bookcase suggestions?

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Forum -> Shopping -> Household Products, Kitchen Appliances, Furniture & Cars

Bookcase suggestions?

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daisy

Thu, Aug 18 2005, 7:13 am

We are in the market for some bookcases. Any suggestions about where to purchase them (we live in the US outside NY), what we should be looking for as far as quality (not the cheap kind with the cardboard backing), and what we can expect to pay? Has anyone ever bought them online? Thanks for your input!

Tovah

Thu, Aug 18 2005, 12:32 pm

a book case can range btw 50-200 if you want not the best quality,
try home depot for real wood, and walmart for the cheapy

Mommy912

Thu, Aug 18 2005, 1:26 pm

We bought 2 Sauder bookcases that came in boxes in a million pieces. They were a major pain to put together and we never got it to look 100% perfect matter how much we tried. They are also very heavy.
They are very strong and the quality is good, you can check them out online.
If you really like them you can order from Staples or from another store that will come to your house and assemble them. It is worth the price to pay for assembly.

Rivka

Thu, Aug 18 2005, 4:01 pm

I didn't know bookcases had cardboard backing.

613

Thu, Aug 18 2005, 4:08 pm

Rivka wrote:

I didn't know bookcases had cardboard backing.

ours USED to, until the cardboard popped out of the back when we overstuffed one of the shelves! this happened to 2 of our bookshelves, both from the same store/company- they were definitely under $100 (3 years ago), maybe $70/80.
we also bought a sauder one, but never even took it out of the box. we do have a sauder dresser that had the same problems that mommy912 mentioned.

Rivka

Thu, Aug 18 2005, 4:12 pm

I think you mean plywood...over here cardboard is what boxes are made out of.

daisy

Thu, Aug 18 2005, 5:25 pm

our present bookcases definitely have cardboard backing with a simulated wood layer (yes same material as boxes!). It is nailed in, but pops out when lots of books are put in. I think it is Sauder or something of the same sort.

roza

Thu, Aug 18 2005, 8:20 pm

check out ikea.com

stem

Thu, Aug 18 2005, 8:22 pm

Our bookcases are from IKEA. We are very happy with them.

613

Mon, Aug 22 2005, 2:55 pm

umm... the bookcases I was talking abt.- with the backs that popped out were from IKEA! maybe they make some w/ wood backs, and not cardboard/plywood like ours are.

Aish

Sun, Aug 28 2005, 7:03 pm

ikea has the cheaper version, with the cardboard backing, and then they have better stuff. wood. its not very expensive and you get what you pay for. obviously if you go the route of a solid, good quality wood than your looking at $400-500. the only thing is with the amount of books that we have in our house, we would go into debt! so we have a few from ikea that were about 200 each. we need more now and ikea stoped making the model we bought. if that happens you can call ikea and tell them you don't want it and often times they will give you a credit. and then you get something else, another model, and more of it. but basically its a good buy. it wont crash on you or anything. ikea has also, as of now, officaly lowered their prices on many items.
its worth looking into.

daisy

Sun, Aug 28 2005, 8:12 pm

We don't have an Ikea in our area, but I checked the website and the ones on there seem to have the "weak" backing. I can't really tell the difference between them. Would you be able to give me a link of one like the one you recommend?

roza

Sun, Aug 28 2005, 10:49 pm

I was buying bookcases for school here and we got these:

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs.....10104*10173

they are tall.

Aish

Mon, Aug 29 2005, 5:43 am

right off the top of my head, I will tell you. the $20-30 ones are the ones with the "cardboard" backing. the ones $80- and up, are wood. but also it tells you in the description. you have to find what design you like. also keep in mind that there are some with NON AJUSTABLE shelves. so if its for books, that may not be so good. obviously for bigger books like gemara's, thats a problem. for standard size books, its ok. another thing to keep in mind is that some of the higher priced book cases have a NON AJUSTABLE middle shelf which can be a problem if you have books, all sizes. my hubby had to do some carpenter work on one to fit the gemara's etc...
hope that helps.

queen

Mon, Aug 29 2005, 4:28 pm

if you'll be placing heavy seforim on your shelves... try to afford shelves that are at least one inch thick. otherwise you'll be in warp city before you know it!

Sara Esther Crispe

Thu, Sep 01 2005, 10:42 pm

We just moved from Israel with our 6,000 seforim! So, we also searched everywhere for bookcase options. In the end, after much reserach, we bought ones from Ikea that were $80 each, and then also got the extension that goes to the ceiling (we need floor to ceiling bookshelves throughout the house!). To strengthen them, we hired someone to bolt the bookcases to each other and then to the wall, so that they cannot fall over. The shelves are adjustable and for the heaviest books, we bought the more narrow bookshelves so that there isn't as much weight per shelf. Truthfully, we haven't yet put our books on them as we are only getting our lift on Sunday, but from others who have used them, we were told that they are very strong and durable. And the cost was at least half of having them made or buying solid wood which was at least $250 a case.

queen

Mon, Sep 05 2005, 12:29 am

drill/connect the bookshelves that are standing next to each other together. This way it will give them additional strength and eliminate any gaps in between each bookcase.

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