How to Build a Bookcase

By: Alexandra Bandon, This Old House magazine

Shopping List

Supplies You Will Need

1. 3/4-INCH VENEER PLYWOOD
Calculate how many 8-foot-long boards you can get from one sheet and use that to figure out how many sheets you will need to get enough board feet. (A plywood sheet is 4 feet wide, but keep in mind that a saw blade takes off 1/8 inch per rip.) You’ll need at least 3 sheets for a 4-by-8-foot bookcase.

2. 5/4x4 TRIM
for masking plywood edges around the perimeter of the bookcase front. Measure the length of the two legs, plus the width of the case, then add 10 percent for waste.

3. 1x TRIM
to make nosing for the front of the shelves. For more support, use thicker stock. Take the length of one shelf and multiply it by the number of shelves (including the bottom shelf). Add 10 percent for waste.

4. YELLOW WOOD GLUE

5. 1-INCH DISPOSABLE BRISTLE BRUSH
for applying glue neatly to plywood edges

6. 1 1/4-INCH (3D) FINISH NAILS
for nailing the supports in place

7. 2-INCH (6D) FINISH NAILS
for nailing trim in place

8. 1 5/8 and 2 1/2-INCH WOOD SCREWS

9. SHIMS
or leveling the bookcase

10. WOOD PUTTY OR WAX PENCIL
in a color to match the wood, to fill nail holes

11. STAIN OR PAINT

12. BUTCHER'S WAX OR POLYURETHANE

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Tools List
Tools You Will Need
- Circular Saw
- Speed square,
  to guide circular saw as you cut support pieces
- Scribe,
  for transferring irregularities of the wall onto the trim so you can cut it to fit snugly
- Mallet,
  to coax tight-fitting shelves into slots
- Stud sensor,
  to find where to attach bookcase to wall
- Jigsaw,
  to cut scribed trim pieces
- Measuring tape
- Hammer
- Nailset
- Level
- Cordless drill
- Utility knife
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Product selections for this project
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Introduction
Overview
Steps:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10

8 hours
$200-$500

Difficulty: Moderate Calculating measurements and scribing trim may cause some head-scratching

If your books and photographs are still displayed on a couple of boards held up by a pile of bricks, here's some good news: It doesn't require a master carpenter, a workshop full of tools, and thousands of dollars to add built-in bookcases to your home. All it takes, essentially, is some sturdy veneer plywood and a circular saw. By laminating a series of short support pieces to a longer strip of wood you can create the appearance of thick boards that have been routed to accept shelves. Some solid-wood trim covering all the plywood edges hides your clever trickery, leaving you with a piece of furniture worthy of a great library.