LP Shelving - Will This Work?

[Teasing the Korean]

The wall space in my record room is completely maxed out. Sure, I could unload the Herb Alpert and Ferrante and Teicher records to make more room but that won't happen. We have a seldom-used closet in this room and I am thinking about buying this product:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70103085

My intention, if I am not crazy, is to put the unit upright on heavy duty castors sold by Ikea and then rolling it a short distance to open the door when needed. I asked the salesperson repeatedly if the wheels would support the weight and height combination, and also about the center of gravity issue. He said yes, as long as the weight was distributed evenly.

Is this workable or do you think it's risky? If it's any consolation I'll put the thrift store records in it and not the rare mono deep groove Blue Notes. I'd hate to get killed by my record collection, but for a vinyl junkie, maybe that's appropriate.

[.:.impossible]

might be a good idea to reinforce the shelves by having lowes/homedepot cut a piece of plywood for you, then fasten to the back to support the weight.

[Stereojack]

The wall space in my record room is completely maxed out. Sure, I could unload the Herb Alpert and Ferrante and Teicher records to make more room but that won't happen. We have a seldom-used closet in this room and I am thinking about buying this product:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70103085

My intention, if I am not crazy, is to put the unit upright on heavy duty castors sold by Ikea and then rolling it a short distance to open the door when needed. I asked the salesperson repeatedly if the wheels would support the weight and height combination, and also about the center of gravity issue. He said yes, as long as the weight was distributed evenly.

Is this workable or do you think it's risky? If it's any consolation I'll put the thrift store records in it and not the rare mono deep groove Blue Notes. I'd hate to get killed by my record collection, but for a vinyl junkie, maybe that's appropriate.

The shelves will probably support the weight. My fear is that the casters may collapse or break, or they make dig holes into the floor. Records are very heavy!

[Chuck Nessa]

Sell the crap! Problem solved.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

People on the Hoffman forums have had Ikea Expedit stands break apart when overloaded so I wouldn't recommend it for a mobile solution. If these things break apart standing still, they will certainly break apart when you start moving them around. My Expedit is reinforced with plywood and I'm still leery of overloading it.

[Jazzmoose]

You need a second record room. Get rid of that bed and crap and use your space properly.

[clifford_thornton]

I have some Expedit shelves and they've held up fine stuffed to the gills with records.

But the casters might be a problem.

[Teasing the Korean]

People on the Hoffman forums have had Ikea Expedit stands break apart when overloaded so I wouldn't recommend it for a mobile solution. If these things break apart standing still, they will certainly break apart when you start moving them around. My Expedit is reinforced with plywood and I'm still leery of overloading it.

Ooh, thanks for sharing that important tidbit. And thanks all for the replies.

Most of my albums are on these discontinued modular units that Home Despot used to sell. They are these white wooden stackable things with a movable shelf in the middle. I've stacked these floor to ceiling and reinforced them on the tops with brackets. I break up the monotony of record spines by having occasional squares filled with outer space toys like Major Matt Mason and Lost in Space robots. It has a very Euro early-70s feel. I don't know why they discontinued these shelving units. I've had them for more than ten years and there's never been a problem.

Maybe Chuck's solution is best. Still, even if I unload the Herb Alpert and Ferrante and Teicher, I've only freed up space for about 20 albums.

Edited July 28, 2009 by Teasing the Korean

[mjzee]

First, check out how heavy the boxes are in their warehouse. My wife and I couldn't move these suckers home.

Also, you may want to check out their Billy bookcases. The individual shelves are thicker.

[Big Beat Steve]

Having had a look at various IKEA shelving (I need to set up a new CD rack as THAT one is overflowing here but the ones IKEA used to handle have been discontinued) I'd go with the BILLY instead of the Expedit too. Those BILLY things commonly are the laughingstock of designer furniture-minded people but they are VERY sturdy and really look sort of timeless once they're full.

I have several of them in use (not for LPs - these are on an even sturdier modular shelf system that unfortunately has VERY few distributors here), and most of them are loaded to the max with car mags, parts catalogs and workshop manuals so there's some weight there too - no flexing, no sweat, no worry.

In fact, as my music room had reached the point of overflowing some time ago too I even had to fill an 80 cm wide shelf in one of those BILLY bookcases next door with 78rpms (!) - it's more or less crammed full now - and I don't feel uneasy about this either.

Edited July 28, 2009 by Big Beat Steve

[Niko]

guess you'd have to turn billy upside down to put rolls below it... still doesn't sound like a good idea to me (but what do i know...)

[David Ayers]

In the UK we mostly use these to solve our vinyl storage problems:

[mikeweil]

I wouldn't trust the IKEA shelves for a moving solution - besides that, with LPs the shelves get very heavy, and you might not be able to move it at all. I once had a shelf on 4 pairs of casters, 3 feet high and five feet wide, and it wouldn't move an inch!

[Peter Johnson]

Don't know about casters, but I used the large-size expedit unit; it was terrific. Didn't reinforce. It swallowed my entire collection; didn't buckle; and survived a move. Highly recommended.

[DukeCity]

Maybe Chuck's solution is best. Still, even if I unload the Herb Alpert and Ferrante and Teicher, I've only freed up space for about 20 albums.

I think you may have misunderstood Chuck. He didn't say to ditch the Alpert and F&T, he said to sell the crap!

[Chalupa]

Why don't you just build some shelves? That's what I did. Look here's a photo(probably not safe for work) I took of Mrs.Deeley filing some vinyl away last night.

[Teasing the Korean]

Why don't you just build some shelves? That's what I did. Look here's a photo(probably not safe for work) I took of Mrs.Deeley filing some vinyl away last night.

Very Nice!

Now, if I can only find out how she moves the records to open the closet door, I'll be set!

[dsockel]

I also use the IKEA Expedit shelves to store over 1,000 records. It does a nice job. The wood however is pretty soft and the frequent movement would probably sway the shelving ever so slightly and eventually crack or pull out a screw or two.

Perhaps you can put your stereo on casters and move it into the closet?

[Claude]

My intention, if I am not crazy, is to put the unit upright on heavy duty castors sold by Ikea and then rolling it a short distance to open the door when needed. I asked the salesperson repeatedly if the wheels would support the weight and height combination, and also about the center of gravity issue. He said yes, as long as the weight was distributed evenly.

The Expedit does a great job for LP storage (many record collectors in Europe use them fully stocked), but I would not trust it's stability if it is not placed directly on an even floor. I think putting it on wheels and moving it frequently will quickly make this a shaky affair.

[spinlps]

I used the Expedit for years until I upgraded to the Bonde. The smaller Expedits should be ok for a "mobile" solution, the larger 4x4 and 5x5 units probably shouldn't be wheeled about.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I have a 5X5 Expedit unit, which is full of books. It's OK but I don't have to move it about (couldn't!!)

Sounds like the real solution is to get someone to build a set of sheves in the closet so you don't have to move it.

MG

[Teasing the Korean]

Welcome back MG! We've missed you!