Show off your whole library with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.
Great for small spaces or those with large libraries, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves help make the most out of a vertical space in a room. To make a bookshelf, you should have basic carpentry skills. If you do not have a saw to cut the lumber needed to make a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf, you may get the lumber yard to cut it for you. Once assembled, paint or stain the floor-to-ceiling bookshelf so it matches the décor in the room.
Instructions
1. Measure the distance between the floor and the ceiling and cut your 12-inch plywood. These are the sides of your bookshelf. As you cut, the plywood's face grain should run lengthwise.
2. Form a rectangle out of the four cut pieces of plywood on a flat surface. Place the bottom 12-by-28 inch piece of plywood between the two longest plywood boards. Place the top 12-by-29.5 inch piece of plywood on top of the pieces of wood that form the sides of the shelf.
3. Apply wood glue to the plywood's butt joints, making sure to align the joints so the surfaces of the plywood are flush. Use three 6-penny finishing nails in each joint to secure the rectangular structure.
4. Apply a bead of glue along the edge of the frame and place the 29.5-by-54.75 inch headboard onto the frame, making sure the corners are square and flush. Secure the headboard to the frame with five-eighths inch brads so they are three-quarters of an inch from the edges and 1 foot apart. The headboard will help support the bookshelves.
5. Mark where you will set the shelves. Place the frame on its side and measure 15 inches from the bottom piece of plywood. Make a straight line across the piece of plywood that serves as the side of the bookshelf. Make another line that is a three-quarters inch away from the line you just drew. Measure 12-inches up from the latest line drawn and draw a new line. Measure up another three-quarters inch and draw another line along the plywood. Continue this process until you reach the top of the bookshelf. Repeat the entire process on the other side of the bookshelf.
6. Install the shelves into the frame. Place a bead of wood glue to the three sides of the 11.5-by-28 inch shelves that meet the frame you made. The only sides of the shelf pieces that you will not apply glue are the sides that face you. Place each shelf along the three-quarter inch guidelines you drew. Secure the shelves in place with 6-penny finishing nails from the outside of the frame into shelf ends at each of the joints. Place the frame face down and drive 1-inch brads from the back of the headboard into the back of the shelves, leaving 6-inch spaces.
7. Cut two lengths of shelf-edge molding so they are the same height as the frame, as well as two 29.5-inch lengths of molding. Miter the ends of the molding to a 45-degree angle with a miter saw.
8. Install the molding onto the frame. Apply a bead of glue to the back of the longest molding pieces and align them with the front right and left edges of the front of the bookshelf frame. Then, apply glue to the shorter molding pieces and align them with the top and bottom edges of the frame. Use 1-inch brads spaced 1 foot apart to secure the molding to the frame.
9. Cut five lengths of molding to measure 28 inches. Apply wood glue to the back of each length and set the molding over the edge of each shelf. Secure the molding in place with 1-inch brads.
10. Use a nail set to sink the exposed nail heads on the front and sides of the bookshelf. The nails should lie slightly below the surface.
11. Fill the nail holes with wood filler.
12. Smooth the wood with sandpaper and paint.
Tags: piece plywood, , three-quarters inch, wood glue, 6-penny finishing