EXPEDIT VS D.I.Y. dilema
pointman
1,042 Posts
So I just moved into my new house and record shelving is in serious short supply. I have been trying to avoid going the expedit route, I know they do the job well but I just don't want anymore particle board. An artist that works in metal I know was going to make me a shelf for my new house but was just offered a good project and now I am left to figure what to do. I need an amount of storage equal to the large 5x5 expedit but I don't own any power tools, I would love to make one or pay someone to make one for me. My only thing is that I just don't want it to look like some piece of shit. suggestions? I don't want to go the expedit route but I am starting to feel I really don't have much else of an option. Someone on here posted pictures and plans of some interlocking/interchangable shelves they made that looked pretty damn good. Who did that?
Comments
my guest is that if you want to make it yourself you are going to need access to some powertools. if you pay someone to make it you can probably buy 4 expedits.
stacking milk crates with wood shelves in between works pretty well, so does cinder blocks and wood shelves.
just depends on your aesthetic preferences.
$99 can't be beat.
I spent more than $500 on my shelf... I like it alot better than the expedit, but that shit wasn't cheap!!
If money is an issue - get an expedit
if satisfaction in building something yourself (which will likely outlast the expedit) is more important - DIY
Now, if you're no good with the handicraft, you might end up with some ugly ass looking shelves, even if you paid bucks for nice wood.
1927 LP's snugly it in that...divide that by the 129.00 that a 5x5 expedit costs and thats a damn good deal
Br**t: go with the expedit
Why does everyone hate on expedit?
I got the 5X5 jump and I love it. Looks good, sturdy, cost effective.
and:
DJ Wub Wub. I got a copy of the plans. PM me and I will send them to you.
Here is the OG post. Expedit DIY
Here's what the rack i built looks like.
I had a carpenter build me shelves. Here's some pics of 1 unit. I was gonna have it built like an expedit, but I thought against it because it would be difficult to transport without taking apart. I didn't want particle board because I just ain't a fan & I'm well connected with people who can make some decent furniture.
Each unit holds about 700-800 records. It comes in 2 picecs & which are secured together with screws & are bolted to the wall. I had this guy build me 3 units. They cost about 200 bucks a unit & were made from birch ply. They're crazy solid.
I had them made with doors because sometimes I just don't like looking at all my stuff... Here's the pic with it open. There are 10 storage cubes in all.
I have plans & shit if anyone likes. We've refined the design to include discreet hinges. I gotta change the handles, but I'm hella lazy.
Peace
H
Thanks for the plans. Your shelf was the one I was mentioning.
Waffle
Your shelf is awesome as well. Are those colored panels doors or screwed on backings or what? Are the wood panels doors?
Now if only I was friends with Bob Villa I would have that shit all set up by the morning. Maybe I should just use this as a good excuse for why I need to buy all new power tools.
My thing with the expedit is I know it does the job well bang for your buck. But I would like to have something made that will last some time. I also thought its a good excuse to give some guy besides Ikea some dough. I'm not hating on the expedit I just would prefer something different. Now its just the matter of if I can manage something different.
and yeah, i got a 5x5 and a 4x4 expedit and i cant hate at all. i aint looking forward to moving anytime soon, but otherwise...
It can be easily disassembled, solid wood, customizable, & sturdy once the back supports are on.
It can be seen in the background in the photo below. That one was approx. $70
I also have a much larger one that is 6 levels high and attached to the wall stud for stability etc.. It's a mammoth and you need a stool to see the top shelf.
I have mixed feelings about the Xpedit. I wish it had a back (or stops) so the records didn't run away from my fingers sometimes but that can always be added I suppose. Also I feel like they are too deep and stick out into the room a bit too far for my taste. But I DO LIKE the individual cubicles so that the records aren;t leaning on each other all the time etc.. It's easier to finger through the cubicles I think.
the expedits are nice but particle board is ASS .. it will be sturdy for awhile but get that thing wet or take it apart a few times and most likely you'll be left with some serious trapizoidal shelving... it is mad cheap though.. but i feel like that just feeds into the typical disposable society.
i built 2 nice sized shelves and a bin that sits on top with a buddy of mine last year... we built a set for him and a set for me and it took us exaclty one leisurely day to do so. We didnt get the most expensive plywood, as you dont actially see any of it when the shelve is loaded and against the wall.
anyhow these babies are solid as a mo fo and come apart in sections (you can take some records out and two dudes can carry it to a moving truck with ease. leaving most of the records in). The top bin even has a row for 45's.
i need to get some wheels put on and this one is completely full so i think i shall build another at some point here.
i would recomend those metal bakers racks too... I bout 2 of them at Sam's club years ago for 90 bones each... totally industructable.. you can make two massive tall bookshelves out of them or break them down and make 4 smaller shelves... i truned two of them into an island in my kitchen by putting wood tops on them and hte other two (with wheels!) hold all my decks and recording gear.
What I do recommend are these...
http://www.gorillarack.com/products/storage/Storage.htm
They sure ain't as pretty as the Expedit, but they are incredibly sturdy, and can be assembled and reassembled without any tools. Cheaper that the Expedit too. I got mine from a Costco in the UK for about ??50. Will take 1000+ records with ease. Anyone else use these?
do you have any specs/instructions for this bad boy, shit is PERFECT.
i literally drew it on a napkin and then came up with the cut sheet based on the measurements.
the main thing is the bottoms / tops / sides are all the same width.. every other peice is just made from the leftovers on on the sheet.
holds about 7/8 crates worth, powder coated steel. solid, adjustable feet.
where from? what price?
holdeverything.com
i think the blue one was 71 shipping included.
they have 5 different colors.
naah, I wish it was intricate like that... The whole thing is 2' deep, and most of the cubes are divided halfway through with white plexiglass. Some have colored plexi.
I needed lateral bracing (so it doesn't deform into a parallellogram), so the solid panels form a matrix across (there are panels on either side) - basically, if you look at it straight on from one side, you'll see a panel in each row, vertically - as well as horizontally, but randomly placed within the matrix. Since these solid panels are positioned towards the outside (as opposed to the center), the cube is about 2' deep in those locations, which basically means that I can store crap in there, which I probably won't find again for a several years.
The shelf used to divide two rooms (my old house, in the picture in the other thread). Since it's double-sided, the records were only shelved on one side in the room with my turntables.
I've since moved (to a much smaller place) and I actually have records on both sides now. I also discovered that the cube is *just* the right size for an old iMac!!!
cosign all of the above. there is no way i would be able to store 6,000 records in my bedroom without the IVAR system. they are cheaper than the expedit, more sturdy, and made out of solid wood. each shelf holds 200 records approx. so if you go the 6 shelf route thats 1200 records per unit. what is cool about them is you can connect them together to save on parts.i cuurently have 5 in my bedroom, 2-6 shelf, and 3 5-shelf. the rest of my records are on the floor in crates and i have plenty of room in my bedroom
i need to take some new pics actually as im quite proud of how i arranged them.
For real though $160 is not a lot of money for shelving on the magnitude that you're talking about. Short of cinder blocks + plywood planks, I'm not sure how you'd find any kind of substantial shelving solution that's not going to run you what decent-made furniture should cost.
Hey, thanks Manny. And my bad for not posting in the FAQ or just reading up on it. I couldn't find it, but now it seems to be a pinned topic again.
That being said, I think I'm going to go Expedit's full size. Like you said the price is unbeatable and since I'll be setting them up against a wall, I think they should be really sturdy.
B/W
Some of the DIY pics posted earlier in this thread are freaking awesome.
That's kinda sexy.
Please explain. Are those drawers or cabinets? For 45s?
I currently own roughly 15 cardboard boxes of 45s and no matter where or how you place them, they just look like shit. Seriously on some middle school comic book collectro type display. I'm a grown man and my 45s are the crown jewels of my collection. They need a sexy home for grown-ups type storage. In my dream world, I want to build something like an old school library card catalog cabinet with slide out 45 drawers.
Anyone come up with any creative or grown man style 45 storage?
As the included measurements now indicate, it's for both LPs and 7"s. Top layer has storage for about 180 7"s and 150 LPs (that's not the max but if I can't flip through 'em, it defeats the purpose so I'm artifically lowering how much I'd actually put).
Each 7" drawer should hold about 100 7"s each (that's based on numbers Ken Shipley gave me for the 7" drawers he built recently - I guess 100 7" fit into a 14" deep space).
Each LP drawer would hold about 80 LPs when maxed out but again, I might keep more like 70 in them so I can still flip.
Total storage space would be roughly 360 LPs + 1200 7"s, give or take.
I tried playing with the dimensions to squeeze in a third layer of 7" drawers but it took the whole thing a bit too high.
I could sacrifice the LPs drawers on the bottom and add another two layers of 7" drawers but I have enough "new arrival LPs" at any given time to justify preserving more space for them.