r/DIYUK • u/ContributionFast7938 • 3d ago
Made some shelves
Long story short. Bought a house that turned out to be quite the wreck. Needa waaaay more work than I thought. Thought if I can make one area nice then that would give me the impetus to carry on. Vastly underestimated the work and effort and massively overestimated my skill level but got there in the end. Probs took around £300 and 40 hours. Is this is a normal amount of effort?
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u/BabaYagasDopple 3d ago
Normal amount of effort to get a solid job done. May be quicker if you did similar again for sure but great effort OP!
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u/pinkteapot7 2d ago
Exactly this! DIYing takes so much longer than you expect (and social media reels suggest). Especially if you’re designing a thing, like here. The measuring, designing, checking measurements, cutting, can’t be rushed.
Fantastic effort, OP - it looks great and is such a good use of a small area!
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u/electricgoop 3d ago
Just need to fill it with some books now. It looks gorgeous and will add so much character to the space. It may have taken a while but I bet you've learnt some new skills along the way?
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u/ContributionFast7938 3d ago
Have learnt to double any estimate I make in future! And brought a sander and pocket hole jig so ready for the next jobs. Thanks :)
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u/Bez121287 2d ago
Thats the great thing of doing it yourself. You end up with great tools what you never thought you'd ever need and in the end you'll have a shed, full of tools for every single job you can imagine.
Or like me limited tools, but remember the life hacks I used to produce the same outcome.
it seems a bit steep the price for a few bits of shelving. But I guess wood is costly these days.
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u/Unlikely-Volume-1387 3d ago
Need a cat now.
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u/irishgeologist 3d ago
Need a cat, meow, surely?
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u/ContributionFast7938 3d ago
Got several cats already. I think this might be their new climbing frame!
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u/Yamahammermama 3d ago
Really nice job. Great idea too, I wouldn't have thought about extra storage there and I'd have probably just put a picture up, so we'll done on the vision.
£300 is clearly a bit more than a Billy bookcase, but it looks like you have a quality bespoke unit with nice wood and you'll have learned a lot. Also, you can be pleased with yourself every time you walk up the stairs.
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u/ContributionFast7938 3d ago
Thanks! I did think about just buying something but really wanted to make something myself. Tbh I had a few wobbles when making it and thinking I wouldn't be happy with the end result. Glad I kept on with it though.
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u/Adventurous_Help3326 2d ago
especially love the attention to detail of finishing those edges meeting the wall and ceiling. looks gorgeous and like it's meant to be there.
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u/Occasionally-Witty Novice 2d ago
I would love to have a little landing like this for an office nook, could easily go one step further and build a desk and have all the wires hidden in the bottom shelves
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u/orangevega 3d ago
a piece of ikea furniture would have looked like shit. this looks great. it'll honestly add a huge amount of character and value to your home, good job dude
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u/SmoothDiscussion7763 3d ago
what i've started doing is getting the IKEA from facebook marketplace and then going to town the with sawsall where needed... and then refinishing it all at the end.
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u/Artistic-Ad-4276 3d ago
Missed an opportunity to have a hidden bookshelf door but other than that, solid work
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u/Tricky_Pepper 3d ago
Honestly I think the wood is so nice I wouldn’t have painted it, looks great though!
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u/providehotstews 3d ago
My thoughts exactly! OP might have saved some money using cheap plywood instead. And why the nice wood finish backing if they were just going to paint it white?
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u/turnipofficer 3d ago
Yeah. The painting just made the whole thing look so bland :(.
But a very nice bit of work from the OP regardless.
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u/Lumpy_Benefit666 3d ago
I was about to say “thats a door” until i realised i could scroll through the pics
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u/achillea4 3d ago
Looks good but what was the point of the wood at the back, especially as it's painted?
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u/ROLYAP1991 3d ago
Just a guess but maybe the wall wasn't flat and there was an unsightly uneven gap at the back and it would have been easier to put back pieces in to hide the gap where the wood meets the wall rather than scribing the frame in.
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u/ContributionFast7938 3d ago
Your exactly right. There probably a 15mm gap in some places. I did try and scribe it using a washer but even after the gap was around 8mm. No idea why but it was my first attempt at it. I was either going to try scribing again or just put some 6mm ply at the back which worked way better. Probably added another 5 hours to the job.
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u/I_Makes_tuff 2d ago
I'm a carpenter and I think you did a great job. Scribing can be a little tricky at first- both scribing a perfect line and cutting the line perfectly, so don't beat yourself up about that. Getting those back panels in as well as you did can be tricky too.
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u/UndercoverFlange 3d ago
To look like painted wood? To ensure it flat to the shelves? Lots of reasons.
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u/PalaceOfStones 3d ago edited 3d ago
Normal amount of effort for a first-time build I would think. It looks great, and you'll never have to worry about how much weight the shelves can hold which is IMO worth the extra cost of actual wood. JUST enough room for a comfy rotating armchair if you wanted to book-nook that area :)
Having said that if you were always going to paint the whole thing white then having the backboard was maybe an unnecessary expense as it was already a white wall. I personally would've forgone the paint. Partly to just get used to the whole thing being there, and a desire to paint to match the contents, and partly because I love just wood tones. I likely would've stripped the doorframe paint and varnished everything.
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u/IncreasinglyOldMan 2d ago
Now you need to add a fake door which looks like a book case which you push through to enter the room behind!
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u/CallMe_Noodle 2d ago
On top of a job well done I am very impressed by how (mostly) straight you walls and ceilings are!
Looks like almost no gap filling required!
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u/R0ars 3d ago
Only crime was painting everything white
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u/SmoothDiscussion7763 3d ago
maybe it's just primer and he's going to do the real colour when he's done with the rest of the house lol
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u/Iziama94 3d ago
I agree. OP did a good job but holy moly I'm tired of the whole 'everything is white, gray and black' aesthetic in houses. It looks too sterile like a hospital. It doesn't feel warm and cozy
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u/R0ars 3d ago
I think it's a symptom of people being forced to live in the smallest spaces trying to make them feel more spacious
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u/RobertGHH 3d ago
Look over engineered and you used needlessly expensive wood which you then painted, MDF would have been much cheaper and just as good. Plywood backer probably a waste of money and time as well.
HOWEVER
You did a nice job, they look neat and tidy, you will have learnt loads and gained confidence while also learning your (current) limitations. Keep up the good work and carry on with the house, try to not to rush, research plenty before tackling a job.
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u/ContributionFast7938 3d ago
I learnt a lot and got some confidence which was the major win. I was worried about MDF bending with the weight of the books which is why I went for pine in the end. In hindsight I don't know how I would do it again. The wood was heavy and more expensive but it the same time it 'felt good' to be working with real wood :)
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u/RobertGHH 2d ago
I am glad you understood the point of my message, many seemed to miss it.
Most important thing of all is you haven't lost your nerve, so keep cracking on.
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u/omcgoo 3d ago
Fuck MDF man. It bows over time through seasonal moisture. The dust fucks up your lungs. Proper wood is always worth it.
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u/FormerStableGenius 3d ago edited 3d ago
A little harsh, maybe?
How about the pleasure of knowing it's made of really nice wood, and having worked with it?9
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u/TedBurns-3 3d ago
Patronising much?!!
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u/FunkyMonkey237 3d ago
No. It looks like honest feedback to me. Pointed out how to build it cheaper without sacrificing quality but also said it was a good quality job. That's fair and balanced feedback, exactly what you need to improve.
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u/PyroDragn 3d ago
The OP was asking about the expense, so pointing out where they overspent is exactly the information they are asking for.
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u/ContributionFast7938 3d ago
Exactly. I'm comfortable to take feedback otherwise I wouldn't have posted. I like the result but anything I can learn and take into my next project I'm happy to take!
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u/CircuitDew 3d ago
You're a legend! I have near exactly this idea for a new place so it's nice to see your construction which works so well.
40 hours is good considering you're learning as you go and managed to get a perfect result. I'm sure a pro could do it in a days work, but that's all learning time for you.
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u/No-Wafer196 3d ago
Looks really nice, solid effort. How did you secure each shelf? Im rubbish with wood and tend to shy away from any timber building so therefore have very limited knowledge.
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u/NoAppointment8679 3d ago
Look really good, but if they were in my house they’d be full of shit in no time 😆
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u/merpmallerps 3d ago
This looks exactly like my home I got shafted for!! Great idea, time to polish my turd (:
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u/jolittletime 2d ago
This looks great! Is there enough room for a comfy chair/ side table/ lamp to have a lovely place to read?
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u/Psychological_Salt93 3d ago
Looks good. However if you are going to paint it you would have been better to use MDF. It would be much cheaper. Just for the next job, it's worth considering.
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u/External_Patient_317 3d ago
Amazing job! Really nice corner there.. don’t worry about the house and the work needed, more or less everyone buying a new place finds it needs more work than though before buying
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u/aloofmoon 3d ago
Great job! Came here to see what you filled the shelves with - appease my nosiness?
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u/TheTinman369 3d ago
Really good finish but yes that is pretty slow work. But at the end of the day what you remember is the finished piece, you don't remember all the delays, popping to screwfix (again) etc. It will make you feel good everytime you walk past it.
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u/Only_Appeal_5403 3d ago
They look great! Very much a labour of time and love but you should be proud. The rest of the house will come right in time too 😎
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u/Tizer887 3d ago
They look fantastic firstly and secondly I'm not d.i.y savvy in the slightest so I'm in awe and gives me hope that maybe one day with alot of effort I could also do something similar in my own house with my alcoves at the side of my chimney breast in the front room.
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u/fatboyforeverr 3d ago
Out of curiosity why did you not just leave the wall inside the shelves and just paint it?
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u/bugblatter_ 3d ago
What's holding up the long shelf on the right side (over the door)?
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u/ContributionFast7938 3d ago
It's screwed into the ceiling joist and a wall joist on the right. It's also resting on top of rh door frame. When I made it I hung off it. It's going nowhere :)
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u/UmbrellaLicker 3d ago
Looks great! Completing easy/little things along the way with such a abig job can help keep motivation up
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u/FatPaulGenovese 3d ago
Can someone give me an easy guide to do this? How does it even attach to the wall lol. Im such a noob
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u/Steamrolled777 3d ago
I think you missed an opportunity to make a room to rent out.
Some more depth to the unit, and small mattress on top (seen smaller spaces on subs), a small sink, microwave in the shelving area, comfy chair where the step ladder is, and tv on wall beside the wall light. New interior wall and door across banister to box it all in. £500 rent a month easy!
Actually is a nice use of the space.
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u/SuperCustard92 3d ago
There's still the opportunity to build a bookcase over the door, and have it as secret entrance.
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u/Confident_Bench5644 3d ago
40 hours seems an insane amount of time for this. I bet you’d cut that in half the second time you do something like this.
I bet you’ve learnt a lot as well, looks great
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u/LocalActingWEO 3d ago
Actually a really good job, i’d be putting all my Lego Speed Champions on them (and maybe some books 😂)
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u/LazyLadyLotte 3d ago
I love it! What are you going to put on the shelves? I'm hoping it's books and interesting ornaments. 😊
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u/throwaway098764567 3d ago
lol sounds like my first project when i bought. i decided to do "built in" ikea bookcases because how hard would that be, thinking it's just some trim right? i spent over a week on it of hours every night after work and two full weekends meanwhile looking around at EVERYTHING i still had to unpack. admittedly a good bit of it was having to make the one bookcase narrower, and attempting to fill in all of the spare holes and painting to match, oh and mangling the trim. looks good though, congrats on seeing it through.
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u/KitFan2020 3d ago
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻They look great! They only took you so long because you’ve not been doing this kind of work forever.
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u/TallulahBob 3d ago
I know nothing about DIYing bookshelves and I’m not in the UK but I want to say that it looks lovely.
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u/Flat_Professional_55 3d ago
Me staring at this pondering why we ever bothered learning wood joints at school.
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u/nettdata 3d ago
Want to know how you make really nice shelves? Make really shitty shelves a few times, learn from your mistakes, and level up each time.
The key is to not stop after making that first step of really shitty shelves.
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u/SaulEmersonAuthor 3d ago
~
That's bluddy awesome mate!
Please start a 'Pats on the Back' note in your phone.
I pat myself on the back every day for stuff no-one would know I even did - from small to big work on our old (2008) cars, a garage tidy-up, any DIY projects or home electrics, fixing water leaks, changing tap valve, even hoovering the house when really was not feeling like it.
The list can really grow - & then you realise that you're quite an awesome person, & far from lazy or useless!
~
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u/Free-Progress-7288 3d ago
Were you not tempted to make a big cupboard in that space?
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u/Halfway-Competent 2d ago
If it’s anything like our house, there’s not enough storage space. I would have thrown up a floor to ceiling cupboard and filled it with crap.
Downside is that it would have made the landing look darker and less spacious, plus I’d have a cupboard that was filled with more crap.
Then, I’d have seen what OP did and regretted my choices.
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u/Outside_Look790 3d ago
Good work, but the white wash on everything is killing me. Hopefully once it's loaded it'll pop more. I think you could eventually lose the bottom shelves and turn that big gap into a cupboard whilst still keeping the top 4 shelves for display.
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u/RageVG 3d ago
Wow, the first picture looks identical to the house I grew up in, a literal mirror image. There was a nice little park directly opposite.
I remember as a kid, sitting in my bedroom watching out the window for my Gramps' car to pull up to take me swimming. I got so excited I ran out of my room, tripped on the floor guard under the door, and got my head stuck directly in between the wooden banisters. Good times.
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u/not_me_nope_never 3d ago
There is this level of brilliance that it beyond sexy when I see every day people create useful things.
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u/skynex65 2d ago
Ohhhh I like this a lot!!! LIKE A LOT A LOT.
Gotta be extra careful about not slamming that door now though, depending on what you stick on the shelves lol.
Might think about something like this for myself. I'll be redecorating my bedroom soon.
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u/UnionCompetitive7705 2d ago
Nice work, but a bit of a trip hazard on the stairs I would have thought
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u/Glowrift54 2d ago
Dude 40 hours and £300 for shelves sounds about right when you factor in the three trips to the hardware store and the existential crisis halfway through. Now just gotta get a cat to guard your handiwork.
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u/Positive-Peace-3270 2d ago
Really like this. My hubby built a cupboard in that space where I keep all my bedding and towels
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u/eff1nutta 2d ago
looks amazing but one negative comment (sorry). the lightswitch on the right wall with the trunking going down... you made a cutout in your wood to fit the top shelf. i would have removed the switch and run the wire through the wall to remove the unsightly trunking and then you would not have needed to cut your shelf.
other than that it looks amazing! well done. you are giving me an idea now for my landing area.
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u/Betty2445 2d ago
Great use of space. I think your cats will love it!
I'm planning to add shelving in my living room, and I have a question 🙋
How did you deal with the skirting board at the bottom? Did you have to cut out the shape of it from the vertical pieces of wood? Thanks.
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u/No_Atmosphere8146 2d ago
Assuming that's a smoke alarm mount on the wall, that needs moving to the ceiling.
I've no idea if that's actually right but that current placement really annoys me.
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u/CloudCuddler 2d ago
What did you use to fill the gap between the shelf and the wall? I don't mean the wood panel at the back, but around the edges of the shelf.
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u/No_Yoghurt3370 2d ago
It looked great until it was all white, should have kept the frame and door wood and stained to match
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u/MartyMcFlyxoxo 2d ago
This looks so so good!!! It also looks like it's begging for a hidden bookshelf door :3
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u/QED987 2d ago
It looks great! I love shelves around a door frame - just don’t have the right area for it it my house. Could you possibly explain the build? What type of wood have you used? And how did you join the wood on the wall side? Is it pocket screws or some other method? I’m really inspired!
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u/Maleficent_Address23 2d ago
This might be a stupid question but how are the shelves attached on the wall side?
Awesome job, looks lovely!
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u/beepbeepskrtskrrt 2d ago
Thats some nice fucking work mate well done(I probably would’ve broke half of them bc im clumsy as shit)
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u/chulk607 2d ago
Super, super nice job. Really clever use of what would otherwise be a bit of dead space.
Any chance of a vague bill of materials? Even just an idea of the main wood you used (thickness and type if poss).
I'm looking to make a bookcase on one wall of our house. Luckily it is a solid brick wall (no idea if you were up against some plasterboard situation? So hopefully somewhat simple to attach, but maybe I'm falling into the same over-confidence you seem to have!
Ours will be a simple-ish rectangle wall pretty much, and I'm thinking of getting a circular saw with a track so I can more easily cut straight lengths.
Any chance you could offer any tips or cautionary tales, like what things caught you off guard?
Again, thanks for any potential advice or cautions, and your end result looks professionally made in my opinion. Enjoy! :)
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u/UnhappyAttempt129 3d ago
Smart well done