How many shelves in a bookcase

Species Modulus of Elasticity E Birch 2. Design Bed Guidelines. Chair Guidelines. Table Guidelines. Desk Guidelines. Cabinet Guidelines. Shelving Guidelines. Resources and Techniques General Construction. Types of Joinery. Door and Drawer Styles. Books vary greatly in size, and if you want to have entertainment equipment in the same unit, you'll need shelves from 18 to 20 inches deep for most systems and spacing between shelves customized to fit your stereo, speakers, and accessories. Shelving units that accommodate both books and audiovisual equipment are often built as modular components.

A deeper unit holds the large equipment, and side or top units provide book or display storage. Over a Dozen Beautiful Bookcase Makeovers. You also must consider the shelving material's span limit—how far an unsupported shelf will span under load without sagging or breaking. How to Build Floating Shelves. Design shelves with their users in mind.

As shown, men generally have a greater maximum reach than women, and teens can reach higher than children. While that may seem obvious, building shelves that no one can access is a waste of time and materials. Likewise, shelves shouldn't be too low to be used easily.

Align the lowest support piece with the board's bottom and back edges. Nail it in four corners with 3d nails. Using a scrap piece of plywood as a shelf-size spacer, position the next support. Glue and nail it in place. Repeat on the other leg. Lay the two legs on their back edges, supports facing each other.

Place the hanging strip between the top supports, flush with their tops and back edges. Drill through the leg and the support, and into the hanging strip.

Slide the bottom shelf into place for support. Tilt the assembled frame into place. Set the top of the bookcase onto the supports and the hanging strip. Drill countersunk pilot holes along the edges of the bookcase top — two into each support and one every 8 to 10 inches along the hanging strip. Glue and screw the top in place, above.

Slide all the shelves into the frame. If some need coaxing, use a rubber mallet to gently tap them into place. Check the bookcase for level. Place a level on each of the shelves. If one side needs to be raised up, tap thin wood shims under the foot. Hold a level vertically to check the bookcase for plumb. Add shims, as needed. Once the whole piece is plumb and level, tap shims around the bookcase anywhere there is a gap against the wall to make sure the entire frame is tight in the opening.

Score the shims with a utility knife, then snap them off flush with the bookcase edge. Use a stud finder to locate and mark where the wall studs fall just under the hanging strip. Using a combination bit, drill a screw-shank clearance hole and counterbore hole in the hanging strip at each stud mark.

Cut a piece of plywood — the same size as the lowest supports on the frame — to act as a nailer for the kick plate. Slide it under the center of the bottom shelf.

Nail through the shelf into the nailer's top edge with 6d finish nails. Measure the opening under the bottom shelf. Cut a piece of plywood to fit tightly into the space. Put this kick plate into the opening against the nailer and support edges.

It should be flush with the bookcase front. Attach it with two 6d finish nails at each of the supports and the center nailer. The trim can hang over the inside edge, or be flush.

Hold the trim over a bookcase leg, tight against the wall. Using a level, adjust the trim until it's plumb. Tack it with 6d nails. Find the widest gap between the trim and wall. Open the scribe to span that gap. Run its point along the wall so the pencil transfers the wall's contours onto the trim. Remove the trim and cut along the scribed line with a jigsaw.

Use 1x trim to create a recessed, finished edge on the front of the shelves.