Will it survive the weight

Mick, I have quite a number of records now and tried to move the sturdy cupboard they were housed in, its very very heavy.

Although no doubt a strong fix could be obtained, I think you would be safer to purchase something like the 'billy' furniture from Ikea, which is specially sized curiously to hold records.
This would secure the records on the sides as well, which is always a pain on a shelf.

...And if you don't like Billy try Akrobat. Similar thing but you can have matching drawer units, doors and half height glass or wooden shelves. I use it in my office as well as for record and tape storage.

Regards
Steve

Mick,

Ten feet of records is one hell of a weight to be putting on a free-standing shelf attached to a plasterboard wall.

I don't think that I would feel too comfortable with the idea myself.

But if you are to go that route,I would suggest you place a baton of some description running the entire legnth that the back of the shelf would effectivly sit on to help disperse the load and help stop the shelf sagging.

For fixing,try to locate the wood framework behind the plasterboard,these are "usually" some 16 or 18 inches apart centre to center ( though this really is dependant on the construction...you need to investigate).And use some decent sized wood screws. Also use the plasterboard fixings along the rest of the baton as supplimentary fixings ( There are several types of these).

As for the brackets (effectlvly supporting the front of the shelf),you need to have these quite long and again,these really do need to be fixed at several points to the wooden uprights of the framework behind the plasterboard.

As I said before,I personally wouldn't feel too comfortable with the weight,but,if I were to do it,I would keep the above on mind.

Regards

Chris

Chris gives good advice but even better is: Don't even attempt it. You must have something grounded to the floor for that kind of weight. Billy's OK but the wider units sag under the weight of a row of vinyl. I think a man of your taste and income should use Hutter.

Alex

Chaps

You have put me off an open shelf. I may pop down the local carpenter and see if I can get an oversize book shelf type thing made up.

Are there any propriety makers going about.

Regards

Mick

There are quite a few propriety makers about, look in magazines like Mojo, Uncut, Q etc but they are very expensive. The local carpenter is probably your best bet.

Yours in Music

Syd

I've used the Ikea Akrobat units for LPs too.
One point of note is that the hinge fittings don't quite leave the depth for the last couple of LPs so you have to put some largeish books in there to pad out the space.

Paul Rowlands

Why not make your own?

Should be easy if you've the know how.

P

Wife's watching Robbie- I'm bored

record Storage

I store some of my LPs in CubeStore Cubes, which comes in singles, doubles, with doors and not.

But.. I can;t seem to find CubeStore listed anymore.

So I have moved to MFI 'Cuba' units , which are 4x4 units. I use them turned on the side, without feet. In the sale, they were cheaper than buying the wood and making them myself, which I have done as well Cross members needs to be supported every 12 - 18", unless you use a very solid hardwood.

Definitely do not try to hang record shelves off a partition wall. They will fall down, pulling out some of the wall. They need to be supported by the floor, over a wide area.

DS

ITC - Various Artists - Scheileppfier

Mick

How long will the row of vinyl be?

I use a chunky shelf thing from Heelas in Reading; my vinyl collection is around 6-7 feet long; does the job. Must get a digital camera so I can demo things like this.

I would avoid putting any real weight on plasterboard myself

Regards

Mike

On the Yellow Brick Road and happy

Dear Mick,

Being a carpenter by trade and having just made all the panels for a timber framed house I can asure you that your record collection will be perfectly safe provided that;

A. the shelf is properly fixed to the wall, and...

B. the wall is properly fixed to the rest of the house!

Use the stongest brackets you can find, preferably braced, and have the longest side on the wall so as to put more of the load down the wall rather than pulling away from the wall.
Use slotted screws rather than pozi-drive as the latter are thinner between the head and the thread and will work loose over time.
Screw directly to the studs which should be either 400 or 600mm centers, but could be anywhere. To find the studs draw a line on the wall where the shelf will go and using a bradawl or a small nail punch holes through the plaster board to find the studs. The shelf will cover the holes.
One inch pine will be O.K. at 400mm centers, use one and a quarter at 600 centers.

Would I do the above? No, but only because I dont like to see the brackets. I would make up a long box, 10ft. long and perhaps 14" tall, partitiond into 3 or 4 compartments. Rebate and glue a 1" thick plywood back in it and screw that to the studs at eye level, much neater.

Regards, Paul.

Chaps

Thanks for the input, I must admit that I like Pauls idea...

Would I do the above? No, but only because I dont like to see the brackets. I would make up a long box, 10ft. long and perhaps 14" tall, partitiond into 3 or 4 compartments. Rebate and glue a 1" thick plywood back in it and screw that to the studs at eye level, much neater.

I like this idea and could attatch it to the wall with dozens of long screws.

All of my CD's are shelved about four foot high on the wall because I hate getting down on my knees to select music.

I shall have a think about that.

Many thanks

Mick

So what do you enjoy getting down on your knees for?

A Lady in Earls Court

Hi Garyi
All my 1000 albums are on Ikea Billy and its like it was made for them!
Martin

Habitat do one too, about 30" by 30", and 15" deep, with four square storage areas. Works well.

Stephen.

Mick:

After dealing with the problem of storing several thousand records, the best solution IMO, short of having bookshelves custom made, is Ikea's Expedit. It measures (approx) 4 1/2 feet wide by 4 1/2 feet high, or is/was available in a larger bookcase, approx 5 1/2 x 5 1/2. It is divided approx every foot by a supporting upright creating (in the 4x4) 16 "cubes" for records (you need uprights too). Its deeper than the Billy shelves, about 14 inches. I found one in a maple finish but only white appears to be available now. Its cheap too - the white 4x4 is about 80 UKP if Ikea prices are similar to N. America.

Hope this helps,

Paul

Hi Mick

I have my 2000 L.P.'s in a IKEA rack unit, it is very sturdy and seems exactly the right size. I bought mine two years ago here in Germany, it is finished in black and looks the part.

Regards, Robert

I have their brouchure and they are somewhat expensive.

Does anyone know if those "cubes" are still made now a days.

Regards

Mick

One of the Hi-Fi mags still sells the 'cubes' in the back of the Mag as part of their 'Accessories Club'.

Apologies, but which one of them it is escapes me at the moment.

Hope this helps.
Regards,
Steve.

The cheapest solution (even cheaper than Ikea) is B&Q (or similar) pine shelves. These are made in various sizes etc and consist of pine lats cobbeled together into shelves supported by further pine uprights. I have 2 of these for £10 each with 4 shelves housing approx 900 Lp's 8 feet of storage per unit. The only problem is you need to do something to stop the LP's dissappearing through the holes at the sides of the shelves.

I think they look better than the Ikea effort in a minimalist sort of way.

Mick

The cubes (if we are thinking of the same thing) are part of the Hifi News accessories....I think this could all be handled by Moth Marketing (Bedfordshire?)

Mick,

Try www.shelfstore.co.uk

I got a CD bookcase for 880 CDs, lightly bracketed to the wall and it's superb.

Mick although you are of course a man of impecable taste, do not discount Ikea, the product is actually perfect for the job, and ain't expensive.