Bookshelves vs. wall-mounted shelves

[Cloisonne]

I moved to a new apartment a few weeks ago. Currently, I'm trying to find a way to display as many games as I can, so I have no worries of running out of room and/or buying too many games.

This is how my games are stored right now: http://25.media.tumblr.com/f7fc8af8755bae20f330be84ba85e2e2/tumblr_mju7gfbIu71s3upzdo1_500.jpg
This picture was taken halfway through unpacking, and the other empty shelves were filled.

It's cool and all, and as you see I need two more bookshelves to install to complete the wall. But I'm thinking, instead of spending the $40+ on two new bookcases, I could just trash the bookcases I have now (or maybe part with them on Craigslist for free) and install shelves on the walls.

The pros would be I could position them so the games just barely touch the roof, it could go all the way to the end of the wall, and to the floor when it gets to that point. The space I'm losing with the two awkwardly spaced shelves and the borders of the bookcases could easily add more games, and more rows of games. Also, I could install these shelves on the other walls of my rooms if I ever need to expand.

The cons would be: I don't know if it would look as good as I'd want it to look. I'd also have to find a way to keep games from falling off the edges, and ways to keep them organized by system (being the OCD-ridden guy I am).

What do you guys think? Any suggestions?

[madrocsz]

Its a tricky situation for sure, I know I was faced with a similar dilemma a while back. While I feel custom shelves will no doubt be the best way to display more I feel there are a few more cons that may have been overlooked.

Skills to do so - I know I am no carpenter and would probably give myself a headache and spend more than necessary to do all my games

Your in an apartment - in reality you may not stay forever, at least the store bought ones will travel with you. Also , depending on the rules of your lease, they may not like all the drilling in the wall assuming thats the route you take

Will the wall support it? - games get kinda heavy and therefore there needs to be adequate supports within the wall


I am pretty ocd about my games as well and luckily for me I found a system I am ok with for now which was inexpensive and allows for me to be able to move them as needed.

[Cloisonne]

Skills to do so - I know I am no carpenter and would probably give myself a headache and spend more than necessary to do all my games

Well I would ask my dad to help me out with this if I decide to go through with it. I should get his expert opinion on it first :x

Your in an apartment - in reality you may not stay forever, at least the store bought ones will travel with you. Also , depending on the rules of your lease, they may not like all the drilling in the wall assuming thats the route you take

Well, yeah, I'm allowed to drill holes in the walls. I wasn't allowed to in my last apartment, that's why I got the bookshelves. I already have numerous shelves in my closet and some on my walls to display my CIB games. Good thing to point out though!

Will the wall support it? - games get kinda heavy and therefore there needs to be adequate supports within the wall

Yeah, this one is very true. UGC shipments are heavy as is, when I refilled the boxes with the games inside of them to move to my new place, they got considerably heavier. The shelves I have in my closet are able to hold pretty heavy things, but I should definitely look into this aspect of it; you've got me a bit worried.

I am pretty ocd about my games as well and luckily for me I found a system I am ok with for now which was inexpensive and allows for me to be able to move them as needed.

What's your system of storing games?

[wiggy]

All walls have studs, plus there are plenty of nice wall anchor options to choose from. Games aren't heavy. Building a wall unit for your collection presents no concern in that regard


I'd be hard pressed to spend a bunch of money of wall shelving in an apartment. More likely I would build units that stand alone so that could take them with me.

[Beastman1975]

Id Say build your own custom shelves  least then you can take em with you if you move .  ive built a couple things for storage pics in my thread here   http://www.thecoverproject.net/forums/index.php?topic=1869.15

[wiggy]

^^^ For sure!

You can make your own shelves with a bare minimum of tools.  Drill/hammer and screws/nails will pretty much do it.  Home Depot and Lowe's will cut your lumber to size, so as long as you make a good set of plans, you shouldn't need to do much but assemble a kit of your own design

[scarmullet]

Custom shelves are the way to go if you are in an apartment. If you go to menards, you can buy the parts for the shelving, just gotta cut them to size. Its expensive, but it works.

I wall mount, as it is considerably cheaper.

[wiggy]

You can't beat wall mount for the price.  That's what I did with my office shelving.  I think all this came to just about 180-190, and it's a TON of shelving.




And I didn't even require a single thing cut to set these up.  Just standard sizes from off the shelf at Home Depot.  

Tools/materials needed:

• Drill with ¼" bit
• Anchors of your choice
• Philips screwdriver
• Level and measuring tape

(optional: stud finder if you'd rather go that route)

Done!

[scarmullet]

I always use studs, like you said, games get pretty heavy, so putting the shelves into the studs is the safer bet

[Cloisonne]

Of course I was going to go with screwing the wall brackets into the studs! My bookcases right now are mounted into the wall at the studs so they don't fall down on me.

I think I'll go with wall shelves. I'll take them with me if I move out or if my mom moves out and I can have my games in the living room. Thanks guys

[wiggy]

You really don't need studs anymore, as long as you're not dealing with 1/4" drywall or some other paper thin substrate.  There are some really nice anchor options out there.  In fact, I actually have a patent on one that supports 300+ lbs on its own (just one anchor) that is used for handrails in hospitals, retirement homes, etc.   You'd be surprised what drywall can hold

[Dravenae]

I moved to a new apartment a few weeks ago. Currently, I'm trying to find a way to display as many games as I can, so I have no worries of running out of room and/or buying too many games.

This is how my games are stored right now: http://25.media.tumblr.com/f7fc8af8755bae20f330be84ba85e2e2/tumblr_mju7gfbIu71s3upzdo1_500.jpg
This picture was taken halfway through unpacking, and the other empty shelves were filled.

It's cool and all, and as you see I need two more bookshelves to install to complete the wall. But I'm thinking, instead of spending the $40+ on two new bookcases, I could just trash the bookcases I have now (or maybe part with them on Craigslist for free) and install shelves on the walls.

The pros would be I could position them so the games just barely touch the roof, it could go all the way to the end of the wall, and to the floor when it gets to that point. The space I'm losing with the two awkwardly spaced shelves and the borders of the bookcases could easily add more games, and more rows of games. Also, I could install these shelves on the other walls of my rooms if I ever need to expand.

The cons would be: I don't know if it would look as good as I'd want it to look. I'd also have to find a way to keep games from falling off the edges, and ways to keep them organized by system (being the OCD-ridden guy I am).

What do you guys think? Any suggestions?

If you are binning those bookshelves, send them my way! LOL! /jk.

In my personal opinion, book shelves are the easier way to go. Wall mounted shelves just seem to permanent. If the chances are that you'll be moving again, then book shelves for sure. If this location is a permanent dwelling, then its really up to you. I would personally go with book shelves, because I get bored and like to re-arrange my room from time to time.

At the end of the day, its really up to you mate!

[Malus_X]

 

TC is officially awesome.

[Cloisonne]

UPDATE! Before I decided to deck out my whole wall in wall shelves, I decided to do one corner of my room so I have a place to mount my DVDs (which were all in storage before then)

Here's what it looks like from a glance: http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd20/jason_delima/IMG_6570.jpg
My TV DVD collection: http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd20/jason_delima/IMG_6572.jpg

Now the only two cons I'm facing right now are:
1) Bookends. My local Walmart and Target don't sell them, and I don't want to pay $10 + shipping for some stupid pieces of metal off Amazon
2) They don't sit flush against the back of the wall, because of the wall brackets that makes it uneven. Right now, they're an inch away from the wall (link), so I'm debating buying some 1" thick styrofoam and placing them against the wall, and putting little nicks to wrap around the wall brackets

I dig it so far! Now maybe if I could get my full-time hours back at work or I can find a second job or I can find $100 on the street, I'll do the rest with my video games! And this will also help because there's no floor space in my room to display consoles, or my Game Boys, so I can purchase shelves for those guys too :3

(p.s. Thanks Malus_X! Assuming you're talking about me haha)