Bookshelves installation

[Stanleymonkey]

As a side project at my current job I have been ask to install 10 Ikea flat pack Billy bookcases to make a small library.

There is hardly any budget for this!

The floor is very uneven - am I best making a full length base / plinth and shimming and levelling that then assembling the bookcases on top?

OR

Should I reinforce each case so they have less chance of deforming and level them individually?
The tops won't line up but there will be artwork and plants and all sorts up there and the room is old and ramshackle. Lack of straight lines won't be such an issue.


I know the base is the best option, but the extra cost and time will be a problem as access is limited, reinforcing each bookcase can be done with MDF triangles and screws and won't cost a thing.

Am I asking for problems by not building the bases?

 

[Cabinetman]

I think we need to know how they are to be configured, 10 all in a row two rows of five back to back or all just freestanding? Plus all the other permutations I haven’t considered. Ian

 

[Just4Fun]

I did something similar with some bookcases I got from Lidl. I didn't bother making bases. In my case the floor was not level but not too bad. If you have to deal with a floor that is like a scale model of the Himalayas you might think a base is worthwhile, but it would need to be quite bad for me to put in the effort.

 

[peter-harrison]

I would make a plinth. I used to put screw adjusters on all my fitted cabinets but have changed to plinths only. I make a frame the same width and about 50mm shallower than the cabinets, with crosspieces at the joins between the cabinets, and about 10mm less than the minimum height under the cabinets. I then level using wedges, and screw and glue feet made from short scraps of ply to the insides of the plinth to fix the height, and then fix it to the floor in a few places- just to stop it sliding around when I put the cabinets on it. Where this way of doing things really pays off is when you are scribing cabinets to a wall, as you can easily slide them around on the plinth, and haul them on and off. With the feet, they catch on the floor; the level changes between where they are when you're scribing them and their final position; and you sometimes have a leg break off. If you are fitting floor to ceiling cabinets, these can be very hard to get upright and to move into position with feet on- much easier with a smooth bottom. This also gives you something solid to fix your kicking boards or decorative plinths to.

 

[Stanleymonkey]

I think we need to know how they are to be configured, 10 all in a row two rows of five back to back or all just freestanding? Plus all the other permutations I haven’t considered. Ian

Mostly freestanding rows - maybe one corner configuration.

 

[Stanleymonkey]

I did something similar with some bookcases I got from Lidl. I didn't bother making bases. In my case the floor was not level but not too bad. If you have to deal with a floor that is like a scale model of the Himalayas you might think a base is worthwhile, but it would need to be quite bad for me to put in the effort.

Thanks - did you screw all the bookcases together with the tops and bases level or stagger the tops slightly?

 

[TheUnicorn]

I'd say the base is the best option, present that with the pros and cons and see if they are willing to pay for it

 

[Just4Fun]

Thanks - did you screw all the bookcases together with the tops and bases level or stagger the tops slightly?

A bit of a mix. In most places the bases were close enough to keep them level but in other places I staggered them. The stagger seemed significant during the fitting but give it a week or two and you don't notice it.