How would you build this? (Indoor cube storage thing)

Martynt74

Martynt74

Martynt74

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I'm looking at storage solutions for in the corner of our lounge. We have a wall thats around 2.8m long and i'm looking for something around 2.2m in length and around 70-80cm high

The plan is to use cube style storage and have a selection of open "cubes" and then some with doors where i can hide things like the server/networky stuff and cables. Then on top i'll have my stereo with speakers either side. Not ideal placement for them but it'll do till i build my summerhouse.

My initial plan was to buy into the Ikea Kallax cupboards as they give me everything i need and then finish it with a wooden top and downstand like this

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However we went to Ikea at the weekend and the Kallax top and bottom pieces slightly overlap the side panels, so when placing them side by side there would be a 5mm vertical gap and it'd look stupid and cheap. Trying to get a good finish/match with filler would be difficult i think. We also weren't a huge fan of the colour could and would need to paint them anyway.

Even rotating them like this i'm still not sure it looks brilliant and looks like a bit of a make shift solution than something good.

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Ikea also do another range where the sides are finished better but the internal dimensions were slightly too small and wouldn't some of my vinyl records in so they also got ruled out.

This lead me to thinking i'd build something. I presume using something like 18mm plywood/melamine boards would be the best option here but i'm trying to think of how i'd get a good finish on it as i like chunky furnitre so would likely double up the boards. Would i be best building the structure out of plywood/MDF and then using some real wood for face panels?
 
See my edit. The above picture actually rotates the units so there is no overhang on the sides to allow them to be butted up to each other. It gives me an option to do it. Particularly if i screw them together to get them as tightly joined as possible.

Given these units are only £40 each i might pick up 2 of the white ones and see how good i can get them to look side by side when painted in a colour we like. If i can get them looking reasonably decent then i can buy another. Otherwise it's only £80 and some paint and i'm sure i could sell them on facebook to recoup some cash.
 
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I have 2 of the Kalax 2 x 4 units in my study, one upright and one on its side butted up against eachother, they're pretty much cardboard inside if you want to screw them together or do anything to them. I added a shelf for a printer and used coach bolts with really big washers to spread the load. They are mega useful though and a perfect fit for vinyl records.

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The thicker pieces of 'wood' used for those shelving units isnt wood. Its veener coverered corrugated cardboard.
So shaving them is not an option.
 
Building is fun!

I did price it up in 60mm thick reclaimed pine but the wood alone was coming in at about £800!
 
They're perfectly serviceable and practical shelving units for a reasonable price. I've owned various ones in various houses, from 2x2's to the big 5x5's. and you can put doors and drawers on if you want too.

Just don't think they're solid wood and you can start shaping them :D
 
Marvt74 said:
Building is fun!

I did price it up in 60mm thick reclaimed pine but the wood alone was coming in at about £800!
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60mm thick is huge overkill I would imagine. I have 600mm spans of 25mm birch ply on a set of shelves I built and they are rock solid.

At 2.2m long you are looking at perfect length for using plywood sheet. A single sheet could give you 3 strips 2200m by 400mm to make floor, shelf and top. two 800 by 400 ends and eight 400 by 400 uprights should cut from another sheet of ply. Use 19mm ply and glue the uprights in place using some dowels to locate, then maybe a 6 mill rebate top and bottom and centre dado and glue for the ends. Use a decent wood filler to close up any tear out in the ply layers and then sand and paint. Should be rock solid.

If you did the maths well enough and were handy with a router 2 sheets of ply and pay someone to cut the sheets to size shouldn't be that expensive. Getting the dowels to line up is probably the trickiest bit.

Fag packet design gives 2 rows of 5 cube boxes 400mm each total about 2100 in length 860 tall.
 
Many ways to skin a cat with this as I'm sure you imagine. Materials, building method, hardware etc.

A painted surface, even with hard wearing paint isn't a going to be quite as hard wearing and easy to maintain as a varnished wood or man made veneer.

You could buy off the shelf doors and hardware or build your own. MDF is pretty easy to work with but consider the right PPE if machining it.

It's definitely DIY able but your budget and tooling will dictate your end result.
 
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I've got most tools i would need (bar a working router as i cut through the power cable on mine and will buy a new 1/2" one rather than repairing this 1/4" one) so cutting the sheets down wouldn't be an issue, but i might get the lengths cut down just so they're narrower to fit in the car.

@PlacidCasual - Rather than dowels would you say using pocket holes would be an option? I've got a jig already for that and it's much easier than trying to get dowels lined up.

Might look into off the shelf doors as that's probably where i'd struggle to get something to look good.
 
I'm no woodworking guru but I have done a few things similar recently or I have them in the plan. The only problem with pocket holes will be the visibility otherwise they're a good way of holding the joint together during glue up. The glue should be plenty strong enough to hold the uprights I would imagine dowels just make alignment more definite as nothing will move during the glue up. You could route dado's to align the uprights but it's a lot of work and I find routing anything away from the edge requires an inordinate amount of time to set up the guide. Also a nice fitting dado can be tricky to achieve.

Just thinking aloud, the first sheet of ply would have some left over you could make 4 strips (2 front 2 rear top and bottom) and use them a alignment jigs for the glue up. 4 strips maybe 50mm wide, lien them all up and route slots at the separations you want your uprights (do all 4 as one cut) then you can clamp them to the top/bottom and shelf to line up the uprights for gluing. Many ways to approach this it's just which works for you.

This is going to be very similar to an open fronted cabinet I'm going to make for my kitchen so talking it through is helping me out :-D
 
I think i'd probably want to double up the ply for thickness purposes (i like chunky), so maybe the way i'll do it is to have a full length for the bottom and then glue additional length down and allow a 36mm gap inbetween for the uprights. That would achieve the same look as routing out a rebate to support the upright.

Hopefully i can them sand back to get a decent finish. I think i'd still like to top with wood as that would be in keeping with other furniture we have.

Oooh actually it looks like i can buy 44mm ply!
 
Christ, if anyone else is contemplating this. Don't consider 44mm ply. It's bloody expensive! Even 25mm ply is quite a lot more than 18mm so i think 18mm doubled up will give a reasonably chunky look for me.

I'm now erring towards MDF as it should take paint a lot better than plywood, plus it's cheaper. With doubling the thickness on the bottom 2 lengths (if i'm covering in real wood then no need for the top to be thick) i think it should only take 3 sheets which will work out around £60.

I can't quite decide which is the best way to build it either

Option 1 - Wwhere the top and bottom is one solid piece and then have the uprights as solid pieces also with the horizontal ones being cut down like this

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Option 2 - To have the 3 horizontal lengths as full pieces and then use cut outs for the internal uprights. I presume this is better as would give the middle length more support with it being all one piece?

I've also just seen you can buy specialised MDF screws. Would it be worth sticking some of those in, or just rely on glue?
 
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Have you considered using the IKEA Besta range instead so you can adjust the shelf heights for your vinyls etc? The taller of the two units might work.

I made a TV unit with my dad using the shorter Besta and kitchen worktop. Will take a photo now.
 
Thanks. I was avoiding the Besta as my wife didn't like all the exposed holes inside for shelves/doors etc and felt it didn't look great on the open units. Would be good to see yours though.
 
Marvt74 said:
Thanks. I was avoiding the Besta as my wife didn't like all the exposed holes inside for shelves/doors etc and felt it didn't look great on the open units. Would be good to see yours though.
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If you are painting them anyway could always fill the holes once you've decided on which ones you are using.

I can see where she's coming from though the holes don't look amazing on a fully open unit.
 
I have the kalax stuff, well technically I have the original version which was even thicker at the sides.
I had a 4x4, but i worked out if I bought a 4x2 and made it without one of the sides it would fit on top of the 4x4, so I have a 6x4 in my office.

I wasnt too fussed about appearance so its glued and held together with 90 degree metal angle reinforcements.
The veneer is basically the strength.

The units are fairly tough to be honest but they do get weak over time if they are repeatedly knocked. Some areas have some slightly better strength, the bits that are designed to take the load.

There is a massive thing in moding them, just search for ikea hacks.

I had always planned to paint mine with a roller in a decent paint, never got round to it. I will one day. Needs a little filling as I rushed cutting down the sides so they are a little rough.

For what you get they are super good value for money.

The cross pieces are the single spans with the down pieces being the small ones. This means you have the sides pulled together and the weight downwards passes straight down. Dowels go through the cross pieces to keep the downs lined up.
I would replicate this if you are making your own. If you think about it, if You did it the other way round there is nothing pulling the sides in other than the top and bottom.

Other solution Marv, one I have considered myself. use these units as the base, then trim them up. So cover the top and front in say 9mm oak or something. You will get very good looks at a fraction of the price, just time consuming making all the bits to trim it up, but I am sure you have the skills and kit for it. This way you can cover the gaps the units have when joined, and have the joins where you want them to be in order to make the look you want.
 
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