ThelmaLou Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Hubby and kids will be out of town soon, and I'm going shopping for Billy bookcases. Hoping to have them all assembled and filled by the time they get home. Is this a 1 person job? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 I've put together several large Billy bookcases by myself. It is easier to do with 2 people, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThelmaLou Posted August 13, 2009 Author Share Posted August 13, 2009 How long should I expect one set of shelves to take? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Yeah, I have no idea. But one time I was putting together a TV cabinet from Ikea, and the directions said, "it is recommended that you be two people to assemble this." I tried and tried, but I could not be two people, so my husband helped. So...what do your directions say? Do they recommend that you be two people? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cindie2dds Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 I put together 5 by myself, unless you count a 5 year old helping! ;) It was by far the easiest do-it-yourself furniture from IKEA I have ever assembled! I needed a ladder only for the extra extension unit, since I wanted them 8 feet tall. It took me an afternoon (about 4 hours to put them all together). Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThelmaLou Posted August 13, 2009 Author Share Posted August 13, 2009 I put together 5 by myself, unless you count a 5 year old helping! ;) It was by far the easiest do-it-yourself furniture from IKEA I have ever assembled! I needed a ladder only for the extra extension unit, since I wanted them 8 feet tall. It took me an afternoon (about 4 hours to put them all together). Good Luck! You've given me hope! My two year old will be here, but will hopefully *not* be helping. Napping is more like it. I'll be doing extensions, too. Guess I need to take the ladder upstairs. Thanks for the time estimate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in FL Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Don't forget to plan on bracketing them to the wall before you fill them with books. If you need to use wall anchors and all that - be prepared before dh leaves town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThelmaLou Posted August 13, 2009 Author Share Posted August 13, 2009 Ugghhh. Forgot about anchoring them to the wall. If I've never done that myself, will I be able to figure it out, or will I have to wait until hubby gets back into town so he can do it? I'm a little reluctant to put holes in the wall without him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in CA Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Ugghhh. Forgot about anchoring them to the wall. If I've never done that myself, will I be able to figure it out, or will I have to wait until hubby gets back into town so he can do it? I'm a little reluctant to put holes in the wall without him. I built 4 Billy bookcases by myself in an afternoon, *and* I anchored them to the wall. Go to the hardware store and get some of the screw-in anchors for places where you don't have a stud. I find those to be really easy to use. You will be fine doing this, and you're gonna feel GREAT when you get it finished and see what you've accomplished!:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newlifemom Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 My husband can. Just be sure to check all of the pieces on all sides before so you don't get it all done to find a large crack and then have to drive 50 miles to return it and get a new one. [which is what I am doing tomorrow :thumbdown:] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 (edited) Ugghhh. Forgot about anchoring them to the wall. If I've never done that myself, will I be able to figure it out, or will I have to wait until hubby gets back into town so he can do it? I'm a little reluctant to put holes in the wall without him. The bookcases come with l-shaped braces with holes at the tip of each "leg". You will need a drill. If you don't know how determine this, take one of the screws (in the package with the brace) to the hardware store and ask which size wall anchor you will need for it and what size drill bit you need for the wall anchor. Make sure you know your wall type (drywall, probably). After that, you drill a hole in the wall and in the top of the bookcase (line the brace up to the wall and use a pencil to circle where the holes in the wall and bookcase top should be). Make sure the bottom of the bookcase is snug against the wall first. When my kids were little, I used 2 braces per bookcase. I bought extra braces at the hardware store. Holes in the wall can easily be fixed with spackle and touch-up paint. No one will see a misplaced hole anyway because it will be above the top of the bookcase -- unless someone is over 7' tall. Edited August 13, 2009 by RoughCollie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThelmaLou Posted August 13, 2009 Author Share Posted August 13, 2009 Wow, thanks for all the great tips on anchoring. I think I might try it myself after all. One more question. I'm doing a Billy corner combination. It comes with corner hardware. Is that for anchoring the corner shelf to the wall, or connecting the corner shelf to the other shelves? (Haven't purchased yet, so I don't have instructions.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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