building a book shelf

[Jack]

I need a book shelf, but the ones in stores are so flippin' expensive, so I'm thinking about building one. Trying to, at least.

I don't need it to be fancy-looking, just a plain shelf where I can stack books. I want to build it high rather than wide because it'll be going in a dorm. Right now I have all my books in rubbermaid containers and they're hard to get to if I need one, plus I think they'd just look better on a proper shelf.

However, I am not good with this kind of stuff, so I am wondering if anybody has any tips for me? I can borrow a nail gun and a hand saw, so I don't need to rent those.

[Cynth]

I used to use cement blocks and boards. I guess the boards were cut at the lumber yard. All you have to do is haul stuff. It's pretty cheap, or it was. And you can take it apart. Not sure how high I would want to put cement blocks though, that could be dangerous if they should fall.

[Jack]

Wow, that is such a simple idea. I had never thought of that! Thanks!

[Jerry Freeman]

Instead of cement blocks, which are very heavy, you might consider using those plastic milk crate style containers sold at K-Mart and other such places. We've found them at times for $.99 each on sale.

Best wishes,
Jerry

[Jack]

Instead of cement blocks, which are very heavy, you might consider using those plastic milk crate style containers sold at K-Mart and other such places. We've found them at times for $.99 each on sale.

Best wishes,
Jerry

Thanks! I didn't even realise that you could buy those in stores. I thought only places like schools got them with milk in them.

[aderyn_du]

Milk crates were always my fave solution for the old I'm-broke-and-need-a-place-to-put-my-books dilemma. I still have some of the crates actually....though they no longer sit in my living room, as they used to.

I was never so cool as to have the cinder blocks and boards bookshelves. I always wanted to though-- does that count??

[BillChin]

Another idea is to look for a used set of shelves. Also many stores have relatively inexpensive shelves, some made of metal, some plastic. Wood ones tend to be more money. The metal ones designed for garage storage space are usually the cheapest and can be found at a variety of stores including Home Depot, Lowes, Osh, Target. Milk crates have the advantage of being self packing for the inevitable moving times.

[Jack]

Thanks for the good ideas, everybody!

[Cynth]

Definitely go with plastic milk crates. They didn't have those when I was in college. Cement blocks are extremely heavy!!!!!

[Jack]

Definitely go with plastic milk crates. They didn't have those when I was in college. Cement blocks are extremely heavy!!!!!

What did they deliver milk in?

[Cynth]

Well, I'm not really sure. When I was little there was a milkman and glass bottles and metal bins. When cartons came along and when there were no longer milkmen I don't really remember seeing what the cartons were shipped in. Probably plastic milk crates.

I'm not really sure when home delivery of milk stopped or why. I'll have to look into that sometime.

[Walden]

My dad and grandfathers usually just made them with wood. It's not a difficult task to assemble a 4-sided wooden box, and nail shelves inside from end to end. You can have the lumber cut to size at the lumber yard, as was already suggested, and all the assembly is at 90 degree angles. You can stain or varnish it, afterward. The assemble-yourself shelves, and furniture in general, at discount stores is pretty useless for practical purposes and will not hold up, and this doesn't just apply to the particle board with a woodgrain finish (the "Con-Tac Paper look").

[s1m0n]

I'd go to used furniture or "antique" stores on the east side of town (they're always on the east side) and see what you can find. There is a *lot* or old wooden furniture out there that's as sound as a bell, as beat up as it's ever gonna get, and dirt cheap. It'll cost less than the equivallent piece in insta-crumble melamine and last forever.

Don't buy anything that's not solid wood, but if you're at all in an eastern city you can probably find old oak office furniture from the forties which will cost you less than the equivallent in pine boards from a lumberyard.

Most cities have a surplus office furniture outlet somewhere, if you can find it, as well.

I'm typing this on a lovely 2 drawer solid oak library table that I got for fifty bucks canadian, for instance.

[Martin Milner]

I got confused by the American terminology again!

In the UK, a bookshelf is attached to a wall, while a bookcase is a piece of furniture for putting books in, usually standing next to a wall but not attached to it.

Cran, is this for your room at college/university? They usually provide some shelves for books in UK student rooms, though not enough for most students' needs.

The usual UK solution, if you're not handy at carpentry, and funds are short, is to buy a self-assembly unit at IKEA or Argos. One benefit is that they're usually easy enough to disassemble again when you need to move out.

[Lambchop]

I got confused by the American terminology again!

In the UK, a bookshelf is attached to a wall, while a bookcase is a piece of furniture for putting books in, usually standing next to a wall but not attached to it.

A bookshelf is always a shelf or two stuck up on a wall. A bookcase is a piece of furniture which has shelves in it. A bookcase can be called a bookshelf or bookshelves, but a bookshelf on the wall can never be called a bookcase.

Cran, is this for your room at college/university? They usually provide some shelves for books in UK student rooms, though not enough for most students' needs.

Yes, the college will provide a bed, a desk, a desk chair, a closet, and bookshelves or possibly a bookcase. However, space will nearly always be extremely limited. There may be absolutely NO room for a bookcase and you may be prohibited from hanging anything on the wall, including pictures, posters, and shelves. (They will be very serious about this, too!) Or, the walls may be brick or concrete block, so that nothing can be hung on them.

You need to wait until you get there to see what you'll need.

In my first college dorm, there was no room for anything at all, except for the knee space under the desk and the bottom of my closet. It was milk crates or nothing.

The usual UK solution, if you're not handy at carpentry, and funds are short, is to buy a self-assembly unit at IKEA or Argos. One benefit is that they're usually easy enough to disassemble again when you need to move out.

That's my suggestion for here, too. Boards and bricks are really quite expensive! You want something that either folds up or comes apart.

If you're truly cramped for space, you might be able to use something that slides under a bed, even if you have to raise the bed on blocks (available at Linens and Things, etc.)

Milk crates are good, and there are several styles of them. Don't steal actual milk crates, though, as they're filthy and it's illegal.

Be careful about going for a high bookcase. They're extremely dangerous. Books are very heavy and the bookcases become unstable, particularly if they are the assemble-it-yourself kind. They shift and fall. The tallest you can safely manage are the height of bookcases you see in Office Depot or Staples, or the metal or wood shelving units you see in Home Depot. The metal ones will shift with the weight of books, though--they twist and become wobbly and eventually can fall.

The wood ones are really nice, like Martin said. They sell them for kitchens, garages, and such. Look for them on sale, but don't stack them too high.

You might be surprised to find that some departing students are selling their stuff, so you can get a nice bookcase for cheap. Another possible option, at least for a while, is to keep your books packed in decent cardboard boxes, which you can then keep in the bottom of your closet as a shelf, or even stacked as a table. You'll probably not need them out, as you're going to be too wrapped up in schoolwork to use your old books--that's the reason people go to college, after all!