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The pros of DIY shelving include: Lower Cost – Generally, buying the materials for your garage shelves should be cheaper than purchasing prefab – just make sure you do everything right the first time. … Durability – As long as you choose quality materials and a solid design, your DIY shelves will be more durable.
| Cost to Add Built-In Bookshelves | |
|---|---|
| National average cost | $3,000 |
| Average range | $1,500-$4,000 |
| Minimum cost | $800 |
| Maximum cost | $5,000 |
Use 3/4-inch thick materials for shelves and bookcase structure. If you’re using hardwood solids, it’s OK to boost the thickness to 1 1/4 inch for almost unlimited support. This type of shelf looks more like a mantel and is expensive, but adds the opulent look of craftsmanship.
Shelving. The cost of your shelving will depend on the size of your pantry and the materials you’re using. Pros usually use materials like melamine and maple/birch plywood for shelving, and the cost runs around $400 to $750. These prices include labor and framing, mounting and custom fit.
If you are making shelves where the color and grain of the wood is an important part of the design, look for oak, maple, or cherry plywood—these options will still offer durability, but will help keep costs down compared to with non-manufactured hardwoods of the same species.
The effect of the other two dimensions, width and length, is straightforward; add 10 percent to the width of a shelf, and it’s 10-percent more rigid; add 10 percent to the length, and it’s 10-percent less rigid. However, add 10 percent to the thickness of a shelf and it’s 21-percent stronger!
- Gather your materials, boxes, scissors and duct tape.
- Cut the lids off of the boxes.
- Style your boxes.
- Tape a row at a time.
- Then tape the entire thing together.
- Paint it.
- Add toys.
- Reclaimed Wood Floating Shelves. I love it when a modernly styled room has a couple of rustic accents added to it. …
- Kids’ Books Shelving Ideas. …
- Wine Box Shelving Ideas. …
- Copper Pipe Shelves. …
- Wood and Leather Suspended Shelf. …
- Rope Shelving Ideas. …
- Book Shelf. …
- Pegboard Wall Organizer.
The eye will notice a deflection of 1/32 inch per running foot so that a fully loaded (70-80 pounds) bookshelf that is 3 feet wide, should sag no more than 3/32 inches. For most shelves made from 3/4 inch stock, a practical span is 30 to 36 inches.
MDF is a good material for making shelves because it’s cheaper than plywood, it’s strong enough to carry light to medium loads, it’s easy to cut to size, has a smooth surface, and paint applies well to it. Additional stiffeners and supports can be added to the MDF shelves to allow for heavier loads.
- Step 1: Start by cutting your boards to size. My boards measure 3 inches X 24 inches and 6 inches x 24 inches.
- Step 2: Glue boards together. …
- Step 3: Clamp and screw. …
- Step 1: Find your studs and center your shelf. …
- Step 2: Level. …
- Step 3: Drill your pilot holes. …
- Step 4: Screw your shelf in place.
The most common size used in shelving is a 3/4 inch thickness. Cabinetry, furniture, and smaller decorative projects might generally use a combination of 1/2 and 3/4 and occasionally 1/4 inch.
Plywood is the industry standard for shelving, so it’s a good choice for bookshelves. However, there are a number of sturdy woods with which you can construct bookshelves.
Shelf depth is determined by the size of the items to be stored, generally within the range of 6 to 24 inches. Shelf depth for a general purpose bookshelf is usually 10 to 12 inches. Shelf spacing will generally range from 7 to 15 inches with 8 to 12 inches being common for bookshelves.