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Shelving Setup & How-To

Updated: Aug 5, 2023

I've had several inquiries regarding the setup of my collection, so here's a guide for those of you looking to imitate the look!

Rather than standard bookshelves, I use "floating" shelves. There's no frame on the top, left, bottom or right - it's literally just a shelf and some brackets.


Disclaimer: done incorrectly, it is possible for you to damage your walls when building this kind of setup. It's also possible your walls may not be able to sustain such a large amount of weight, so just be cautious and vigilant.


This method is my personal aesthetic preference, and it makes great use of the space available. Depending on your specific setup and the size of your volumes, bookshelves like the IKEA Billy may actually offer more storage space because you can "double-stock" each shelf by putting a row of books behind another, and use risers to make use of the vertical space too. Other than the appearance, the biggest difference is probably the height - the shelf at the very top of my setup is less than a foot from the ceiling, so I need a stepladder to reach (but I'm 5'4" so take that into account too).


I've also moved a couple times with a large volume of books, and find this setup to be easier to transport since the lumber can be stored flat and the brackets don't take up much space, as opposed to a store-bought bookshelf that can only be broken down so much.


Okay, on to the good stuff.


Planning & Measurements

10ft shelves
This 10ft wall with floor-to-ceiling shelves holds roughly 1500 volumes.

I have one wall that has shelves that are 10ft in length, and my second wall is 8ft. The room is a standard height of 8ft, so placed a snug 10" apart, I comfortably fit 8 shelves from floor to ceiling (not counting the row on the carpet). There's a little bit of discrepancy because of the calculations involved; the height between each shelf + the thickness of each piece of wood doesn't work out perfectly mathematically, so the shelf on the top row has a little more space (that one has 10 ¼" vertical space, but you'd never notice.)


First, you need to decide how much vertical space you want between each shelf, which should be based on what you have in your collection. Large hardcovers like the Berserk Deluxe Edition would not fit on my shelves. If you have a bunch of these, you could make one row a bit taller than all the rest, or plan it out so they're all evenly spaced - you do you!


Sizing

The next thing you'll want to do is choose how deep you want your shelves to be. My current setup is shown with shelves that are 8" in depth, which gives about 2 ½" extra from the spine of a standard-sized manga to the edge of the shelf. For VIZ Signature titles, there's an extra 1 ½".

10" depth shelving
6' x 3' shelving with 10" depth

In my previous setup, I actually used 10" lumber, which just had more of a gap from the spine to the edge of a shelf. I downsized when I moved because this space felt like a waste to me. However, if you own a lot of figures you like to display in front of your collection, or a lot of large hardbacks like the Berserk Deluxe edition, 10" or even 12" shelves might be a better choice.


There are also different options of the height of the shelf, which in this case is how thin or thick you want them to be looking at them straight-on. My shelves are ⅝" (.625") thick, but hardware stores commonly offer ¾" and even up to 1". I have not used anything thinner than ⅝", so can't speak to the durability of anything lesser but ½" is another common option.


Lumber

The shelf itself is just a piece of lumber from the hardware store. In my current setup, I chose common board because it's one of the cheapest options that still looks nice (versus plywood that is multiple pieces of wood glued together).


The biggest downside of common board is potential warping of the boards, which you'll notice when picking out pieces in the store. Pro tip: put the lumber flat on the ground and press down on it to feel for any inconsistencies. Unless you're putting a ton of weight on just one side or you don't have the right brackets to support the weight, you shouldn't notice any warping after you get the shelves set up. Another downside of common board is that it often has more nicks and knots, which I'm personally fine with because I can fill those in with wood glue, and any on the top or bottom of the shelves will be hidden by books anyway.


Pine is undeniably a higher quality option that offers less warping and cosmetic blemishes. It's a little more expensive than common board, but is a good happy medium if you want something that'll look a little prettier and take less time to prepare. Here's an article I found useful in comparing the two.


Both pine and common board are softwood options, which are less dense and therefore lighter in weight than hardwoods like maple or oak. While you might love the look of walnut shelves, these will be pretty dang pricey and heavy too.


These larger pieces of lumber are normally sold by piece, but depending on your choice of wood some of it is also sold by the foot. It's common for hardware stores to sell planks in 6ft, 8ft, 10ft, and 12ft. If you need a specific in-between size like 11ft, most hardware stores have the saws to cut that for you. Home Depot gives you the first two cuts free (maybe more if you find a nice employee), then it's typically $0.25 per cut.


You may need to sand down the lumber you choose. I recommend an orbital sander like this one. I won't get into a tool brand debate here, but I'll just say this sander has been with me since 2018 (my Black & Decker crapped out after like 6 months with moderate use). If you just need a sander for this project, cheaper brands will be perfectly fine.


For more detail you didn't know you needed, there are a couple options for orbital sanders. Hook and loop sanders have a pad with a texture similar to velcro, and the sanding discs have a fuzzy backing to stick to the pad. PSA (pressure sensitive adhesive) sandpaper has a sticky back and is more of a one-and-done solution - once you remove the sandpaper, you can't stick it back on and reuse. H&L on the other hand lets you swap out and replace the sandpaper discs until they're too worn down to be effective or the velcro adhesion wears off (which takes a looooot of sanding). Hook and loop is my personal preference for versatility and longevity, but either will work for this project.


Whether you choose a hook and loop or a PSA sander, you'll need corresponding sanding discs. Dura-Gold is my choice for my H&L sander, but really anything will work. The grit of sandpaper correlates to how smooth your wood will be, which again comes down to preference. If you want your shelves to be soft as a baby's butt against your books, you'll probably want to sand everything twice - once with a lower numbered grit like 60 (very coarse), 80 or 100, and again with a higher number like 320 or higher (ultra-fine). I just went over my common board pieces (all 16 of them) with 220 and left it at that.


Wood treatment is also important, which I touch on a little in my manga preservation guide. Unsealed wood may cause damage to your collection over time, so uf you want to use natural wood shelving, consider a sealant. Tung oil and boiled linseed oil are good choices for natural treatment, but take several weeks to cure and dry. You're better off with a water-based aliphatic urethane topcoat like this one, especially if you want to paint your shelf first. Some wood sold at hardware stores is already sealed, so if you're uncertain just ask a friendly neighborhood employee.


Lastly, keep in mind all wood can warp in the wrong environment. Thankfully wood and paper are made from the same source - thanks trees! - so it's easy to find a balance between what works for your wooden shelves and your collection.


Brackets

Brackets are pretty easy to find; Amazon has multiple sellers with good options. BATODA for example offers tons of different aesthetic brackets with a selection of different sizes. This option was what I chose for my previous setup with my 10" shelves. Currently, I'm using these 8" brackets from the MHMYDZ Store - there's several of these companies to choose from.


Carefully look at the weight limitations of each bracket you're choosing from, and compare it to your collection. Don't be afraid to stack a bunch of books onto a scale to weigh them. Keep the weight of the shelf itself in mind too!


IMPORTANT:

In the U.S., lumber is not actually the size it's marketed as. For example, 8" lumber is actually 7¼". 10" lumber is 9¼". When you're looking to buy brackets to pair with your specific size, 8" brackets will properly fit 8" lumber, regardless of the weird (stupid) size classification.


A note on cost:

The IKEA Billy Bookshelves are probably the most popular option in peoples' collections as of late. These can cost anywhere from $50 - $400+, just depending on the size you need. The popular 6-shelf shelf is $90.


The lumber needed for this setup is pretty cost-friendly. The brackets are just a little more expensive; a set of eight 8" brackets linked above runs $24 at time of writing, so that's good for 4 shelves, as long as each shelf does not exceed the recommended 75lbs these brackets support. Overall, the floating shelves are likely a bit cheaper than a standard bookshelf at retail cost.


Ready, set...

Make sure to measure how much space you want between your shelves vertically PLUS the thickness of each piece of wood. Forget this, and your distribution will be very off. Use a good, old-fashioned pencil and make a TON of markings on the wall, erase and repeat, and leave the marks you need. Your collection will hide these markings anyway and you can just erase them when / if you ever need to take down your setup. Remember: mark a gajillion times, drill once. Prepare the stud finder, the drill and the vacuum, and get to work!


DRILL INTO THE STUDS. Do not use drywall anchors. With the amount of weight you need to support, you need to drill in to studs to ensure your safety. Studs are commonly placed between 12-18" apart, so it should be easy to find spacing that provides support that can be evenly distributed.


*SIGH* Wow this guide is much longer than I expected. Hope you found all of this useful.

My collection in 2018

Bonus: the first photo I have of my collection! Really wish teenage me had been smart enough to know this was going to be a trend and had taken more photos!



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