Building a Bookcase

The office in our new house has driving me crazy since we moved in.  Our old house had a big built-in bookcase with lots of room, plus we had lots of books hiding in storage that were brought to the new house when we moved. So when we moved in, we had a huge pile and lots of boxes of books with nowhere to go. Now, six months later, I thought it might be time to finally tackle the remaining clutter and make this room a little more useful.

I've been searching for bookcases to buy. I found that real solid wood ones are in the $400-$800 range, and cheaper ones are around $100, but made of particle board that will slowly bend/break under the weight of all the books. So, after a couple weeks/months of debate, I decided to build one myself!

The Pros:
1. It gave me something to do on my furlough day to feel useful and worthwhile (furlough days are really depressing).
2. It fixes our book storage problem.
3. I did it all by myself, so I get a huge sense of pride and accomplishment when I see it.
4. It is made of solid oak- which will last forever and should never bend or crumple.


Step 0: Buying supplies.
Not that it's a huge deal, but I don't generally drive. I can either walk or metro to work, and R usually does the weekend driving when we have to go somewhere. I wouldn't say i'm a bad driver exactly, but it's fair to say it makes me a little nervous. So, my first achievement was getting to the store myself, getting all the supplies I needed and getting them back home.

Step 1: Cutting all the wood.
I found directions online for a bookcase that used tools we already have here,  though I changed the dimensions to make it taller. We don't have an extensive tool collection, so it was key that I didn't need more than a circular saw and hand saw. However, once I actually started cutting, I realized quickly that it would be better with a table saw or miter saw to make cleaner cuts. Instead, as I cut, the boards would start moving away from me- so I had to get creative with a box of cat litter and some spare towels to hold everything in place. After a few hours, I got all the pieces cut.

Step 2: Staining.

Then I stained them all a walnut finish. Staining is easy, just stinky and sticky. I prefer to stain or paint before assembling things, it's just easier and faster. It turned out a little lighter than I expected, so I added a second coat, even though the can said it only needed one.

Step 3: Assembly!
After everything had a few hours to dry, I started piecing them all together. With just a hammer and nails and my trusty cat-litter box to help hold, I got the whole thing assembled in about two hours.

Step 4: Carry upstairs. 
I definitely got some help for this part, as it turns out a solid wood bookcase is rather heavy and I built it two floors below its new home. But after a bit of clever manuevering up the stairs, here she is!

Voila!

It's still a bit lighter than I expected, so I may restain at some point. And I want to build a twin to match, but otherwise I'm done!

Total cost = $150

Total time = 1 week, of which 5 hours were working and the rest of the time was drying/waiting.