- or stories of you've gone down
this same road.

Sam Alex

"Alex" wrote in message
ups.com...
..
Sam,
One of the least expensive means of adding lots of shelves
is to use Z shelf brackets:

http://www.lehighgroup.com/crawford_sub_eezee.htm

These are very inexpensive and available at most builder
supply houses. Screw them to the wall studs and attach
1x12 lumber for the shelves. brackets can be painted and
shelves can be painted/stained. adhesive contact shelf paper
is another option for covering the boards.

if desired, the shelves can be 'hidden' by attaching hinged
doors or roll-up shades. Makes the shelves look like
cabinets. panels (wood paneling works well) can be
hinged vertically or horizontally.

Another way of 'hiding' is to use
square boxlike containers that occupy most of the shelf
to shelf space. Or miniblinds or drapes or . . . .

With hefty screws securing them
to the studs, they support a lot of weight.

You might want to install some in a utility room
or garage first, just for practice. the garage may have
exposed studs to make job easier.

lee h

Hi lwhaley,

Actually I do have these types of shelves in the bedrooms, and I
thought about following through with this same idea in the office area
too. I think 3 - 4' tracks plus 4 shelves (either 4 or 5 feet, can't
remember) was about $60. Not too bad for something that'll cover an
entire wall. This might be the ticket, but it's not exactly the look I
was aiming at. I wanted something that looked abit more elegent or
professional or more office-like. But to save myself time and money,
this might be the best option.

Thanks for the info!!

Sam Alex

Alex wrote:
Hi lwhaley,

Actually I do have these types of shelves in the bedrooms, and I
thought about following through with this same idea in the office area
too. I think 3 - 4' tracks plus 4 shelves (either 4 or 5 feet, can't
remember) was about $60. Not too bad for something that'll cover an
entire wall. This might be the ticket, but it's not exactly the look I
was aiming at. I wanted something that looked abit more elegent or
professional or more office-like. But to save myself time and money,
this might be the best option.

Thanks for the info!!

Hi Sam Alex,

You are welcome. Yep, I own lots of shelving and couldn't get by
without. I like them better than the style with diagonal bracing
(example: z-shelf) because the brace takes up too much space on the
shelf and also is much harder to move a shelf with diagonals. That
said, the diagonal bracing is a stronger design and cheaper too. The
regular standards are plenty strong for most use.

The look is a bit industrial, true. But as a space saver they just
can't be beat. If you decide to upgrade later they are easy to take
down. The main downside is that your wall will be slightly damaged
where the hardware was. It is possible to use a wooden strip with a
groove in it to accept the standard. This would protect the wall
somewhat and possibly give you a chance to pretty it up a bit.
Likewise, if you were to have some furniture quality shelves
constructed it would go a long way towards improving the appearance
issue.

Lawrence