Extending the life of cheap IKEA-style shelves
Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2020 6:59 am
We have a few cheap particle board shelving units from our pre-ERE/DIY lives, and although it would be nice to replace them with solid wood designs that would last indefinitely, I've done a few things to give them some new life using materials on hand, possibly lasting decades longer rather than throwing them away (probably nobody would have wanted them even for free in the condition they were in).
One set had two shelves that were extremely warped, drooping over an inch! I glued them back to back (there was no lamination on the bottom sides so it made for a good glue surface) using the remainder of a tube of construction adhesive I had lying around, clamped and put screws in the corners. Now it is a totally flat doubly thick shelf that could hold lots of heavy books without warping again.
The cheap back panel on that bookcase was damaged in some places and would have blocked an outlet where I wanted to put it. I took the panel off but the design uses it for stability, so I made a Z shape using 1x2 scrap wood to reinforce the back. I nailed in the two horizontal pieces first, lined up with the top and bottom shelves, which would help keep them from warping too. Then I used pocket screws to screw the diagonal scrap piece to the two horizontal scrap pieces. Now the unit has 3 sturdier shelves (reinforced top & bottom and doubled up middle) instead of 4 flimsier ones, with an open back for outlet access. If I wanted the 4th shelf back and didn't care if it matched, I could just cut a new one from (ply)wood.
Another bookcase was damaged where the back of the bottom shelf is attached (front bottom was still secure and held up with the kick plate). So the bottom shelf was tilting down in the back and the entire bookcase became less stable. I just took a scrap 2x4 and nailed it in along the back bottom with the damaged shelf resting on top of it, and another 2x4 piece along the front behind the kick plate for symmetry and stability. Now we could overload that bottom shelf and it would still be rock solid.
I've also noticed there is definitely a difference in quality between IKEA brand stuff and other big box store low-quality particle board bookshelves. IKEA brand bookcases, compared to our other shelves that probably came from Walmart or similar, have slightly thicker shelves with more secure mounting hardware, so they are less prone to warping and they look better in general. Cheap non-IKEA stuff might also lack lamination on the bottom of shelves and have back panels that can be seen from the side (IKEA bookcase backing slides into a dado).
Of course solid wood or plywood is better by far, but if you already have IKEA stuff and a little scrap wood & fasteners to reinforce it, I think it makes more sense to repair rather than replace.
One set had two shelves that were extremely warped, drooping over an inch! I glued them back to back (there was no lamination on the bottom sides so it made for a good glue surface) using the remainder of a tube of construction adhesive I had lying around, clamped and put screws in the corners. Now it is a totally flat doubly thick shelf that could hold lots of heavy books without warping again.
The cheap back panel on that bookcase was damaged in some places and would have blocked an outlet where I wanted to put it. I took the panel off but the design uses it for stability, so I made a Z shape using 1x2 scrap wood to reinforce the back. I nailed in the two horizontal pieces first, lined up with the top and bottom shelves, which would help keep them from warping too. Then I used pocket screws to screw the diagonal scrap piece to the two horizontal scrap pieces. Now the unit has 3 sturdier shelves (reinforced top & bottom and doubled up middle) instead of 4 flimsier ones, with an open back for outlet access. If I wanted the 4th shelf back and didn't care if it matched, I could just cut a new one from (ply)wood.
Another bookcase was damaged where the back of the bottom shelf is attached (front bottom was still secure and held up with the kick plate). So the bottom shelf was tilting down in the back and the entire bookcase became less stable. I just took a scrap 2x4 and nailed it in along the back bottom with the damaged shelf resting on top of it, and another 2x4 piece along the front behind the kick plate for symmetry and stability. Now we could overload that bottom shelf and it would still be rock solid.
I've also noticed there is definitely a difference in quality between IKEA brand stuff and other big box store low-quality particle board bookshelves. IKEA brand bookcases, compared to our other shelves that probably came from Walmart or similar, have slightly thicker shelves with more secure mounting hardware, so they are less prone to warping and they look better in general. Cheap non-IKEA stuff might also lack lamination on the bottom of shelves and have back panels that can be seen from the side (IKEA bookcase backing slides into a dado).
Of course solid wood or plywood is better by far, but if you already have IKEA stuff and a little scrap wood & fasteners to reinforce it, I think it makes more sense to repair rather than replace.