I'm working on transforming a nook in my basement into a cozy reading area featuring some built-in bookshelves made from 3/4" plywood. I have my sides, tops, bottoms, and shelves all cut to the right size, and I'm planning for the shelves to fit into dadoes. I'll attach the tops and bottoms using pocket holes and finish it off with a 1/4" plywood backing that's inset with rabbets, along with face frames and paint. I feel pretty confident about everything so far, but I have a couple of questions before I dive into assembly:
1. Should I add stretchers at the back of the shelves for a solid connection to the studs? I've seen this done in cabinets, and I'm worried that just screwing through the 1/4" plywood backing won't be sturdy enough.
2. I accidentally cut a couple of my dadoes a bit wider—around 1/4" too wide. Is there a good way to fill this gap, or should I just get more plywood and redo the dadoes?
Thanks for any advice! Can't wait to hear what you think!
2 Answers
When I built my basement shelves, I installed a nailer against the wall studs first. This made it super easy to attach my bookshelves since I didn’t have to hunt for the studs—the backs just went right into the nailers.
My backing was also 1/4" plywood, and it held up well, so I wouldn't stress about needing extra support as long as it’s attached securely!
1. Attaching the bookshelves directly to the studs through the 1/4" plywood backing should work just fine, as long as the backing is well-secured to the shelves.
2. To fix those wide dadoes, you might try adding a thin strip of wood inside the dado to fill the gap. If you have access to a table saw, it's pretty straightforward to cut a 1/4" strip to fit in there. Here's a quick video on how someone else did it: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG08QW9rIIs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG08QW9rIIs).
This is great, thanks!
Screwing a nailer to the wall seems like a solid option. My only real concern is that these shelves are going to be loaded up with books and I'd hate for it to pull away from the wall or something because of the load. I'm assuming brad nails and wood glue will be enough to secure the 1/4" backing to the shelf so that doesn't happen.
When you screwed through the backing, did you end up covering screw heads with anything?