Ikea Billy Bookcase - how to assemble and strengthen to make it last.
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- Опубликовано: 16 сен 2022
- The classic 'Billy' Bookcase is in millions of homes but does suffer from a problem that can be fixed without too much cost and effort - if you know how.
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My friend was a set builder at Ikea. She said they glued everything. So as you build the frame, glue the dowels in, add a seam of glue as you put in the top, bose, and fixed shelf. Ive had great luck doing this, 15+ years of very sturdy Ikea furniture. Great ideas here, thanks!
Been doing that for 25 years now, and furniture has survived 2 international, 1 transcontinental and innumerable local moves.
I am so thrilled to hear about the glue trick. I live IKEA furniture and Billy is definitely a big part of our decor....but those damn backerboards ..!!! I have so many bookcases doing the shimmy ...
@@geowatcher888Why on earth would you pay to move IKEA tat to a different Country?
@@stuartburns8657 if it holds together, it's not tat
@@stuartburns8657 If you are in the military or have a company that pays, it doesn't cost anything
When I did my first ikea kitchen, the store told me to buy one of their large plastic spatula's (the ones for turning fish) and use that for opening all the boxes. WHAT A REVELATION!! I still have that same spatula 7 years later for opening all flat paks. It is perfect for running down the glued seams and does manage to break the tape which is designed to tear length ways so you don't need a knife.
A boxknife with adjustable lenght blade in on the side between the cardboard and the top sheet. Blade in 10 cm. Opens in seconds with no marks.
Good idea I have cut my fingers opening Ikea boxes the glue is so strong on those things.
I used an old plastic wall boarding spatula. Garbage for the designed task, but great for opening Ikea boxes.
@@pkaaos I use my hands! And have open hundreds of IKEA boxes over 20 years.
@bina nocht
God is spelled with a capitol “G”
I often overlooked the back board thinking it is only cosmetic, didn't know that is the most important bit. Thank you so much 🙏
Very interesting ideas. FYI: You can buy individual boards for the Billy, so you could use those for stiffening and would have perfectly matching material.
When I wanted shelving for my DVD collection (dating myself, these days, to say that) I wanted units about 3 meters high and with lots of shorter shelves. I ended up taking two full size Billy, putting the fixed planks at slightly non standard heights (also drilling extra holes to put the movable shelves at non standard heights), and cutting the bottom off one of the sets of standers, then doweling that top half to sit on top of the other unit. Ended up using all the movable shelves, most or all of the fixed ones, and most of the sides and backs. Worked very well. Still there, too.
And yes, I could of course have made something much sturdier out of actual wood - it wouldn’t have been much more effort but at my skill level it wouldn’t have looked anywhere near as good and it would probably have cost 5 times as much.
Which ones? The BILLY 36x26 cm?
Always refreshing to see someone on RUclips who knows what he's talking about. Thank you!
I’ve put together/installed/moved 5 billy bookcases in the past year, and I have to say I really like the thin & tall version of the billy bookcase the best because it’s only about 40cm across and the shelves will probably never visibly bow. They look small but 3 of them together is more shelf space than a regular billy, and you have the flexibility of being able to set it up in a corner.
I’ll definitely remember this the next time I put together another one!
That's a good tip.
This is exactly what I want to do, I have an alcove measuring 99cm and I'm now going to go with three 40cm width Billys, one in the corner which may also leave 20cm each side for the GNEBY.
80x28x237 cm billy has a 76cm wide shelf.
40x28x237 cm billy has a 36cm wide shelf.
And because the shelves are smaller you have also lost load capacity (14kg versus 30kg).
The narrower one is almost the same cost as the larger, $124 versus $154. At least in Australia.
So just from buying 2 of the narrower ones you have paid almost 2x more and gotten less shelf space and load.
The only time I'd consider getting 2+ of the smaller ones over a larger was if my only available space was in a corner and even then I'd try to rearrange other things first to make a full size unit fit.
While I agree that you probably don't need to worry about shelves bowing on the narrower 40cm version, going that route does become cost-prohibitive when you have around 15 feet/4.5 meters of wall to cover.
My main take away. Ikea shelfs still bow...
That's what happens when you buy reconstituted wood chips wrapped in plastic.
Perhaps glue TWO wooden strips at the back instead of just 1. This way you can cover both seams of the triple folding backboard (seams which tend to start wobbling over time, or even partly rip through), and also you can now use 2 screws per shelf to avoid sagging, each at 1/3 of the width.
exactly what i'm thinking
probably one is best. though there's still a tendency for the shelves to push out the sides of the bookcase so you could drive screws on either side and hide them with veneer of some kind or maybe an additional decorative moulding with dowels and glue?
@@johngriffiths812 All you'd really have to do is have a couple of side braces across the back and secure them to the sides.
or perhaps glue Four wooden strips at the back instead of just two 😂😂
Just glue and nail the whole thing to the wall for survivability. It's ikea.
Everything about this video is great - the way you explain WHY you’re doing every little step not just how, the camera work, the pace. Very easy watching. Thanks so much, I’ve subscribed!
One thing I've learnt from these - if you want them to sit flush to the wall, before building sit the side panels up against the skirting board, mark them up and then cut the profile out on the side panel of the billy (it's harder to do this when they are built). I usually keep the cardboard too when working on carpet and set the panels on it to stop any carpet dents until its in its position.
Not sure if it's the case with all newer BIlly units now, but Ikea have kindly cut out the profile for you these days. Also, a good point worth remembering when you're placing the unit on carpet, if you've gripper-rod around the perimeter it makes it even more important to fix the top of the unit to the wall as that tiny height difference will tilt the unit forwards.
The ones I bought had the profile already cut out.
The pre-cut profiles weren't high enough for the skirting board I have so I had to modify them after it was on the wall so worth checking that before building it
These boards can easily been cut usin a router. Well, if you have one. If you do not, then it is extremely difficult to use one.
While you're at it, if you have gripperods under the carpet, take an inch and a half x half an inch off the bottom of the side panels. It reduces the tendency for the whole thing to want to tip forward, plus when you fix back at the top all of the weight isn't just on the gripperods. Minor stuff, but I do it!
i usually screw some metal or plastic L-brackets at the 4 corners for all Ikea furniture, seal all exposed particle board edges with PVA glue and fix some rubber/plastic pads on the furniture legs/bottoms. My late father usually went overboard and painted the backboard as well. Usually he just use left over paint or varnish and sometimes just undercoat.
And all my Ikea and other particle board furniture still good today when I bought it 10 years ago. These are some tricks from my late father who is a carpenter.
I like to apply beadboard or other style wallpaper to the backerboard before I secure them to the bookcase. It gives added strength plus visual interest. I also will paint the paper before attaching the boards
I have three full height and full width Billys with full height glass doors.
I bought them 27 years ago in 1995 and absolutely love them.
I will shortly be moving them as I am having my living room altered and may very well take up the tip of the rear batton and drilling through.
I have to say that nearly all the shelves are crowded with books and there is no sign at all of them bowing, even after all this time.
Thanks for the video. 👍😀
I assemble IKEA and Steen furnisher as a side hustle and have always recommended to my customers that I glue all joints and backs. I do this for book cases, chest of drawers etc, plus I have invested in an electric staple gun to aid the process. Nice tip in bracing the back, I'll use that in future.
Nice one!
Is this via something like TaskRabbit? I've been curious about doing something similar but the platform seems to have lots of bad reviews. Do you find it a decently lucrative side hustle?
Growing up when it came to preventing bowing in shelves, we always just flipped them as part of our spring cleaning. Empty everything off when dusting, flip, and put everything back. Despite heavily loading them up they stayed fine for decades. The only problem was the middle shelf on our DVD cabinet which was screwed in so couldn't be flipped. That bowed plenty. I still do this even with the solid wood shelves of the bookcase I have now as a precaution and so far no problems.
I am definitely going to keep the gluing of the back in mind though as I've seen the backs come off too many when being moved about. Thank you very much for sharing!
The additional wood strip and screws into the shelves is a great tip. I've always glued mine together as well - great minds think alike! ;-) If you wanted to go the centre support route, as you demonstrated, Ikea sell additional shelves, so they'd be the same colour, and you could cut them to size. Cheers
If you can go to the store in person, look in the 'Dent & Scratch' section (usually) near the registers - lots of ex-demo pieces, slightly damaged panels & 'obsolete' stock for less than full price.
I always put a drop of wood glue before slipping the dowels into place, and my shelves are very sturdy.
@@brucelee3388 I go through there every time I go to IKEA. Have one IKEA five minutes by car from home.
My husband insisted on glue when assembling the Billys for our library. He also ran power to the skirt because we were covering our outlets with the shelves.
I've had luck fastening a horse shoe on the outer wall where the sides of each shelf meets the wall.
I can't imagine what my wife would say if she saw me with a bottle of glue near that beautiful carpet, to be fair to her though, I can't be trusted
I was once assembling a unit on carpet and the kit came with a tiny tube of glue. That I knelt on. And watched helpless as the glue squirted all over the carpet.
@@frankblack1481 I can visualise that!
😂
😂👍
I would use the cardboard box it came in to protect the carpet from glue drips.
If your going the glue route. Glue the dowels as well. I use 25-32mm gyproc screws instead of the pins for the back board and either side of the folds to prevent it splitting over time. This stops heavy handed people knocking the back out.
Gluing the dowels is very important.
yeah, that was my first thought. If you're setting this up to not be dismantled for moving, then go all out. Those screw-lock things are great for pulling and holding pieces together but can unscrew over time with micro movements.
I'll add, if you don't have wood glue and can't get a dollar store bottle good old fashioned white school glue works as well. I've fixed a door stop hole with toothpicks and a little glue.
All my flat pack furnitures are glued where ever possible. It makes them heavy as hell when moving, but still sturdy and strong when filled with your belongings.
@@abbylynn8872white school glue is PVA which is often used as wood glue!
No glue. We bought our shelves in 89 in Holland, took them apart and moved to Switzerland where they put together. 22 years later, we took them apart to move them again and put together again. They are still good. Great product.
My Billy bookcases are now 30 years old. They have moved house with me SIX times over those years and are still in excellent condition. If I ever needed another bookcase, I'd head straight for Ikea and look for the Billy section 😎
Are they made of chipboard? It seems everything IKEA is these days.
@@capri2673 Yes, I believe they are, but they've proved to be rugged over the years and the veneer still looks like real wood.
@@malsurvives You are fortunate. We have a bunch of these and their durability varies. We just put them in the basement where we don't really care how they look.
I have four of them between 10-30 year old. Also moved with them many times. Very solid, never needed strengthen them of anything else from Ikea.
How did you manage to keep the back panels alive during 6 moves? 😱
In my experience just looking at them the wrong way and the seams will rip 🤣
Fab video Stuart, i build & fit quite a lot of this type of furniture & also glue wherever i can, another tip i will share with your viewers is at the back of this unit (Around 9.20 mins) into your video you will see raw chip board, i usually paint some sort of wood sealer on to this, especially if it's an old house i'm working on just to prevent expansion in the board due to high humidity or damp in the house.
RUclips tip: you just need to give the time in digital to get a link to that part of the video. Like this: 09:20
PVA wood glue or varnish works best.
Love the ideas here. Though I might go with countersunk screws for the vertical support into shelves, to avoid the risk of the domed screws scratching the wall
Great tips for strengthening a bookcase! Gluing a strip to the back and screwing shelves through it is brilliant!
A drop of wood glue on the dowels works really well as they usually remain fairly loose and don't give the furniture any additional strength.
MFI used to supply little tubes of glue for this but they're long gone now and I m showing my age 😜
MFI - More Frustration Indoors.
@@markmiwurdz202I used to know people who worked at MFI's head office in north London. They referred to it as Made For Idiots. They had utter contempt for their customers. Good riddance. 👎
The timing of this was incredible; planned to rebuild a Billy today. Glad I watched this first, it now boasts a wooden spine for added strength! Thanks for the tips.
No problem Gary
Some 20 odd years ago we built a rank of standard Billy bookcases 3 wide + corner units each end + narrow units next to them to make a shallow U shape. To tart them up to go in our period house we stood them on several 4 inch fence posts, put ogee skirting board around the bookcase base & sides, picture rail around the tops, decorative timber mouldings down the fronts to hide the joins between units, & painted them pale cream. They look fabulous, haven't sagged, & I get admiring comments about my expensive bookcases. I dont always own up to them being Ikea....
Chipboard is not inherently strong with screws in the width as shown here. In fact they can themselves be the cause of the shelf delaminating. However, if you predrill the screw holes completely, and use long screws, then fill the predrilled holes with wood glue, this will make a much stronger support, and the glue will help prevent delamination.
I had a number of these shelf units which lasted very satisfactorily, but had to be left at he last house as I was moving internationally again.
I'd consider drilling the 10mm holes filling them with epoxy (5min one), then inserting a dowel, instead of a screw. My experience is mostly negative when it comes to wood screws and chipboard, esp. on pull out action (e.g. hinges). The case is different, yet the flex around the screw is likely to chip the chipboard, loosing with time.
At this point your just sourcing crap lumber for your wood project.
I left ikea furniture in its own dust 15 years ago. I wouldn't consider any of it.
They have full kitchens in there these days. And I just know it's trash made for a wet environment that wasn't made to hold up to a wet environment... there's no trust left when you make your products from shop scrapings.
Great idea for the back bone support! I agree glue the backboard before nailing it will make the structure a lot stronger. I also apply acrylic paint / water sealer to all bare "wood" sides of panels, as moisture will attack those areas more often. Especially important for those living in those hot and high humidity countries. For heavy books like those full of art and photography, solid wood is my first choice.
Fantastic tip to run a 1x2 up the back! It not only keeps the backboard from being pushed back, but the idea of using it to support the middles of the shelves is brilliant! Thanks!
Just built the 1st of 2 Billys and slid it into place after watching your video several times. Felt like an expert, thanks. The Proper DIY videos are WONDERFUL, not only in the advice and clear directions, but in the excellent camera work and editing. And you're adorable. 😁
A fourth option is one that you kind of covered. Use a horizontal stiffener beneath the shelf, but rather than putting it at the front of the shelf, put it at the back.
Not only does this eliminate the problems associated with matching the existing material, it also means that the shelves remain adjustable.
He was on the right track, instead of using a wood screw anchored into the adjustable shelf like he did, just drill a thru hole in that vertical strip of wood in the back, now inside the bookcase just install another one of those shelf pins into your newly drilled hole. Home Depot sells an 8-pack of shelf support pins for under three dollars.
@@deependz3231
Another great option 👍
@@deependz3231 You can get those shelf pins for free or not much money at ikea.
Thank you, this is super useful. I have 5 BILLYs, which I put on floor-particle board and added wheels, for a pull-out archive. And while it works well, then after 5-7 years they have become a little unstable, and the back pieces keep popping out.
I will definitely use your tricks for them.
When I built my Billy cases, I glued every dowel and every fixed shelf jointing face, the lower stiffener as well as the backing as shown in this video (but I doubled the amount of Brad nails in it) Been rock solid for 10 years!
Thank you, thank you. I just had a Billy fall apart due to overloading and too many moves. When I acquire my new one I shall definitely follow your sage advice and strengthen the poor thing.❤
I assembled 3 billies at around 1984, moved 4 times, they’re still fine and probably will outsmart me.
We had a library room of these Billy bookcases with glass doors. The cut out for the skirting and fixing to the rear wall were essential.
That was actually hugely useful. Thank you. I just bought four shelves like these from a friend who was closing down her shop. I just put them in my garage but I had to buy a bunch more nails to fasten the backs on them because a lot of them had pulled out.
Though a lot of your advice was the types of things I might expect, one was true genius. That is the use of that centerboard in the back. Thank you!
I still have my 3 Billy bookcases from over 35 years ago; and have moved at least 8 times with them. These are the old school ones with the single piece backing hardboard that is thicker and does not bend or fold in any way. They came with all metal hardware (no plastic anything) and fairly big nails with large heads to fasten the backs with, not small pins. Maybe I'm the anomaly, but I'm relatively poor, so hiring a moving company would be totally out of the question. I have always needed to take them back down to flat pack and then reassembled. No issues or problems with degradation of fit or finish, no glue.
You make a great point. If you are moving your furniture by yourself then disassembly is a must and impossible if glue is used. Thanks. 👍
Great video...certainly agree with the glue reinforcement and I've also used a staple gun to provide additional strength through the backboard/rear shelf edges with a run of staples there. Also, regarding your additional mid-point shelf supports, another way (similar to your first suggestion) is to simply glue in very thin vertical laser-type ply panels (3-4mm) that are not as deep as the shelf by about 20-30mm so they sit well back from the front shelf edges. Incredibly strong in compression, but so thin that in practice, and even unpainted, they are almost invisible between the vertical spine lines of your books..
Great video! Good pacing, very clear instructions and nicely filmed. Wish I saw it before assembling my own shelf. I'd definitely use some of the techniques used here :)
Looking forward to more of simillar content!
I reinforced my Billy shelves by attaching some aluminum U-channel on the back edge. (My shelves are older, so they all fit nicely in the 3/4" U-channel I could get at Home Depot... the newer size might be harder to find U-channel for.) This adds *tons* of stiffness to the shelves. I've got lots of weight on them, and they haven't sagged yet. They're also still re-positionable, as my needs change.
I also join multiple bookcases together by drilling through several of the shelf holes and inserting shelf-pins of the correct size though the holes to connect both bookcases; this ensures that their fronts always line up perfectly.
I've got one of the half height ones of these...it has had a lot of use and is still just as sturdy and strong as it was when I got it, about 20 years ago. It's already a really well made shelf unit.
I bought the Bill bookcase back in the first half of the eighties. It STILL looks new!
Wish I had watched this before I recently assembled 12 x 80cm full-height Billys and 5 x 40cm full-height Billys, all with Oxberg doors and extensions. Great video, thank you. The Billys, especially with Oxberg glass doors, are just great and make a fabulous library at a reasonable cost. As an engineer, I really appreciate the precision of their manufactured parts. Not once was any part or screw missing and everything fitted precisely.
I found it best to assemble them on a big table, just to save my back and knees. I thought about gluing but decided not to as I wanted to keep the disassembly option open, but I agree with you that removal companies will just take it away whole. I can always retrospectively glue or silicon but don't really think it is worthwhile. With multiple bookcases, I joined them together using Hafele's cabinet screw-and-sleeve 36 cm connectors for added solidity. When each of these is connected to the wall (preferably via a stud, but this is not essential) the whole assembly is as solid as a rock.
As you say, the shelf bending issue is the biggest issue with Billys as it is for all bookshelves, an issue I puzzled over for a long time. Not only is there simple bending that relates to the elasticity of the shelf, which the current thicker shelves largely solve, but more importantly is the issue of creep. Creep, or stretch, occurs over years and all wooden shelves, regardless of wooden material or manufacturer, are susceptible to. This is the major problem with any wooden shelf, solid hard wood or chipboard. I have very heavy books that are at the 30kg limit of each shelf, This is where I wish I had used your batten at the back.
My solution was twofold:
a) on the fixed shelves, hammer in a lot more more nails. The most recent Billy have a pretty solid backing (not as flexible as shown in your video, although I was using White Stained Oak as opposed to the white you used). These were more expensive so that may explain the difference. With a more solid backing and lots of nails, I am confident that this is equivalent to the rear batten in the video.
b) I used an aluminum U-channel cut to precisely the width of and length of each shelf and just slotted this into each shelf, I had these cut by an aluminum company here in Melbourne Australia. They each cost about a third of the cost of a new shelf ($8). The bottom and top shelf don't need these. The middle shelf could use this but I used extra nails to strengthen it. All other shelves have this U-channel at the back. Yes, it creates a lip that prevents sliding books to the back, but I was willing to accept this tradeoff. The tradeoff is that these shelves will never bend!!
The advantage to having the books not reach the back is that the heavy handed people can't push the books through the back! 😂
I used to have the older billy bookcases, 90cm wide, three of them against a wall, completely filled with books. The shelfs never sagged. Now, many years later, I have bookcases from another store, sort of billy look-a-likes, 80cm wide and all the shelfs have sagged in no-time… Thanks for sharing these great tips! When I go back to billies, I will follow your instructions!
Thank you so much for this! I am about to use Billy cases to create a built-in-looking bookshelf wall and I want it to be cost effective, handsome, and sturdy. Your instructions are exactly what I needed!
I want to do the same :) would you let me know how it goes? Thanks!!
@@OldAlexCat514 Well, the Billys are sold out! I cannot find them anywhere. I wound up getting shelves by "Concepts in Wood" through Bed Bath & Beyond (online). I got them in cappuccino, 84" tall. I got two of the "doubles" (48" wide) to flank my fireplace, and one that is (I think) 84" wide to go on another wall.
I'm sorry I couldn't do the build-in - I was looking forward to the project.
Nice video.
tip: if you want extra shelves check the prices for those shelves separately compared to how much another billy costs.
When i bought my Billies in 2001 the price of a Billy (which has 4 movable and 3 fixed shelves) was only 80% of the price of 5 extra shelves.
So i bought 8 Billies and built up 5 of hem and added the shelves from the other 3 for very full bookcases (2000 pocketbooks); built 1 with only the middle shelf for board games. And when my friend moved and severely damaged one of her billies i gave her 2 sides as replacement. Still have 2 sides left to this day.
I built two Billy based cases at 23 cm dvd height and running up to the ceiling which is about 80 cm above a full size Billy on my top floor. I needed four extra shelves in each of the main ones, so I did that from an extra unit and then used the top of the left over sides and three fixed shelves to build custom cabinet-toppers - so four full size Billy into two custom units about 1.5 times the size each.
Another option for shelf stiffening is to glue a length of aluminium angle (say 16mmx16mm) along the back edge of each shelf. This helps enormously and is pretty subtle to look at against a white shelf.
or....screw something like a 25x25mm angle to the front of the shelves, and stuff an LED strip into the gap, so you get invisible (if you can hide the wiring) shelf lighting.
I used board inserts as he described, but instead of trying to match the white, I matched my room decor (red, as it happens!), and made a feature of them. As well as putting them in the middle of the shelves, I added extras to make the effect of cubbies, rather than shelves. It also helps me to be tidier......
@@MattOGormanSmith To get some good ideas, check out how they are lighting display cases.
Yep. Re engineer the inferior engineering.
While doing so. Consider re engineering your next future ikea purchase. Or maybe stop shopping the bottom of the pond.
A woodworker.
I am a relatively new devotee Stuart but I love your videos. They speak to me as a 56 year old man who is relatively handy but still a DIY’er. The biggest thing is that most of your videos appeal to me as they are the sort of jobs I’m doing for me and my two grown up daughters
I have an unassembled Billy just waiting for me to finish building out my office. Lots of great tips. Thank you!
Went in thinking this was going to be something that made it impossible to take apart, and was really happy to see this simple addition is college student friendly!
Very brave using PVA directly over a carpet...if only you had something like a piece of cardboard to protect it from drips!
Most carpenters glue, such as Elmer's, are water soluble, just don't let the spills dry.
Why so sassy xD
@@mlem6951 You say sassy, I say informative. And why so judgy?
@@sourdoughhome2571 You find me judgy, but his passiv aggressive comment was okay for you? Wow xD
@@mlem6951 Sorry, I though you were being snarky about my comment.
As the glueing and the piano soundtrack flowed in, fat warm tears arrived to my face in awe. Beautiful.
I used to replace the hardboard with thin ply and glue/pin it in place - made it truly bomb proof
My trick to keep it sturdy without glueing is to fix an Observator cross brace to the back. Works like a charm. All the other tips are sound too 👍
Excellent tip. Thank you. 👍
On another point, one trick I found for Ikea drawers was to use a bit of beading lengthwise underneath the hardboard base of each drawer. It then allowed me to put more than one pair of socks in before the base slowly warped downwards.
😂😂😂😂 ''more than one pair of socks'.......damn, good to know the flimsiness b4 purchase!😂😂😂
Most of the IKEA drawers I have built over the last few years (most recently last week!) have a metal bar from front to back underneath to provide support.
@@g0uus In the UK the base of the drawers were a sheet of hardboard which, when the main wood hulk was put together, was slid in from the back and pinned along the back. As the widest part would be affected by bowing, I always put a strip of hardwood beading which worked. Another design flaw with chests of drawers was if the side cheeks bowed outwards over time even for a fraction of a millimetre, the drawer would drop out of the slider slot and fall down onto the drawer below. That too could be cured in a couple of ways.
@@rbrooks2007well the ones I put together last week were bought in Southampton and had the metal bar. I also know this is not particularly new as I have put together a number of IKEA drawers in the last couple of years and they all had the strengthening bar. I remember thinking "that's a good idea" the first time I came across the new design drawers, and I do remember the older design.
So many great ideas here. Will need to apply these the next time I put the shelves in
We got MFI kitchen and bedroom furniture years and years ago, my has and was a belt and braces type of chap. Years later when we were changing the kitchen he had to use an electric saw to it, everything that had been glued and screwed was all still intact, the bedroom units are still in use by my now 34yr old daughter.
i have used the batten under the shelf before and its great. You just need to attach it at the back of the shelf though, not the front. Then minor colour changes/gaps etc don't show. It also means the shelf is adjustable in the future. Love the idea of the extra backing board, will use that in the future
Also I always glue all fixings, both the dowel and the screws. I think although it doesn't bond to the screw it stiffens the chipboard, giving a firmer foundation to the screw
One thing you forgot to mention was to ensure that the little arrow on the cam points in the right direction.
Easy to forget and can cause issues when assembling large pieces.
Also I use a dish or Tupper ware container for all the little fixings, you can be sure that you will nudge the cardboard box during assembly sending bits everywhere.
Nicely done. I didn't think of the bracing strip at the back. Mine suffered from being moved so I replaced the hardboard back with some slightly thicker plywood then I screwed the fixed shelves to it. I also tried screws in the back of the adjustable shelves but they still sagged. The vertical partitions do work but I stagger them on each pair of shelves so they get support above and below at two points. However when I needed more shelves the cost of Billy Bookcases had gone up considerably so I built my own 8ft x 4ft shelves out of 18mm ply with a 3mm backing. They hold almost as much as two Billy bookcases and are much stronger and cost about the same as two bookcases. Much more satisfying when you build your own.
I have been following your instructions, thank you. The bookcases now come with pre drilled holes and plastic plugs that the plastic "nails" go into. I secured it with more nails and glue as suggested by you.
Great video Stuart. Was thinking at 2min58secs in that we might be seeing you glue the tip of your finger back on as well!
Another idea is in old houses with carpet where the floorboards might not be so level is to put some small spacers underneath the bookcase frame to ensure its all level before you then load it up with books and fix to the wall. The spacers get hidden by the carpet pile.
I put aluminum L profiles with epoxy clue on the back of heavy loaded shelves to prevent bending. Worked like a charme - they're almost invisible, don't change the look and are still movable.
My thoughts exactly. With the 'visible', horizontal part of the angle on the underside of the shelf - so anything you put on the shelf doesn't hit it.
Would it not push the shelf outward and mess up the alignment?
@@kewlking No, it doesn't. Have a look at 12:25: the shelves don't sit loosely on these little metal pins, they're fixed by them, i.e. no change of the alignment (even with the L profiles). The profiles are no problem there because A) they add only an extra of 1 mm to the shelf, B) there's a little gab between the shelf and the backside and C) the backside is also slightly flexible.
Billy bookcases are a great starting point for other projects. The side of a Billy bookcase makes a great 6' shelf with two wall mount brackets at 24" intervals. I've used extra shelves to add storage to kitchen cabinets and custom built-ins for other rooms.
Nice video. I have 8 Billy bookcases since 1996, which are filled with books and are still fine.
Back then Ikea only added a few nails to secure the backboard and we added our own nails to secure it. This helped to keep the boards pretty secure. But if I could do it again I would definitely add a plank im the middle like you did.
If you decide to follow the advice and add a board in the middle between the shelves to prevent sagging, you don't need to buy an extra Billy bookcase. Ikea sells extra shelves in the same colours as the Billy bookcases. So you could just buy a few extra shelves if you decide to do that.
The timing on this video is pretty extraordinary. I just assembled a Billy bookcase two months ago - before this video came out - and I came to the same conclusion that strengthening of the structure was desirable. I did this by doubling the number of nails going into the backs of each shelf, and also added wood glue to the backs of each shelf. This entailed pre-preparing a damp cloth to wipe up the trails of wood glue that I knew would squeeze out as I nailed through the cardboard backing.
Thank you for stating the glue that you use as I was clueless. I am going to put mine together over the weekend and really wanted to use the glue to make it sturdy. I’m new at this so wish me luck.
@@cherokee7411 White wood glue/PVA glue is suitable.
@@saltech3444 Thank you very much
It makes sense with flat pack furniture that they would orient the face side of the boards towards the cardboard because they would be least likely to get friction damage from rubbing against other parts during shipping. The hint of using a chisel is great.
That is a fantastic idea! I think that i will always add a screw to the shelf of a bookcase from this day forward! Thank you so very much!!
Glueing isn't necessary, it's quite messy and will run, but doubling the amount of tac nails is better. Also the adjustable shelves have very weak plastic inserts that will stretch and fail under a heavy load. Replacing them with all metal fittings is best. My local hardware store carried these for a dollar. You can't go wrong.
The content we didn't know we needed! This is DIY on a whole other level
Very nice video - good scripting, editing, pace and presentation. The content is also excellent - this is a great way to strengthen a Billy bookcase! I have one in my basement workshop that I bought about 30 years ago. No mods and yes, the shelves are sagging a bit. It's screwed to the wall stud with angle brackets and is going nowhere!
Last year, after moving to a new house, I assembled 3 of the Billy bookcases. I used wood glue everywhere to provide additional rigidity. I am fairly efficient at assembling Ikea products, having assembled many of their products over many years so I could have one fully assembled before the glue finished drying.
Thanks for the good ideas! I've built a bunch of these over the years and can definitely see the benefit of making it more sturdy. One slight issue to have in mind when it comes to screwing the shelves in place from behind is of course that it will leave visible holes in the back if the shelves would ever need rearranging.
One could easily countersink the screws
@@29mailman I think he means holes in the back panel where the shelf was originally located. You'd need to fill or plug it
Yes, but if your shelves are carrying books, then hopefully the books would obscure the hole.
Another good tip is to use small screws, instead of the nails, easier to take out if you want to dissmantle the case when you move.
@@MKRM27 when its screwed, you don't need any glue
I use staples after gluing, I must have a builders bucket of nails from flat pack furniture I haven't used.
I like the idea of the wood strip in the back. Like others here I glue the dowels in place also. Makes a big difference.
Great idea! I'm putting them together and will be reinforcing them with the wood in the middle. Thank you.
Another good tip with flat pack furniture is to put some wood glue in all the screw and dowel holes. It’s something my grandad always did. It helps stabilise the chipboard and stops the screws from pulling out as easily, as we all know wood glue is stronger than the actual wood.
I've had a bunch of these bookcases for almost 20 years now. The last time the back boards started coming out again I simply used plywood screws to drive them into place, and it has worked so far. Additional glue would definitely do an even better job.
what size? and how much weight would u say is on them, a full shelf of paperback books?
I always use my drill, but I make keen use of the torque clutch settings. I start low, I think the sweet spot for most flat-pack furniture usually ends up around 7-10 on the dial. Just enough to get it flush but the clutch will engage as soon as it's set.
Another fantastic tip filled video Stuart, love the wooden batten on the back and the strengthening screws into the shelves...fab!!!
Thanks
I use the area where they sell damaged goods as a source of sheet materials. They usually have a stack of damaged or odd panels for a few pence. I've made loads of stuff for my home and garage out of bits I have bought there.
Likewise for me but with the B&Q charity bin. Amazing finds in there over the years
Ours always shrink-wraps a whole cartful so there's no way to just get a few boards. Way more than I'd be able to use or store, and that's assuming I could even load it into my car. Not to mention it's like $50 which I'm sure is a deal for some people, but not for someone wanting just a few odd pieces.
@@elisabetk2595 I've not been in store since before COVID, so it could be the same for me. In the past I bought single shelves for 20p, and side panels for 50p or £1.
You’re like me. I always pour all the small parts into a bowl (or, like you did, the small piece of cupped cardboard) to keep them together. It drives me bananas when folks pour them out onto the floor and they go everywhere!
Egg cartons are good for keeping different parts separated and safely contained
All good points presented. Been screwing and gluing this type of "furniture" for years, and it works.By the way, should have glued the wooden dowels. Also, glue will run so you should have left the cardboard on the carpet.
I have been contemplating this issue for many years. I have added long screws to the sides of my Billy bookcases going deep into the sides of the shelves through the walls of the case and also corner fixings to improve rigidity. I have also considered adding a plywood sheet to the back in place of the hardboard. Another Idea was to rout a groove to the underside of the shelves and then add long steel lengths across the span of the shelves. Batons at the back or front of the shelves are a good idea as you suggest but yes you have to balance appearance Vs strength.
For the metal screw pins, you can use a drill. Just set the clutch to the weakest setting to avoid over-tightening.
Personally, I prefer the first option you suggested as it is flexible, in that the vertical braces don't have to be in the centre, they can be moved to best accommodate the book widths or to create a nook for ornaments and they require no fixtures, a good snug fit is all that is required.
As for the problem of matching the materials, no problems. Rather than trying to match them, make them a feature with a contrasting colour.
Alternatively, be creative and make it look like a book by either painting a spline on raw timber or gluing an actual book spline onto the board.
Wow, the number of Billys (and other IKEA and similar flatpack stuff) I've put up in my lifetime - I wish I had a penny for each time and then I could afford to buy the chain and be its CEO. I think I have glued the hardboard into the recess a couple of times, and also occasionally put the panel pins in at an angle when I remembered. But your genius stroke is the piece of batten you put down the back, and then a 2" screw into the midpoint horizontal/midpoint vertical of each shelf, tops and bottoms. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your point of view) I don't live near an IKEA anymore. You're right about not dismantling them for moving house -- just weakens them. And DEFFO no Stanley knife to open the boxes. Cheers mate, that was brill!
Good suggestions. I think buying an extra bookcase is an obvious solution to the material question for shelf strengthening assuming you are installing a few Billys (less cost effective if you are just doing one).
I installed 4 Billys and was able to use a 5th to reinforce the shelves of all of them (using the sides too). I didn't screw them - used a biscuit cutter and biscuits/glue and they are as solid as a rock - at the back I screwed a steel strip across the back edge of each shelf . Lots of extra work - but same idea - the shelves are certainly the weakest link over time. At one time IKEA sold matching face frame material to go around Billys - helpful for building in - unfortunately they seemed to stop doing it years ago.
I have a template to extend the skirting board cutout. Apart from that, can't scratch build at their price. Often add 6mm mdf at back to improve rigidity, especially if I've cut out for a double socket so socket box pokes through the back and faceplate fixed flush with back of bookcase. IKEA supply additional shelf packs that you can cut to stop sagging
Well done. I've tried all three suggestions you've made in regards to preventing shelf sag and found them all lacking and honestly not worth it. I've learned to accept that they will sag, but not the sag. I merely flip the shelves twice a year and use the tendency to sag to straighten the sag.
That is a great tip. I am a flipper.. mattresses, couch cushions and now will take shelf flipping into my tool kit 🤗
You can't flip Billys because they have a peg hole only on one side
@@SS-wi4tm oh darn .. thanks
@@SS-wi4tm I swapped out those things for straight pegs as soon as I could.
@@justmejo9008 you can swap them out for straight pegs I made from common nails.
Nice assembly review, but the ‘bottom stiffener’ is actually called a plinth. It’s to stop rubbish collecting under the shelves and as a finish. I also glue the bottom shelf to it. You may want to check diagonals before attaching the brads. Lloyd
I have glued Ikea furniture together for decades and it has lasted very well indeed - we even have some Poäng chairs (nearly 30 years old now!) at don't squeak and groan like many I've seen (even in the store!)
You can often find extra shelves at a very low price in their circular hub (what used to be bargain corner) 😊
A great idea to do IKEA build improvements, Stuart.
As Davie says, the extra IKEA melamine shelves are very reasonably priced (last time I bought some they were £8 for 2) and so slicing them up for the vertical bookend idea is a cheap alternative. However, after watching you drill through the back into the shelves through the middle it does mean that you can never readjust the shelf heights and I have moved ALL the shelves in my 10+ Billy bookcases more than once even though I moved into my house only 4 years ago!
So, as an alternative, you could mark the shelves as you did but instead of screwing from the back, use an IKEA bullet type peg which you can get very easily from the Returns Section spares bins and just drilling a suitable sized hole for it from the front, into the hardboard and vertical timber. so it props up the back of the shelf. Of course, you could use the Billy shelf clips but then you would need to countersink the underside of each shelf to accommodate the poky-uppy bits in the newer billy shelf clips.
The vertical timber is a fantastic plus since instead of clambering up to fit the anti-tilt mechanism to the top, you could just take out a shelf and drill through the area that will be hidden behind the shelf and fit the bookcase to the wall that way.
I am in a bit of a rush atm so haven't yet watched right through to the end - but I will - and I have to mention that the little scoop out of the bottom rear of the uprights is designed for continental european style skirting boards and I have often found it necessary to use a jigsaw to rake that scoop a bit further up so the bookcase fits level with the wall and avoids the higher UK skirting boards. This might also mean the vertical central timber may also interfere with the skirting board, so before I ever fully assemble a Billy bookcase, I always measure the height of the skirting board since modifying the back/bottom of the bookcase uprights is easier when it is not assembled. If of course the skirting board is less than the IKEA gifted 'scoop' you do not need to do any extra jigsaw work.
One final tip on using 800mm wide Billy bookcases is that if you are filling an alcove and you want to have it look fitted right across the alcove, you can buy the narrower 400mm wide Billy bookcase and trim down the narrower shelves to span the extra width or if it is only about 240mm, you can buy the Gnedby CD/DVD bookcase that will fill that gap. That Gnedby n bookcase is not as deep as the Billy bookcases and so it is idea if you want to get a power extension or in my case, a load of computer cables up to the top of the bookcase.
Keep up the good work, Stuart, you are one of a small number of my YT favourites.
I have always glued the backs, also the wooden dowels.
This is contrary to what the Ikea CS has said though, they do not think you should be gluing them. Won't stop me doing it though, things last longer when better built.
Last year we helped our son move into his new flat, including a couple of Billy Bookcases and some other Ikea stuff. It's 3rd floor with just stairs, no lift. Although they had to go up each in their box, if, as and when the time comes for him to move out and I'm still in a condition to help, I can guarantee that if it's anything to do with me, they're all coming out bit by bit rather than as complete units! 🤣
Here are some basic principles to bear in mind while modifying the basic design :
1. avoid screwing fixtures directly into the chip board.
2. you can stiffen the shelf by either (a) reducing the span or (b) adding a longitudinal stiffener.
My choice is always (b).
To put some numbers to the problem : applying solution (a) - Halving the span [ by putting in another panel, as suggested in the movie ] will reduce the maximum stress by a factor of 4.
Using solution (b), max stress is reduced proportional to the CUBE of the depth of the stiffener. This is easily the most effective way of beefing up the shelves supplied which are notoriously weak in bending.
If you choose solution (b) you will be creating a T section, with the top of the T being the width of the shelf and the short arm of the T being the thickness of the shelf + the depth of the stiffener. Because we will normally be loading the shelf with books, the location of the stiffener is important. In practice, I have found that locating it towards the back of the shelf is OK since most books will not be as deep as the shelf, and the stiffener will not be seen or limit its capacity unless very broad books are inserted.
In order to comply with condition 1 [ above ] the stiffener would typically be solid wood say 40mm by 18mm , which is screwed to the shelf by screws passing through holes in the shelf with counter sinks in the shelf and the screw bighting only into the stiffener. In the video he mentions such a stiffener at the front of the shelf, but this puts a limit on the height of book which can be easily inserted into the shelf. If you REALLY want to beef up a shelf, you could consider TWO longitudinal stiffeners, one above the shelf and one below, wth the two connected by bolts in which each bolt passes through a hole in the shelf and grips the two stiffeners tightly to the shelf. I have not tried this, but am confident that it would work if installed with due care.
Of course, there is also another solution : buy a sturdy second-hand bookcase from yesteryear ; they are available at rock-bottom prices these days.
Hard to agree with your assertion that the quality has improved with time. I have three iterations of Billy bought over time and note that the shelf supports are now cheap plastic instead of metal, the finishes are not nearly as smooth as before, the newer stains don’t match the old ones despite having the same name, some stains are discontinued so one can’t properly add to the set, and the hardboard backing is flimsier now. All in all the product has been cheapened, is lower quality, without a corresponding reduction in price.
I've had and have many of these shelves, and I flip the shelves over every two years to take out the bow. I like the strip of wood down the back and when I saw you marking the position of the shelves I though that you may have been putting in some of those side clips down the centre of the back to support the shelves.
Thanks for the video.
I've always made mine from wood using a router as a dado for the shelves. These bookcases are not for everybody, as they tend to be very heavy. They are super strong. Solid wood back too. Your idea for the strip in the back is nice. Thanks for the video!
Excellent video as always, Stuart.
The only issue once the adjustable shelves are fixed,if you want to adjust for different sized books later there's a chance that the original screw positions will be visible but I guess there are ways to disguise them.
Some brilliant tips there stu. Another good video. Keep up the good work.
Thank you Robin