Bookcase help required please

[Dan Griffin]

Good morning all.

 

I require some help regarding strengthening some bookshelves.

 

I have bought two of the B&Q Darwin bookcases. these are the size I need, however as many on here will appreciate, railway books, in bulk are not the lightest of items! I did fill the shelves as you can see in the picture, just to make sure there was enough space, (just!). the shelves are finished in grey oak but I believe them to be chipboard underneath.

 

Is there an easy way to reinforce these shelves so they will stand the weight of the books?

 

I was thinking of using angled metal screwed under each shelf to keep it straight.

 

or alternatively, adding extra supports under each shelf from the bottom up.

 

I do like the cases and its nice to finally have somewhere for all my railway books, I haven't the extra funds to start purchasing new wood for shelves and plus they then wont match the grey oak finish.

 

any help would be great.

 

Many thanks

 

Apologies for the poor quality picture, it was taken on an iPhone

[Stubby47]

You could fit individual angle brackets to the back of each shelf area, centrally so it supports the middle of the shelf above.

 

You might need a piece of 2x1vertically behind the back board for added strength.

[enginelane]

You could fit individual angle brackets to the back of each shelf area, centrally so it supports the middle of the shelf above.

You might need a piece of 2x1vertically behind the back board for added strength.

2 X 1 will be a cheaper option as you will need a lot of brackets and screws that could end up being a significant cost to the overall proj ct

[teaky]

If you use metal angles the straightening effect will be dependent on the screws holding the metal angles to the shelves.  Over time the grip may weaken.

 

Stubby's suggestion would work, with either softwood posts or perhaps a complete back panel.

 

A simple option would be to purchase some melamine faced chipboard (mfc) panels and fit one or two pieces vertically beneath each shelf.  You would lose the ability to adjust the shelf heights unless you cut/replaced these supports but that may not matter.  If you cannot find panels in matching grey they could be white or painted in a contrasting colour.  I would opt for supports slightly shallower that the shelves rather than exactly the same depth.

 

Alternatively, you could return the shelves to B&Q since they are not able to support books (surely a necessary feature of a bookshelf?) and buy something stronger.  I made the same mistake years ago.  I have a budget shelf unit from Argos which bows slightly under the weight of paperbacks!  I kept it because it fits neatly behind a door.  Most of my railway books and magazines sit in an IKEA unit (similar to their current Kallax range) which has 335mm square openings.  This may even be cheaper than B&Q plus extra mfc panels.

[Chrom]

My bookcases have the same problem - chipboard. Thankfully this one as 2cm thick shelves and are reversible so once in awhile I turn them over to swap the centre dip. Another one I have is fixed and apart from completely rebuilding it, I have learnt to live with it. The only answer is to find a very old and expensive pre-chipboard unit.

[jamie92208]

The metal angle iron sounds like a good solution.  Aluminium would be nearly the colour of grey oak.  If you do go down that road it would be worth going to a large aluminium stockist (We have Service Metals nearby) and buying a couple of 6m lengths to chop up.  It's a lot cheaper than paying  B & Q prices.   I used that method to get the angle stock I needed for some cassettes.  The other advantage of metal angle is that it wouldn't need to be as deep so wouldn't obstruct the books.  I suspect that 3'4" angle would do the job.

 

 

Jamie

[kevinlms]

Are the selves fixed or adjustable? They do look to be fixed since the spacing is even. Whatever method you use to strengthen it, will probably mean the loss of adjustable spacing.

 

On one of my bookcases, mostly due to its length (1.2metres) I ended up strengthening the shelves with 2X1 pine mounted vertically, screwed in from the top of the shelf. It doesn't bow any more, even with a full complement of Railway Modellers, on one shelf!

[chris p bacon]

The problem with these sort of bookcases is that the material used cant support the amount of books the shelf can carry.  There are to me 2 simple options.

 

1 -  take a picture and return them as not fit for purpose and try and get your money back. You can then make your own from some timber.

 

2 - Use some 2x1 on edge under each shelf to stiffen them, paint it grey to blend in.

 

The shelves I use for books utilise some Spur(type) shelving so I can adjust the height of each shelf with a bracket, the shelves are 20mm pine boards and are just odd widths as the shelf bracket supports them, admittedly it's in the railway room so doesn't need to be pretty just functional, but it can take more weight than I can physically fit on it.

[brigo]

I know it's no help for the OP, but anyone looking for new bookcases I would suggest the Billy range from Ikea, especially the 600mm wide ones. I have had mine for over 15 years, never reversed the shelves and even on a shelf laden with magazines the sag is hardly noticable, maybe 2mm.

 

Brian

[edcayton]

Turn the shelves upside down. Load the bigger books at the ends and the smaller ones in the middle. Be careful with metal strengthening that it doesn't damage the books. Some 2x1 or similar screwed and glued to the front of the shelf can be stained/painted to match or contrast with the shelves.

 

Ed

[teaky]

The more I think about this Dan, the more I feel you should return the shelves to B&Q.  A bookcase should be strong enough to hold books and shelves should support books from one end to the other without sagging.  In your case, they cannot even argue that it was only designed for lighter books (e.g. paperbacks) since the shelves are too deep.

 

No matter which solution you choose to "fix" your shelves I believe you will feel dissatisfied over time and it is additional time and money too.  If you are going to the trouble of strengthening the shelves you might as well build your own bookcase.

 

Chris P Bacon's suggestion is the strongest though perhaps not aesthetically pleasing for your location.  My IKEA Kallix solution (over ten years old now) works because the unsupported shelf widths are short.  Brigo's IKEA Billy solution is unlikely to let you down - I don't own any Billy shelves but IKEA have been selling them for decades and they are very popular.

[The Stationmaster]

Chris P Bacon's idea is the best apart from that of using brackets.  The basic problem is that chipboard is no use for bookcase shelving as it gradually deflects under weight (i.e. books).  Simply fixing something into the back edge won't be effective as it won't take the weight and the fixings will gradually pull out.

 

So you need either brackets, securely fixed to the wall where it is solid or to studding on the wall in order to spread the load (and not fixed with any sort of hollow wall anchor).  Or you go the other suggested course and fix 2x1 (or preferably deeper at the back) along the bottom edge of each shelf.  Another alternative is to fit solid dividers about as wide as the shelves are deep in the middle of each shelf from top to bottom (and down to the floor) so you reduce the unsupported shelf length - but you lose shelf capacity of course

 

Some of my bookshelves are solid oak and even they are defecting a little after 7 years carrying not particularly heavy books whereas the shelves I built myself haven't moved at all - they use a bracket system attached to uprights fixed to the wall which allows shelf height to be set wherever you want it - with the uprights fixed to the studding of a stud wall and pine shelves which are only a tad thicker than your shelves and some of them are carrying a considerable amount of weight.  Not the cheapest way of doing it although most of the brackets had been recovered from two separate lots of shelves I'd built in our old house so the costs had been spread over several years before I built this lot in our present house -

 

 

[kevinlms]

I know it's no help for the OP, but anyone looking for new bookcases I would suggest the Billy range from Ikea, especially the 600mm wide ones. I have had mine for over 15 years, never reversed the shelves and even on a shelf laden with magazines the sag is hardly noticable, maybe 2mm.

 

Brian

Unless your an idiot like me & purchased bookshelves much wider than that. As I stated earlier, one is 1.2Metres wide & definitely needed reinforcing. The wide one seemed a good idea in the shop (not IKEA).

[chris p bacon]

DSCF0044.jpg

 

DSCF0046b.jpg

Oh to kneel before the altar to the God Spur, there is no other saviour 

[The Stationmaster]

Oh to kneel before the altar to the God Spur, there is no other saviour 

 

Definitely the quality one in my experience of such things  (which is presumably why the D-I-Y sheds seemed to stop selling it)

[Ian J.]

...Another alternative is to fit solid dividers about as wide as the shelves are deep in the middle of each shelf from top to bottom (and down to the floor) so you reduce the unsupported shelf length - but you lose shelf capacity of course...

 

I vote for this, as long as you can find some suitably coloured half inch shelving board, but my modification would be that the shelving board is in width only about half that as the shelf is deep, and that you can cut it accurately enough for the height of each shelf. You put them towards the back of the shelf, half way along each shelf, and on every shelf to the floor so each support rests on the one below. You'll only lose one or two books worth of space on each shelf, but it'll look so much better. I'm half (only half*) surprised that these bookshelf manufacturers don't provide such supports in their bookcase packs.

 

*only half because I'm pretty sure that they don't include such things in order to keep the cost down.

[caradoc]

I agree absolutely re the Ikea Billy range, I have used these for many years without problem. They are available in a wide range of sizes, and in several different finishes, although your proximity to an Ikea store could be an issue.

[admiles]

I know it's no help for the OP, but anyone looking for new bookcases I would suggest the Billy range from Ikea, especially the 600mm wide ones. I have had mine for over 15 years, never reversed the shelves and even on a shelf laden with magazines the sag is hardly noticable, maybe 2mm.

 

Brian

Agreed they are a decent quality despite the low price. Fairly sure they rather bizarrely don't do the 600mm wide ones any more though. Only 400mm or 800mm from memory.

[Tim V]

You could cut every shelf in half. If you look you have four uprights. You only need to find one new upright - may be able to match that quite well.

[Zero Gravitas]

I agree absolutely re the Ikea Billy range, I have used these for many years without problem. They are available in a wide range of sizes, and in several different finishes, although your proximity to an Ikea store could be an issue.

Bought my first Billy in 1992. Still in my office (all right, the spare room) today. No discernible shelf sag in all that time.

[edcayton]

Ikea use a different board from chipboard, and it is thicker. FWIW I've used reclaimed kitchen worktops for my train books, on Spur brackets. Ripping down the centre line of a 600 mm top gives two good shelves.

 

I would be careful putting these on partition walls because they soon become very heavy and, even if your wall is strong there may be nothing propping it up from underneath.

 

Ed