Full wall bookcase only for paperbacks

Hi. I want to build a shallow bookcase to line my hall - full height and as long as I want really. I have made it my mission to only collect standard paperback sizes, so it can be quite shallow and truly purpose built. I have collected heaps of demolition Rimu - a beautiful NZ timber which i will trim down and prepare. I was wondering if anyone has come across a bookcase design - solely for small paperback size?

By standard paperback, do you mean "mass-market", which, in the US, would be approx. 6.7" X 4.2" (17cm X 10.7cm). Otherwise, I don't know of a 'standard' paperback. Trade paperbacks come in a wide variety of heights and widths (depth of shelf), just like hardcovers.

I think there have been posts on this group by folks with extensive mass-market collections, so you can probably get some ideas/photos. Good luck.

Os.

Paperbacks require a minimum shelf depth of 130mm. I have used two methods that lend themselves to whole of wall solutions...

(1) Slotted steel angle and brackets design:

I use steel slotted angle vertical bars at 600 to 800mm intervals fixed to the walls. Brackets can be purchased (in sizes 110 and 140mm in my town) that fit into the slotted angle, which then support a 140mm shelf. Because the verticals bars stand 'proud' of the wall by about 20mm, the effective 'back wall to front of shelf' distance is about 160mm. Enough for a paperback. If space is at a premium, the back of the shelf could be 'notched' to coincide with the occurrence of the vertical bars, allowing the shelf to lie 'flush' with the wall. I like the gap at the back of the shelf, it doesn't affect the ability of the shelf to carry weight, it's generally not visible, and it allows me to run power leads (and speaker cable) up 'behind' the books from shelf to shelf.

By 'slotted angle' I dont mean the L shaped 'dexion' steel bars, but the C-section metal bar with the intermittent vertical slots cut into the face (usually in two parallel rows). Two 'teeth' on each bracket engage with these slots and lock in, but lift out easily if required.

Considerations:

Fixing the vertical bars to the wall. For a full height bookcase I rest the base of the vertical bar either on the floor or the skirting board. This transfers the bulk of the downward weight to the floor and means that the fixing to the wall doesn't take all the weight. If the wall is wood with plaster, I locate the timber beams inside the wall (which are usually at 600mm intervals) and screw the vertical bars through the plaster into the beams. You have to ensure that the 'slots' on all of the beams are level! If the wall is solid I use concrete/masonry plugs and screws. I have never calculated the weight of a wall of books, but it is massive. I use the longest, highest gauge screws that fit (sometimes even marine grade stainless steel). Attaching the entire weight of such a bookcase to a plaster wall with hollow wall anchors would almost certainly result in the plaster wall tearing away from the wooden or steel frame beneath. Use the usual precautions regarding electrical wiring - IF YOU ARE DOING A WHOLE OF WALL BOOKCASE YOUR CHANCE OF DRILLING OVER THE TOP OF HOUSE WIRING IS INCREASED. I turn the house power off and use batter powered drills etc, and turn back on very carefully. You don't want to attach your steel vertical bars with screws that in turn penetrate live wires - your bookcase in that case carries a deadly charge. You may need to calculate the location of powerpoints and light switches so shelves don't end up in front of them.

The slotted angle gives you considerable flexibility in setting and changing shelf height. The absence of visible 'vertical' wood elements makes each shelf appear to 'float' on the wall. As you attach each shelf the need to have the vertical slots aligned across all the bars becomes apparent. Adjusting them at this stage is VERY difficult, so I force myself to measure and check, measure and check. In many cases the weight of the books on the shelf is enough to hold it in place on the brackets, but in other cases I put a drill through the bracket into the bottom of the shelf, really only a 'tack' that I can easily remove if I want to dismantle or adjust the bookshelf.

The slotted angle and brackets usually come in a variety of colours. I try to match the colour to the colour of the wall behind. If that doesn't match, I paint the steel with the paint I used on the wall. I tend to 'fully' populate my shelves, so I don't get to see the wall behind or any of the verticals, or much of the brackets. The adjustability of the system means that I keep the distance between the top of the books and the bottom of the shelf above at a minimum. If your shelves aren't crammed with books you might find the metal bars/brackets etc distracting, perhaps.

I tend to use different spacing for the shelves, tall at the bottom and short near the ceiling - where the ceiling cornice intrudes on the available space. But if it is all paperbacks you don't have an issue.

Because I have evil tendencies I only paint/varnish the sides of the shelves that are visible. A few of them will require treatment on both the upper and lower sides of course, but in the case of the very low and the very high you can get away with this sort of thing. (I promise I will go back to these shelves one day...)

In cases where the spacing between the vertical timbers in the wall exceed 600mm (or 800mm) or where the books are very heavy, I have added an angle bracket (usually 140 to 160mm) fixed directly to the wall with hollow anchor bolts and to the underside of the shelf midway between the proper vertical bar supports. I know I said these were dangerous, but they are only used to stop the shelf sagging between the vertical bars and brackets. I paint the bracket the same colour as the wall.

In some cases I have used these methods on a 'less than full wall basis'. In the case where I run the bookcase from a corner of the room to a door or window, or simply 'bring it up short' I have either (a) left the shelf ends open, or (b) attached a vertical board that effectively 'boxes' the shelves in and makes them look like a bookcase. In one case I have attached a completely redundant vertical board in the corner, to give the shelves the complete illusion of a bookcase. In these cases the vertical board is 'tacked' to the shelves, it carries no weight itself (in fact the shelves carry the weight of the vertical board). The only downside of using these kind of vertical boards is that if you subsequently want to adjust the height of the shelves you have to 'un-tack' these side boards first.

There are some photos on my profile page image gallery. I'll try to add some more images showing construction details in the next 24 hours.

This is possibly not suitable for rental houses, although in discussion with owners it can be pointed out that the effect on the walls is minimal and can be repaired with plaster and a re-paint.

Finally! When you go floor to ceiling you buy into the problem of accessing top shelves. The shelves are too narrow and not strong enough to climb. You need a serious (and safe) climbing solution. I am building a book ladder (essentially one half of a 3m electricians ladder) which I'll renovate with some wood veneer. The wide feet will rest of the floor, and the top is designed to rest on a block of wood (or large beam of wood) that I have secured to the wall at the appropriate height. I am looking at a quick release way of locking the top of the ladder to this block or beam. The beam or block is the same depth as the shelves and is very strongly secured to the wall. The point of all of this is to say that you don't want to rest the head of a ladder on the front of the shelves (particularly if they are not secured to the brackets with screws!) The shelf fronts are too narrow to be used safely. At the moment I use a step ladder.

(2) Multiple bookcases screwed to the wall:

A completely different solution: A constructed bookcase (vertical wooden elements included) is of course beautiful, and portable. Speaking of which, I once created a wall of shelves by stacking bookcases three-high and six-wide against a wall, screwed into the wall and to each other (side to side). I had to adjust the height of the 'feet' (I cut them off) so that the bottom of one bookcase sat flush on top of the bookcase below. This created two lines of double-thickness horizontal elements across the width of the wall which looked quite good. The problem is that you don't get flexibility in shelving height. Cutting the feet off is drastic, but you could still disassemble the 'wall' and reattach feet or build plinths for each (now separate) bookcase.

Thank you Osbaldistone. Yes - the little ones - 17.7cm by 10.7cm. Every bookcase I have ever owned is always too deep. Hence wanting to make my own.
And Thank you nandadevi - a more complete answer would have been impossible. I like you idea of the racking - but I wonder about the cost for the full wall - I will check it out.

I am working with a timber and plasterboard wall to which I intend to fix my wooden bookcases. I have my stud finder ready and of course my power cable finder. Luckily - there are no power points to contend with - but I will be very very sure. I am also lucky that my hall way ceiling is not too high - so I should be able to reach. I would love to have a full library with full wall, but the only suitable room has been hijacked by the kids for their play area - maybe in 15 years? So my reality is that space is limited - so the hall wall it shall be.

I was thinking of venturing into the area of dove tail joints and dowels and screws - for some reason I have a collection of fixings that puts my small book collection to shame - but this could be the project that helps me reduce the stock!

I like the idea of building one bookcase at a time and extending the wall each week or perhaps month realistically. It will be like all of my jobs. Very average to start with and just as I get the hang of it - the project will be over and the skills forgotten.

Thank again

I am not handy, but I made these (bookcase A, bookcase B) for my manga collection (not exactly mm size, but similar) because I wanted shallow shelves so I didn't have to double-stack them and to take advantage of tight space.

They are 8 feet high, 4 inches deep, and are made of cheap 3/4 inch scrap wood from the lumberyard. I built them in my bedroom with a saw, some wood glue, and a drill. There is no back and the frames are tacked directly into the wall with some L-brackets. They're not even leveled, just eye-balled. But they are easily relocated if necessary and are quite sturdy for the books. Any design you create will be an improvement, but I must say I am quite proud of mine, even if they would have been nicer if I'd had stained wood, power tools, or a workspace that didn't involve needing to vacuum my mattress.

At the risk of repeating myself from elsewhere, you should keep in mind that most bookcases virtually disappear once they are filled with books. I think this is because the mind concentrates on the content over the presentation.

For example, we have a variety of similar oak bookcases from small oak furniture stores in the U.S. These often have a similar appearance with rounded edges on the outer four sides. Yet, because of the different sources and desire by these companies to make them as inexpensively as possible, they vary in size and even the pitch of the holes to hold the pins that support the shelves. Typically these cases gave one shelf per foot (or 25 cm) and since our books are often duodecimo (12mo) volumes that are shorter, we had to buy spare shelves that would match that particular case.

Getting back to your issue, you may want to see what is available for DVD cases. You will find that these are very close to paperback height and width. There may be specialty companies that offer modular shelving for DVDs with the intent of filling a wall.

I recall visiting a professor's home a few times and seeing that he had set up his apartment such that the main living room had a wall of shelving designed to accommodate his vintage science fiction paperback collection. He had some lower parts of the shelving for larger academic books as I recall. The wall of SF books really grabbed your attention.

Similarly, I have visited homes of collectors of American juvenile series books (again 12mo size) and some have had custom shelving built that really makes a statement when one sees so many close together. Collecting series books usually means that there are many volumes, with more to find, and a certain commitment of space. When they are in nice condition, the rows of similar spines can be impressive.

James

My husband built us a whole wall of bookcases made out of 1x6 boards, which are really 3/4"x5 1/2", and work admirably for mass-market paperbacks. He used a router to put grooves in the uprights to take the shelves.

I did something similar to #7 - but I used 1 x 4 boards, which leaves a small part of the book sticking out, so you can easily pull out the book.

It will be like all of my jobs. Very average to start with and just as I get the hang of it - the project will be over and the skills forgotten.
- HoppoinNZ

That. Very regocnizable...

The more I build things, the more I learn though, and it does stick around longer, and comes back faster again.

Some things to think about:
If shelves are very deep, they put a lot of force on the support because of the lever effect. But with shallow shelves you can get away with smaller supports.
More upright supports also mean smaller supports, less force per support.
Shelves sag more easily when they're not part of a large shelf. If for example you support a 2m10cm plank (typical length here) with 4 vertical pieces (at the end, 70cm, 70cm, end) that's less likely to sag than if you put 3 planks of 70cm between the vertical pieces.
Of course sagging depends on the sturdity of your plank as well.

Do show some pictures of any finished projects please :)

Just a late suggestion but you know how most interior walls have sheetrock on both side of verticle 2x4 studs - at least here in the USA. I have seen people take out a horizontal section of sheet rock between two studs {the height determined by how many shelves} and then put a wooden board bottom and top over the hole created and then stain or paint those boards and the exposed 2x4 stud to create your book shelf. This recesses the books out of the way which might be good for a hallway but always be sure about what is behind the wall !! ;-)

Aha, I did a search and here is an online example of how to do that.
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/build-shelves-between-studs-26686.html

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/make-recessed-shelf-hallway-77472.html

>6 Keeline: What Keeline said! If I were to embark upon such a project, I'd research the storage solutions developed for movies (VCR DVD etc.). The containers are about the right size. You might be inspired, or able to buy something nice that's already made!

My first "book wall" was angle & bracket, like #3. I had some inexpensive glued-wood boards from Ikea that were just over 1/3 the total wall width, so I staggered them along the walls to make irregular spaces for short and tall books. It looked pretty cool, despite a few issues caused by screwing them into the studs of my older & no-longer-100%-square-and-level house... but I got sick of dusting them (I also walking into them a few too many times - they were right inside the front door - and had some interesting bruises to show for it. And dusting paperbacks has to be the absolute worst. If you have pets, I'd seriously consider building something with glass doors. Ikea has some media furniture that's about 1/2 the width of their regular shelves - 7 1/2" vs. 15 1/2" -ish, including Billy & Benno. Not sure if there are coordinating doors that would fit... but might be worth a shot. If you want the shelves to "recede" a bit, you can paint the backer board the same color as the wall it will be seated against (or use a coordinating paper - even scrapbooker paper works well, if it won't be in the sun. I like #10's suggestion, also.