Height of bookcase - more than 73"?

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  • radhak
    Veteran Member
    • Apr 2006
    • 3061
    • Miramar, FL
    • Right Tilt 3HP Unisaw
    #1

    Height of bookcase - more than 73"?

    I am thinking of making this bookcase as seen here on the cover of an older Woodsmith magazine :

    Actually, it's a set of 3 shelves : 73" high and 33" wide each (total 99" wide). But as I'd be putting these against a pretty high wall (the ceiling is around 14ft at that point), I was wondering if I could make it taller, say 94" tall.

    I have seen some pictures with book-shelves that are taller than the regular 6 ft and had liked the look of it.

    Do you see any downside to it?

    Yes, I would need to anchor the whole shebang to the wall for safety's sake, but I guess that I'd need to do even with the regular height...

    The construction is gonna be plywood cases with face-frame. I am thinking Oak ply and Oak hardwood for the faceframe and other trim.
    Last edited by radhak; 07-06-2007, 04:48 PM.
    It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
    - Aristotle
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    • radhak
      Veteran Member
      • Apr 2006
      • 3061
      • Miramar, FL
      • Right Tilt 3HP Unisaw
      #2
      Somehow the image in my above post did not show :

      It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
      - Aristotle

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        • cabinetman
          Gone but not Forgotten RIP
          • Jun 2006
          • 15216
          • So. Florida
          • Delta
          #3
          You should have no problem making it taller.
          .

            Comment

            • cwsmith
              Veteran Member
              • Dec 2005
              • 2807
              • NY Southern Tier, USA.
              • BT3100-1
              #4
              The only problem would be balance, if you were considering a self-standing unit, but I see you did mention anchoring to the wall.

              As long as everyone in the house can reach the top, or you do the library ladder thing, you can make the as tall as the structure supports. Just make sure that you build the sides in a manner that they aren't going to bow out from the weight.

              I hope this helps,

              CWS
              Think it Through Before You Do!

                Comment

                • Jeffrey Schronce
                  Veteran Member
                  • Nov 2005
                  • 3822
                  • York, PA, USA.
                  • 22124
                  #5
                  I don't see any problem with 94". Anything under size of sheet goods (96") would be pretty simple.

                  Material is completely up to the style of your home. Red Oak wears well, is inexpensive, easy to finish, etc. I think this would look sharp in Walnut, but then you are likely talking in excess of 2x the cost when comparing Walnut sheet goods versus HD or Lowes Red Oak.

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                    • gwyneth
                      Veteran Member
                      • Nov 2006
                      • 1134
                      • Bayfield Co., WI
                      #6
                      Originally posted by cwsmith
                      As long as everyone in the house can reach the top, or you do the library ladder thing, you can make the as tall as the structure supports. Just make sure that you build the sides in a manner that they aren't going to bow out from the weight.
                      My late mother had red oak bookshelves built into her library and they looked a lot like that. They went almost up to the ceiling (12') and she did get a library ladder. They were on three walls and I believe over the door (so the library ladder could scoot from one side to the other).

                      In terms of aesthetics, they'd look off having more height than width--i.e., if you're going to go tall, it's probably a good idea to take up a fair amount of wall (I didn't say 'go wide' for a construction note I'm about to mention). Odd numbers look better than even numbers--the picture shows three bookcases, which looks nice.

                      The construction note: you're almost certainly going to be more careful than my mother's underpaid, probably resentful, not-yet-detoxed carpenter. The shelves were probably too wide, or too few uprights, or he skimped somewhere, because after 12 years of being overloaded, they started exploding.

                      Well, not literally exploding, but when too many books and a shelf fall out 10 feet up, that's what it seems like.

                        Comment

                        • SARGE..g-47
                          #7
                          Morning Radhak...

                          No problem making it taller as already stated, but you need to make a library ladder as CW mentioned earlier or it's not practical. Well unless you have NBA genes or petuitary problems. ha.. ha...

                          Regards...

                            Comment

                            • radhak
                              Veteran Member
                              • Apr 2006
                              • 3061
                              • Miramar, FL
                              • Right Tilt 3HP Unisaw
                              #8
                              Thanks everybody for your inputs.

                              Aesthetics aside, I am still pondering if the extra length would add strength to the plywood sides, or add stress?

                              And yes, the hardwood stiles for the face frame would also need to be longer - 6 ft is easier to find than 8'... Again, the same question here : taller stiles - more chances of bending...?!!?

                              Since I was thinking of making these like any regular case (tongue-and-dado for the sides/top/bottom and rabbets for the back) , what extra could I do to keep the sides from bowing out?
                              It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
                              - Aristotle

                                Comment

                                • cbrown
                                  Established Member
                                  • Feb 2006
                                  • 127
                                  • Massachusetts
                                  • BT3100
                                  #9
                                  Originally posted by SARGE..g-47
                                  Morning Radhak...

                                  No problem making it taller as already stated, but you need to make a library ladder as CW mentioned earlier or it's not practical. Well unless you have NBA genes or petuitary problems. ha.. ha...

                                  Regards...
                                  A nice stepstool (could be a woodworking project of its own) is a simpler and cheaper alternative to a library ladder on a track.

                                  Chris

                                    Comment

                                    • gwyneth
                                      Veteran Member
                                      • Nov 2006
                                      • 1134
                                      • Bayfield Co., WI
                                      #10
                                      Originally posted by cbrown
                                      A nice stepstool (could be a woodworking project of its own) is a simpler and cheaper alternative to a library ladder on a track.
                                      Much cheaper. You could make several from quilted maple--with gold plated hardware--for what my mother spent on her library ladder.

                                        Comment

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