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HI! We're looking at getting the Expedit bookcase for my mom, but she's concerned all of her books won't fit. I know the dimensions of the piece itself, but can anyone who has one tell me the actual dimensions of the open cubes?
Thanks!
I've just about got mom convinced but have a question- has anyone put casters on one of these to make them mobile? If so, did you get the Ikea casters? I think it's a great idea, but mom is skeptical...
Never done it, but I imagine it could be done with one on each corner. I'd be pretty concerned about the shelving tipping over though? I'd guess that you'd want to use really shallow casters and attach it to the wall.
Have you considered using furniture slides like they use to move furniture instead? We got some at HD or Lowes that were 1 1/2" or 2" in diameter and had a peel and stick side so that they could be permanently attached. They provide a *lot* more stability than castors and would still allow you to move the shelving quite easily. Just a thought...
James
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we're looking at the tipping one of the smaller units on its side (2 cubbies high, 4 cubbies wide) to use under the windows in her room. I wanted to be able to move them easily for vacuuming etc. I'll look into the slides, but would prefer the wheels if possible...
It says in the catalog that it can be used either vertically or horizontally, so you should be ok with that. The center of gravity would be low it shouldn't be subject to tippage. The only issue I could see is that when placed on the floor, it would have support all along the length, while on casters it would be only supported on either end. One solution would be to install a "skirt" of say...birch deco strip (from the Akurum kitchen system) all around the bottom - skirting increases load bearing some insane amount. It would also serve to hide the casters.
Just make sure your mom doesn't try to take it for a ride! Locking casters would be good.
Susan
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I've just about got mom convinced but have a question- has anyone put casters on one of these to make them mobile? If so, did you get the Ikea casters? I think it's a great idea, but mom is skeptical...
Along the lines of what Susan said, the only issue I see with this is that the four large components - 2 sides, top and bottom - of the Expidit are honeycomb material, not solid, and not able or intended to withstand a lot of pressure. They are VERY easy to ding or dent (not that I speak from personal experience - merely innuendo and rumor ), even during he assembly process. I'd be afraid that too much weight on the castors - as could easily happen if you load up the unit with books - could create problems with the material collapsing under the weight of the books.
If you're absolutely set on the casters, you might try attaching a pad of 1/4"-1/2" plywood and then attaching the casters to that? It would spread the load and minimize the chance of crushing the side of the bookshelf. If you combined that with Susan's idea of putting molding around the bottom edge you could put a 1/2" layer of ply on the whole bottom except where the molding will be attached. Then the molding will hide the plywood AND the casters and you should have enough support that the honeycomb won't collapse. You might want to consider using 6 or even 8 casters to spread the load and better support the center of the span.
Or
You could just put 8 3" diameter glides on the bottom and call it done
Sorry, couldn't resist... Should have I know, but ::shrug::
So there's 2 ways you could go. I'm sure there's at least a 3rd out there
James
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Can't find the instructions you need? Post a request in the Wishlist and I'll get it uploaded ASAP! Assuming it's available ;-).
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giggle- my mom heard the words "honeycomb" and "collapsing" and just about had heart failure, so we'll be looking in home depot for these glides you speak of...
of course, our Ikea is out of stock on the Expedit we want, so we have a couple of weeks to figure it all out...
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Locking casters would be good. 
