Alcove Shelving System for a Pair of Alcoves 900mm Wide in Solid Ash

Both alcoves in one order, sized for a pair of standard alcoves either side of a chimney breast, with the shelf lines set to match across the chimney breast.

The track system is the reason this shelving scales. Slotted uprights fix to the wall on a 600mm grid, brackets hook into the slots at 32mm pitch, and shelves sit on the brackets. Nothing is fixed at a height you have to live with. A shelf moves in about twenty seconds with no tools, no new holes and no filler, which matters more than any other feature once you have owned it for a year and the books have changed. The uprights carry the load straight down into the wall rather than trying to lever off it, which is why a track system holds far more than the same shelf on a pair of cantilever brackets.

Specification

• Dimensions: two alcoves at 900mm wide, six shelves each, 250mm deep
• Material: solid English ash, 30mm thick, finished in hardwax oil
• Finish: hardware in your chosen finish, timber oiled and ready to use
• Load rating: 25kg per shelf evenly distributed, tested to twice that before deflection reaches 3mm
• Span and bracket spacing: two uprights per alcove set 100mm in from each side wall
• Adjustability: shelves move on a 32mm pitch, and both alcoves can be re set to match in minutes
• Suitable walls: brick, block, concrete and timber stud. Plasterboard on dabs needs the long fixing kit, which is a free option at the checkout
• Fixings: stainless screws and the right plug for masonry are included. Fixings for plasterboard on dabs and for metal stud are supplied on request at no charge
• Shelves supplied 30mm oversize on width so you can scribe them to the alcove, which is never square
• A scribing block and a pencil gauge are in the box
• Total shelf run: 10.8 linear metres
• Packed weight: approximately 76.9 kilograms
• Depth: 250mm as standard, 200mm on request for a shallow alcove

What you get

• Four slotted uprights, 1800mm
• 12 shelves in solid ash, cut 30mm oversize for scribing
• 24 shelf brackets, 250mm
• A scribing block and a pencil gauge
• A levelling string line for matching the shelf heights across the breast
• Fixing packs for masonry and for timber stud

Fitting

Two people, a drill, a spirit level and about two hours for a single wall. Mark the top line first and hang every upright from it rather than measuring up from the floor, because floors are never level and a shelf that follows the floor looks wrong in a way nobody can put their finger on. Fix the first upright, level it, then use a shelf as a straight edge to set the next one. The fixing pack, a paper template and a printed sequence are in the box.

Planning your wall

Work from the top down. Set the top shelf where it looks right, usually a little above eye level, then space the rest below it. Books want 320mm between shelves for paperbacks and 400mm for hardbacks and art books, and there is no reason for the spacing to be equal. A wall of identical gaps reads as storage and a wall of varied gaps reads as a room. Leave the bottom shelf at least 300mm off the floor so a hoover and a skirting board both have somewhere to go.