Replies

1. 
   mufti | Mar 18, 2007 09:37pm | #1

              It depends how much concrete you pour into the plinth. Serious, never design top heavy for freestanding, especially if there will be children around.

2. 
   fussy | Mar 19, 2007 04:33am | #2

   Kaleocustom,

   Ditto what Mufti said.  That sounds awfully top-heavy.  Even 24" deep is too shallow a base for 6'6".  If it is to be used as a room divider, why not take it on up and tie it into the ceiling joists.  Then it couldn't fall over.  You don't even have to take the whole thing up, just tie it in on the corners, and use the open top as a display shelf for that stuff you don't want the dog to break.  Especially sitting on carpet it will be unstable as proposed, but for kids, it would be a death trap. 

   Steve

   There are two secrets to keeping one's wife happy.

   1.  Let her think she's having her own way.

   2.  Let her have her own way. President  Lyndon Baines Johnson

3. 
   jeanlou | Mar 19, 2007 05:41am | #3

   Kaleo

   As others have indicated, top heavy is dangerous, as is not having sufficient footing. You can make it work, if you have the option of fixing the unit to the floor. Fix 2 x to the floor inside the base area, and then screw through the base into the 2 x. Apply your finish to the base afterwards. If you can cut out the carpet before the install, it will be even more solid, because you will not need to deal with the carpet crushing over time and the unit shifting as the carpet compresses.  JL

4. 
   oldusty | Mar 19, 2007 10:10am | #4

   Hi Kaleo ,

              I would probably change the design to a base maybe 36" tall and 16" - 20" deep and make the bookcase top more like a hutch top but in this case centered on the base countertop with an open shelf on the bottom like a hutch.

       Perhaps 3/4"backs will counter weight the case and allow for a firmer foundation and more stability .

                   regards      dusty

5. 
   YesMaam27577 | Mar 19, 2007 11:39pm | #5

   Given your "givens", your unit will be quite likely to fall over.

   Instead of putting it on top of the carpet, is it possible to remove the carpet beneath, and screw this thing to the floor?

   Also note that the length of you unit leaves a question about shelf support. If your plan is to have shelves that are truly 5' long, then you need to have some sort of plan for intermediate supports.

   Five feet is WAY too long for shelves, speaking structurally.

    

    

    

   Support our Troops. Bring them home. Now.  And pray that at least some of the buildings in the green zone have flat roofs, with a stairway.

6. 
   JMartinsky | Mar 20, 2007 05:03am | #6

   Dear Kaleo,
   Better bolt it to the floor, or better, could you attach it overhead somehow? I'd very concerned about that layout. Even bolted down it could easily peel away the bottom of the cabinet and fall anyway. You are right to be concerned. I build bookcases knowing that they get climbed on and always filled to the brim. Your design makes for an awful lot of weight up high, with out much way to secure it. I wouldn't do it.

   Best,

   John

1. 
   KaleoCustom | Mar 20, 2007 10:58pm | #7

   John,

   Thanks, I appreciate your input.  I figured it was risky.  The ceiling is too high to attach it to.  What do think if I build a 24" base cabinet (30" high") and attach the bookcase to the top of that?

   Kaleo

    

    

1. 
   Cincinnati | Mar 21, 2007 12:03am | #8

   It's still top heavy Unless the bottom will weigh a lot more than top PLUS the fully loaded shelves. If this is true, make sure the top is firmly attached to the base. Can you change the design to a "V-Shape" or "L-Shape" footprint so that you have the same linear feet of shelf space (or more if you can go the same width with the projection. This will increase your stability. ie, one leg keeps the other from being able to tip over. This is in effect increasing your footprint, but I would not mount a shelf system with your dimensions on anything but a firmly fixed base. Kids will climb anything & everything given enough time. But they don't even have to climb it for a problem to become a danger. I met a client at a salon that used three 12" deep x 6ft bookcases as a room divider. An 8 year old bumped one (and it didn't seem an overly hard bump); it tipped over striking my client on the side of the head during the fall. ERR on the side of safety.

2. 
   dherzig | Mar 22, 2007 05:48am | #12

   How about using some turned posts, perhaps bought, at the corners to reach the ceiling/ I agree with the thought that screwing it to the floor will still leave it top-heavy. If it does pull out of the floor, it could separate from the base. If it can't go to the ceiling can one side go to a wall for attachment?

7. 
   xmike | Mar 21, 2007 02:44am | #9

   Vis-a-vis stability, unless you are on a slab, there is no reason why you can't make a subframe that you screw thoroughly to the floor through the carpet and then attach the case firmly to that subframe. You must make the case attachment robust enough that you can't rip it apart, however. Think pony wall. You've seen them in houses, I'm sure, especially in bedroom hallways beside stairs.

   Screws go nicely through carpet without making a mark IF you use smooth screws such as the stainless steel variety (rough ones catch the threads and wind them to the screw)and lubricate them with beeswax. If you run into snagging the threads anyway, then predrill the holes in your subframe, pierce the carpet with an awl, enlarge the piercing with a Philips head screwdriver (sounds horrid, but disappears with light scrubbing if you change your mind). Later, if the center divider bookcase concept is rethought, you can remove the case and it's subframe, and except for the crush mark in the carpet from such a heavy item, all is as if it never was.

8. 
   4DThinker | Mar 21, 2007 03:18am | #10

   Don't do it. The carpet will crush differently depending on how the shelves are loaded, and so your bookcase may be already leaning a bit when a kid bumps it accidentally.

   I noticed some speaker stands I bought have spikes for feet. A heavy speaker on a small footprint stand is also likely to lean on carpet. The spikes poke down through the carpet to plant the stand securely on the solidness beneath. I've never considered spikes for bookshelf feet, but it might be something to look into.

   An alternative would also be to make the shelves progressively deeper toward the bottom. Spread out that base, even a little bit, and your shelves will tend to stand up. Deeper shelves can have bigger (heavier) books on them and as such would lower the center of gravity of the whole unit. Load the bottom shelves first, of course.

9. 
   mike4244 | Mar 21, 2007 04:04pm | #11

   How about making the case accessible from each side.The bookcase could then be 48" or less in height and 24" or more in depth ,the 60" length stays the same.This I believe will not topple over without a lot of force.

   mike

10. 
    TaunTonMacoute | Mar 22, 2007 11:24pm | #13

    You're going to have to cut the carpet back and get a sub-structure attached to the floor.

    Look, what you are building is essentially a wall that will hold books.  This is as much carpentry and fine furnituremaking.  Heed the warnings about top heavy-ness.

    Somebody loses their footing and reaches out to steady themselves against your bookcase.... it had better be firm as a structural wall.

    
    

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    Edited 3/22/2007 4:25 pm ET by TaunTonMacoute