Bookshelf suggestions?

[jimmifett]

As seen below, my bookshelf has exceeded it's capacity and I am in the market for a new one.

I'm looking for suggestions for one that is sturdy and will whose shelves will hold considerable weight without bowing.

In addition to my RPG collection, it would also need to hold board game boxes.

A second recommendation for a horde of thick computer books on the bottom and hard and softcover novels on the upper shelves would be great too.

 

[Nellisir]

As seen below, my bookshelf has exceeded it's capacity and I am in the market for a new one.

I'm looking for suggestions for one that is sturdy and will whose shelves will hold considerable weight without bowing.

In addition to my RPG collection, it would also need to hold board game boxes.

A second recommendation for a horde of thick computer books on the bottom and hard and softcover novels on the upper shelves would be great too.

Not quite sure what you're looking for. Furniture stores will have a better quality of bookshelves than Wal-Mart or most office supply stores. If there's an "Unfinished Furniture" type store in your area, that's probably your best bet - they usually work with real wood, or oak plywood, rather than chipboard or waferboard. I've got 3 oak bookcases of that sort - one 72", one 60", and one 48". The 72" could use another shelf, but otherwise they work great.

 

[Ray_K]

Stay away form wallmart, ikea, target, etc. Check out your nearest salvation army or thrift shop. I seem to recall them selling furniture pretty cheaply, and it was usually solidly constructed. Alternatively, craigslist, ebay, etc.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Go to someplace like Container Store, of if yu're on a budget, Sam's, Costco, etc.

Look for the aluminum modular shelving. The stuff at Container Store goes by the names Metro or InterMetro, and can hold 800lbs+ per shelf, and they can be up to 6' tall, as i recall. You can customize the spaces between shelves. There are 2 different shelf depths available. You can put them on wheels. I use them for all kinds of things, including as a bookshelf for my cookbooks. It isn't cheap, though.

The off-brand shelving is significantly cheaper, but most lines can still support a load of 500lbs+ per shelf.

Container Store also has other modular high-strength shelving options, including offerings from Elfa. I used that for my Dad's new office. Again, not cheap, but strong, modular...and is less "commercial looking" than the InterMetro or Metro stuff.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Double post.

 

[Thac0 the Barbarian]

If those stores aren't available, you can get similar modular shelving at a Lowes or Home Depot. It's usually called utility shelving, and is a great option for overflowing bookcases. I use it for my endless series of 1000+ page medical books and it holds up well. Plus, it's easy to disassemble if you ever need to move.

 

[IronWolf]

Here is another thread about shelving from about a year ago:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/310094-shelving.html

While a real furniture store is apt to have a bookshelf capable of handing the weight of RPG books, I do find IKEA an okay alternative. There is an Expedit shelf pictured in the above thread. The way it is built keeps the shelf from bowing under the weight of books - at least is has so far for me. They look pretty decent and are affordable.

 

[Jupp]

IKEA Billy. I think there are enough options in that system to fit all your storage needs. At least around here IKEA is one of the cheapest ways to get acceptable quality stuff. It might not look like Rolf Benz but it does the job.

 

[Alan Shutko]

IKEA Billy. I think there are enough options in that system to fit all your storage needs. At least around here IKEA is one of the cheapest ways to get acceptable quality stuff. It might not look like Rolf Benz but it does the job.

The trick with Ikea is to pick the right construction, given the materials they work with. A long bookshelf as displayed above will bow from Ikea, but one of their Expedit ones won't, since it has vertical supports far more often.

 

[Jupp]

True, I store the really heavy stuff in my USM Shelves in my office room. I'm just glad I was able to buy some of those shelves off a company I worked at for a very reasonable price. Those things will probably outlive me and my grand children without taking a dent and they will still look like new in a hundred years. The only problem is to pay the retail price for them :/