Substitute for cinder blocks in making temporary bookshelves?
mike
blocks to separate the planks. But cinder blocks are too heavy. Any
recommendations for something lighter to use? The bookshelves will
contain all paperbacks, so each shelf doesn't need to support a lot of
weight. Don't care about aesthetics (obviously!). The bookshelves will
live in a large walk-in closet. Just need visual access to the books
(vs. sitting in cardboard boxes).
Thanks!
mike
Cinder blocks are also too tall for paperbacks. Using them would
result in wasted wall space. Is there anything else I can pick-up
cheaply at my local Home Depot or Lowes to substitute for cinder
blocks? Something that would accommodate paperbacks without the wasted
space.
Jeff Thies
Shelves are cheap and come in a variety of sizes. Generally there are a
series of holes (1/8") on the sides and you can insert pegs to sit a
shelf on exactly where needed. You could be build your own, it's just a
box. The back typically keeps it from slumping over. I made some
recently with a half back and it is holding a lot. Alternatively attach
to wall (look for stud).
Books, whether hard bound or paperback are heavy. Pick up that box of
books again...
Try Target or IKEA, Walmart is a lower quality, but usable if also
annoying. Or Goodwill.
Jeff
>
> Thanks!
mike
Wonder if they have "half height" cinder blocks. Or if there's a
cinder-block like item at a Home Depot or Lowes that would serve the
purpose. I have thought of milk crate-like boxes, but they're too wide
and probably too tall.
Definitely not interested in buying pre-made bookshelves. There either
aren't enough planks or they're not wide enough. I have a walk-in
closet where I could easily put in temporary shelving from 5 to 6 ft
long. They don't make bookcases that long so far as I know.
Vandy Terre
Right now at my local WalMart there are half size 'milk' crates for sale as part
of school supplies. These in combination with planks might do the job.
Long ago, we used orange crates instead of bricks or concrete blocks. Check the
grocery produce manager for wood vegetable crates that will be tossed into the
trash. Also consider coffee cans as spacers. The canisters can be filled with
sand or rock or any thing with weight like collectable coins.
Rod Speed
> I've made temporary bookshelves out of planks of wood using cinder
> blocks to separate the planks. But cinder blocks are too heavy.
Too heavy for what ? Just moving them around when making the bookshelves ?
Seems pretty silly to worry about something you dont do often enough to matter.
You can get much lighter than normal blocks, still the same size but of lighter concrete.
> Any recommendations for something lighter to use?
The lighter blocks.
> The bookshelves will contain all paperbacks, so each shelf doesn't
> need to support a lot of weight. Don't care about aesthetics (obviously!).
They do look pretty reasonable anyway.
> The bookshelves will live in a large walk-in closet. Just need
> visual access to the books (vs. sitting in cardboard boxes).
Some people do use the very large plastic crates used to move
bread around in, just one book deep. The sellers of second hand
books at sales that move around do use those quite a bit, works
reasonably well, but not as good as proper bookshelves.
I make proper bookshelves with slotted square steel tubing, 1", with
aluminum flats in the slots to hold up the shelves but you do need to
be able to weld up the slotted square steel tubing unless you use the
Dexion system which has corners you hammer into the ends of the tubes.
Rod Speed
> On Aug 15, 9:40 am, mike <mikeer...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> I've made temporary bookshelves out of planks of wood using cinder
>> blocks to separate the planks. But cinder blocks are too heavy. Any
>> recommendations for something lighter to use? The bookshelves will
>> contain all paperbacks, so each shelf doesn't need to support a lot
>> of weight. Don't care about aesthetics (obviously!). The bookshelves
>> will live in a large walk-in closet. Just need visual access to the
>> books (vs. sitting in cardboard boxes).
> Cinder blocks are also too tall for paperbacks.
Not enough to matter.
> Using them would result in wasted wall space. Is there anything else I can pick-up
> cheaply at my local Home Depot or Lowes to substitute for cinder blocks?
> Something that would accommodate paperbacks without the wasted space.
Nope, thats why every uses blocks.
The slotted square tubing does fix the spacing problem because the slots are at
1" spaces. But that costs rather more than the blocks if you use the dexion system.
It works out pretty cheap if you can weld up rectacular frames and wouldnt cost
that much to get someone to weld them for you if you cant. You screw the frames
to the wall and use aluminum flats in the slots to hold the shelves themselves up.
Rod Speed
> Wonder if they have "half height" cinder blocks.
Yes they do, but that wont work because they are 4" high, too low for paperbacks.
> Or if there's a cinder-block like item at a Home Depot or Lowes
> that would serve the purpose. I have thought of milk crate-like
> boxes, but they're too wide and probably too tall.
Correct on both counts.
You can use bricks, but they arent anything like as stable as blocks.
> Definitely not interested in buying pre-made bookshelves. There either
> aren't enough planks or they're not wide enough. I have a walk-in
> closet where I could easily put in temporary shelving from 5 to 6 ft
> long. They don't make bookcases that long so far as I know.
Corse they do.
mike
> mike wrote:
> > Wonder if they have "half height" cinder blocks.
>
> Yes they do, but that wont work because they are 4" high, too low for paperbacks.
I checked my local Home Depot today. They sell 6" x 6" x 6" half
cinder blocks for $1.27 each. Perfect for paperbacks.
Rod Speed
>>> Wonder if they have "half height" cinder blocks.
>> Yes they do, but that wont work because they are 4" high, too low for paperbacks.
> I checked my local Home Depot today. They sell 6" x 6" x 6" half cinder blocks
Those arent half cinder blocks, the normal height is 8"
mike
My mistake. There were, in fact, 8" x 8" x 8".
Rod Speed
> Rod Speed <rod.speed....@gmail.com> wrote
>> mike wrote
>>> Rod Speed <rod.speed....@gmail.com> wrote
>>>> mike wrote
>>>>> Wonder if they have "half height" cinder blocks.
>>>> Yes they do, but that wont work because they are 4" high, too low for paperbacks.
>>> I checked my local Home Depot today. They sell 6" x 6" x 6" half cinder blocks
>> Those arent half cinder blocks, the normal height is 8"
>>> for $1.27 each. Perfect for paperbacks.
> My mistake. There were, in fact, 8" x 8" x 8".
You can get them 6" x 6" x 6" but they are much less common so rather harder to find.
No use for paperbacks tho, they are bigger than that.
In fact the bigger modern paperbacks are over 9" high, so too big for shelves done with
8" blocks too, tho you can pad them up a bit with some bits of wood on the top of each block.
In fact nominal 8" blocks arent actually 8" high, 8" includes the mortar when laid in a wall.
The Real Bev
Fasten a stack of paperbacks together with twine. I'd suggest duct tape
for strength, but it tends to be permanent when you want it to be
temporary and temporary when you want it to be permanent.
--
Cheers, Bev
***********************************************************
"Everyone ought to stop and smell crayons once in a while."
-- DA
h
"The Real Bev" <bashl...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:i4aj7d$np7$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
>
> Fasten a stack of paperbacks together with twine. I'd suggest duct tape
> for strength, but it tends to be permanent when you want it to be
> temporary and temporary when you want it to be permanent.
>
> --
Ah yes, I remember my book-and-book bookcases fondly. Stacks of paperbacks
for supports and coffee table books for shelves.
Michael Black
> On 08/15/10 16:29, mike wrote:
>
>> On Aug 15, 7:16 pm, "Rod Speed"<rod.speed....@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> mike wrote
>>> > Rod Speed<rod.speed....@gmail.com> wrote
>>> >> mike wrote
>>> >>> Wonder if they have "half height" cinder blocks.
>>> >> Yes they do, but that wont work because they are 4" high, too low for
>>> paperbacks.
>>> > I checked my local Home Depot today. They sell 6" x 6" x 6" half
>>> cinder blocks
>>>
>>> Those arent half cinder blocks, the normal height is 8"
>>>
>>> > for $1.27 each. Perfect for paperbacks.
>>
>> My mistake. There were, in fact, 8" x 8" x 8".
>
> Fasten a stack of paperbacks together with twine. I'd suggest duct tape for
> strength, but it tends to be permanent when you want it to be temporary and
> temporary when you want it to be permanent.
>
Not if you buy books for the purpose. Go to a used book sale towards the
end, and there's bound to be books you didn't know existed, didn't want to
know about. The good books have been harvested already, making it easier
to find the junk books. By that late in the sale, they may also be at a
reduced price, some sales even start selling books by the bag towards the
end.
Or pass by used book stores. I often find junk books lying outside,
clearly people brought them to the store to sell and they were rejected,
so they pile them on the sidewalk outside the store rather than drag them
home.
Michael
mike
> You can get them 6" x 6" x 6" but they are much less common so rather harder to find.
> No use for paperbacks tho, they are bigger than that.
> In fact the bigger modern paperbacks are over 9" high, so too big for shelves done with
> 8" blocks too
By paperbacks I don't mean *all* non-hardcover books. Sorry for not
being clearer. Specifically, I meant to say mass market novel
paperbacks. I measured them to be about 7" high, so 8" blocks would be
fine for the specific size of paperbacks I'm needing to display.
mike
> Fasten a stack of paperbacks together with twine. I'd suggest duct tape
> for strength, but it tends to be permanent when you want it to be
> temporary and temporary when you want it to be permanent.
Interesting technique and beats mine on price. But I'd prefer to have
wooden shelves. Saw someone build an entire temporary desk out of
liquor store boxes--impressive looking, but not for me.
At Home Depot, 1" x 6" x 12 ft "premium pine" (I'd settle for mediocre
pine...) planks cost ~$10 each. Purchasing 2 of these, I could cut
each in half and have 4 six-foot planks for $20. Six of the $1.27 each
8 X 8 X 8 half cinder blocks is $7.62. The back wall of the closet is
longer than 6 ft, so they'll fit fine. So for $27.62 + tax, I'd have
just under three rows of 5 ft. each (I lose space on each side due to
the 8" blocks). Will Home Depot cut the planks for free?
Mike
The Real Bev
> On Aug 16, 1:44 am, The Real Bev<bashley...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Fasten a stack of paperbacks together with twine. I'd suggest duct tape
>> for strength, but it tends to be permanent when you want it to be
>> temporary and temporary when you want it to be permanent.
>
> Interesting technique and beats mine on price. But I'd prefer to have
> wooden shelves. Saw someone build an entire temporary desk out of
> liquor store boxes--impressive looking, but not for me.
The tied-together books are the supports, not the shelves. A space- and
money-saving alternative to cinder blocks of any size.
Google for lego constructions -- I'm sure somebody has made a desk out
of them.
> At Home Depot, 1" x 6" x 12 ft "premium pine" (I'd settle for mediocre
> pine...) planks cost ~$10 each. Purchasing 2 of these, I could cut
> each in half and have 4 six-foot planks for $20. Six of the $1.27 each
> 8 X 8 X 8 half cinder blocks is $7.62. The back wall of the closet is
> longer than 6 ft, so they'll fit fine. So for $27.62 + tax, I'd have
> just under three rows of 5 ft. each (I lose space on each side due to
> the 8" blocks). Will Home Depot cut the planks for free?
'Knotty pine" (generally warped, and you had to pick each plank to avoid
the more difficult holes) 1/12 used to cost 3 cents a foot in the 60s,
when we put up a lot of shelves. Hard to believe, hun?
Some stores give you one free cut. You'll have to ask.
--
Cheers, Bev
-----------------------------------------
"Not everyone can be above average so why
shouldn't we be the ones to suck?"
--Anonymous School Board Member
Malcom "Mal" Reynolds
mike <mike...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Empty 5 gallon buckets.
(Empty) paint cans
(Empty) #10 food cans (not at HD of course)
Macrame and hang from ceiling (or two chairs)
In a pinch you can even fold and tape cardboard into any shape/height you want
(making sure to shape it as a triangle or square) as supports.
Gary Heston
>Cinder blocks are also too tall for paperbacks. Using them would
>result in wasted wall space. Is there anything else I can pick-up
>cheaply at my local Home Depot or Lowes to substitute for cinder
>blocks? Something that would accommodate paperbacks without the wasted
>space.
Use bricks instead, stacked three or four high between shelves. Two on
edge, stacked, might also work.
Gary
--
Gary Heston ghe...@hiwaay.net http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/
If you want to reduce the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,
go plant trees.
VFW
<43a0b05f-48a6-4aad...@p7g2000yqa.googlegroups.com>,
mike <mike...@yahoo.com> wrote:
i use wood pallets for just about any supports. and the last time I
built a bookcase I used wood ladders at either end with planks for the
shelves. good luck.
--
Money! What a concept.
SMS
You can make 6' "ladders" with 2'x4's & closet rod or 1" dowels. You'll
need to attach the "ladders" to the wall. Lay the planks across them and
use wood screws to screw the planks into the dowels.
Of course this is probably more work than buying a few bookshelves at Ikea.
SMS
I've built floor to ceiling 8' long bookshelves that were easy to
disassmble.
8' long pine 1"x12" planks reinforced with a 2"x4" on both long sides so
they don't sag. Four 2"x4" uprights. Drill holes in the uprights and in
the 2"x4"s on each shelf at the desired spacing.
Attach the whole thing to studs in the wall with lag bolts.
The books can go under the 2"x4" of the shelf above to save space or you
can waste that 1.5". In California I found it was better to have the
books gently held in place by the 2"x4" above during an earthquake.
For paperbacks you could get by with 1"x8" planks and make some other
changes to lower the cost as well.
vjp...@at.biostrategist.dot.dot.com
then with a plastic screw). I have thousands of books in the basement
in such cases, draped with thick sheet plastic flaps to keep out the
dust. The newer case (with plastic posts but also longer shelves) has
warped a bit. My local lumber yard (the same one we got them from in
the 1960s and 1970s) insists these ar eno longer available. Some of
those posts were nice enough that we made a small partition for my
piano out such posts with marble shelves and stained it nicely.
- = -
Vasos Panagiotopoulos, Columbia'81+, Reagan, Mozart, Pindus, BioStrategist
http://www.panix.com/~vjp2/vasos.htm http://www.facebook.com/vasjpan2
---{Nothing herein constitutes advice. Everything fully disclaimed.}---
[Homeland Security means private firearms not lazy obstructive guards]
[Urb sprawl confounds terror] [Phooey on GUI: Windows for subprime Bimbos]
vjp...@at.biostrategist.dot.dot.com
When I used to work in cubicle land I collected xerox paper boxes as
shelf liners. I would keep my stuff in these boxes and put the boxes
on my shelves. Every six months there was a reorg, so we had to move,
so I just stacked my boxes on a wheeled chair and was in my new
cubicle faster than anyone else. But I usually did this on a Friday
afternnon, after cleaning my new cubicle with Fantastik.
Also, when in grad school, I kept journals and xeroxed stuff in xerox
boxes held together with fencing wire, stacked about three high. But
after about three yers it started to collapse and I threw them all
out. Now they are in pdf files.
Jean B.
> I've made temporary bookshelves out of planks of wood using cinder
> blocks to separate the planks. But cinder blocks are too heavy. Any
> recommendations for something lighter to use? The bookshelves will
> contain all paperbacks, so each shelf doesn't need to support a lot of
> weight. Don't care about aesthetics (obviously!). The bookshelves will
> live in a large walk-in closet. Just need visual access to the books
> (vs. sitting in cardboard boxes).
>
> Thanks!
I just put in ca 170 linear feet of shelves, which are supported
by wooden record boxes. Of course, one can use milk crates too.
--
Jean B.