LP storage - Ikea Expedit

I've been using them for quite a while now and I find them perfect. I think the Expedit range has been discontinued last year though. No experience of the replacement.

We have one that we use for general storage in our guest house. Incredibly wobbly if you don't bolt it to the wall (which, to be fair, they recommend). Ensure you have it oriented correctly so the shelves are the continuous pieces and the short sections are the uprights, or the short pieces will immediately disintegrate under load.

I find Ikea stuff to appropriately priced. That is, you get what you pay for. I really don't like it, and would hesitate to buy anything else from Ikea.

Looking at the Kallax range, design/spec looks identical to Expidit, but they no longer do a 5 x 5 compartment. Pity.

Perfect for storing records and great value. I paid £140 for 25 compartments, that works out at just over a fiver per compartment.

It is wobbly as Winky said, but not when it's loaded with 1/4 ton of vinyl. Even so, I've screwed it to the wall.

One thing I discovered is, the more record space you have the more record you buy. I've still got a large number of boxes containing records dotted about the house/loft.

The replacement is called Kallax
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/search/?query=Expedit

Is this similar to what you are using Steve? Which version/configuration? They are very cheap and Im trying to do this with minimal outlay as I don't want to eat too much into a system upgrade budget.

Am also looking at these storage cubes from Blacka Acoustics
http://www.blackaacoustics.co.uk/cubes.htm

They are going to be in a spare bedroom out of the way so don't need to be particularly ascetically pleasing as long as they are strong enough, I have about 3000 LPs needing a home .

The Expedit thread of Feb 2014 is here...

https://forums.naimaudio.com/topic/lp-storage-5?page=1

Thanks Fatcat, since moving house into a cottage with small rooms I have collected about another 3000 LP's currently sitting in plastic tubs all over the place!
Is the photo of your set up?

I live opposite a timber yard so I could easily get a sturdy back fixed  on the unit to strengthen it, but perhaps better to get a number of the smaller units, perhaps the 4 cube and stack them, this will probably be stronger

While I do not recommend this for their aesthetics I have more of these in my house than I care to admit to as they are simply functional and very utilitarian along with being reasonably priced.  Everything I have is the Expedit except for the last 4x4 and 2x4 I bought a few months ago which are now the Kallax.  The Kallax to me is noticeably cheaper and lighter looking.  Even the wooden dowels are thinner in diameter so much so that one broke on me when another piece accidentally went on top and the weight of it just snapped it off.  But this is the norm of today, isn't it?  Ridiculous really.

I have a lot of vinyl, music scores, and books of all shapes and sizes and so due to the shear volume of everything these shelves are really my only option.  For vinyl alone, I would say absolutely a must have and they are worth it.  Depends on the mix of double or single etc. my average number of albums per square is from around 45 to 70 albums.  So you will likely average around 55 or 60 albums per square. Nice and proportional too for box sets.  I keep each square not tight but have enough in each so the albums are vertical.

As for tipping over, I do not secure these to the wall (although I should).  All of mine are loaded to the max and they aren't going anywhere unless you have kids that might start climbing them.  

I mostly bought the 4x4 cube first off but since I started running out of rooms to store everything I started to buy 2x4 sections to put on top of the 4x4.  Again, not pleasing to the eye but is functional for me until I can figure out something better.  I even have a 5x5 which is nice but harder to man handle.

Yes, that's my shelving.

The specified maximum load per compartment is 13kg. With 3000 records weighing say 180g, you'd need approx 40 compartments.

I have the Expedit. Debs thread suggestion gives the differences. I have two single stacks in the alcoves that do wonders damping the reflections. Like you I have LPs all over the house but my main collection is housed in the Expedit and a very large chest that holds about 1000 LPs.

Thanks Naim-nymph & florestan,

looks like Im a bit behind the times, perhaps I should have titled this thread Kallax as it seems that the spec has changed and would be of more interest to find if they are as good or better than the Expedit?
Floristan, I suppose it would not be beyond possibllity to modify the dowels with thicker ones just drill out the holes a little larger. Does the construction still also use the metal pins that locate into a circular metal eye that is then tightened with a screwdriver/

Richard,

Another option is to find a local carpenter/joiner in your neighbourhood who can construct a bespoke shelving unit for you.

It could be made to fit wall to wall, or even floor to ceiling, or both, and would probably be a lot stronger with more longevity than a flat pack.

It would cost more than ikea stuff, but still affordable and would be a lot neater and classier imo.

You'd only need to know which wall you what to store you records up against, because it would be more of a permanent fixture.

Debs

Richard  - there are no metal cams. The Kallax uses long screws (which secure the exterior panels) and the internal panels are all dowelled. The wider external panels are a form of fibreboard, so fixings aren't the strongest. I have both Expedit and Kallax and prefer the Expedit, which has a thicker profile.

A very simple way to strengthen the units would be to staple/screw/perhaps pin hardboard as a backing - and/or use metal dowels. The former wouldn't give much more strength to the shelves but should prevent material wobble.

They are so inexpensive that any customising with battening et al still renders them a good choice IMV.

I have 45 linear feet of Expedit shelves storing some 3000 LPs. I will b expanding this year with some Kallax units. I recommend them and have no complaints or regrets.

If I had to use one of these weet-a-bix and plastic wrap shelving units, I'd sheet the whole back of it with fairly thick (same thickness as the room's skirting boards) plywood to strengthen the whole thing, as well as provide a backstop to allow the records to be easily aligned and kept neat. I'd leave a gap at the bottom to clear the skirting board so the plywood backing could sit hard against the wall. Then screw through the plywood into the studs in several places in the wall behind to permanently fix the whole thing.

Don't do that. The end shelves and thin uprights already have very little "meat" into which the dowels insert. The dowels themselves won't fail, but if overstressed with even a slight bending moment (very easy to do during construction if you aren't careful), they will break out of the compressed sawdust of which the shelves and uprights are made. The dowels should only do a locating job. The structure's competence depends almost entirely on the compressive strength of the thin uprights, which must remain exactly vertical, thus removing nearly all stress on the dowels - (except the end ones which affix the shelves to the thicker continous end uprights and and are loaded in shear), hence the need to fix the whole wibbly-wobbly thing to the wall.

I have a 5x5 and three 5x1 units standing together. I use backstops on the shelves to keep the records neatly aligned at the front. They have not required anything else to brace or strengthen the structure. I've had them now for several years. As you can see they have a full load.

That looks really good. You may be lucky in that the full compartments are actually acting as braces, preventing the thing slewing sideways. I know my Expedit is very wobbly if not screwed to the wall. But it is randomly loaded with bike and other miscellaneous gear, rather than having full, heavy shelves.

Question: Are the shelves in the single-width units supported by dowels inserted into the edges of the shelves, or some other method?

The single width units also use dowels.

Later this year I plan to expand. I will replace the units I have with two 4x4 plus two 2x4 Kallax units on top. Then I'll have 8x6 system, rather than the 8x5 system I have now. I will consider some additional bracing at that point. My walls are plaster on lathe, so very much a PITA to work with.

I'm looking also for a solution in my new house. But I have also CD. Is this suitable also for CD maybe moving the shelves? Thank in advance for any help.

No! Expedit/Kallax are not useful for CDs. Shelves are fixed and cannot be adjusted.

Ikea had shelves called "Bento" that work for CDs (I have three of them for my CDs), but I think they have been discontinued and replaced with something else.

Thank you for your promptly answer. I'm asking because IKEA have not new model for the old CD shelves.

Any suggestion more? apart rip and sell all of them for buying more vinyl? 

Race Tripper - how have you/what you have used to back-stop the shelves?

I've got the black/brown finish and am concerned the laminate will scratch (although it looks more than adequate) and it would be good to retain the option to switch the room facing side, without seeing drill holes etc.

I used base moulding strips (about 2.5-3") cut to length and fastened with heavy duty velcro. In retrospect, the velcro was a mistake since it doesn't always hold after re-shelving and rearranging albums numerous times over the years. I think next time I will fasten something more permanently across the backs of the shelves, and use the base moulding strips just as spacers to bring the records out closer to the front edge.

I can't quite imagine how you would achive the backstop function without attaching anything. I guess you could screw the backstops to the wall behind?

The Gnedby shelf units look like they will do.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/cata.../90277150/#/90277145