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Expedit Owners - Should this be stable?

Nice work, Lee.
I gotta get some shelving myself in the new year. Will probably just go the expedit as well.
 
boonie said:
Nice work, Lee.
I gotta get some shelving myself in the new year. Will probably just go the expedit as well.
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Thanks Luke,

I'm filling it now. Taking time as my collection has been out of order for a few years now. It's perfect in dimensions for record collections of any size. I went for the 5 x 5 cause I thought I'd need it. Halfway through and about a third full so I should be ok. I noticed you have an Ikea in Richmond. The website helps as you can see if what you want is in stock and which aisle and location number to find it in the warehouse section. Once the car was parked, I was back with the stock in 20 minutes. Self check out and all. Mowed down a few kiddies and prams though.
 
bhundu said:
After the responses to this thread I decided not to put a backing on it. QUOTE]

Oh.. forgot to mention about the backing part. I do not have any backing on my little version. I'm going to unload mine and put some sort of backing on it. Not because it needs it for stability but becuase its very hard to keep the lp's line up at the same depth otherwise. A minor issue but enought to just be a PITA always having to line them back up.

Steve
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jgordon said:
Then again, it'd probably teach the kid a quick and good lesson. Note: I'm in an apartment building with solid concrete floors.
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Sorry about your crushed skull little Billy..... That'll teach you a lesson! :nono:

There was a series of local news reports about kids being killed because folks were placing heavy tvs on top heavy stands and having them tip over and crush the kids heads. I was amazed that folks could be so careless.

I'm not trying to put down anyone that doesn't anchor these things to the wall it's your own personal choice and more than likely you'll never have an issue. However, as you know LPs are very heavy when accumulated in mass. and placeing a 100 to 200 or more lps 4 to 5 feet up in the air makes that shelf very dangerous should it tilt forward a few degrees by accident.

Steve
 
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After I got mine loaded I grabbed a hold of it and tried wiggling it back and forth. They really are pretty solid when loaded, but like I said, if I had a kid I probably would just because you never know with them. So long as I don't climb on mine, it's not going anywhere. It would take quite a bit of work to get it to fall over
 
The key to their stability is to construct them well. I've seen some poorly assembled Expedits that I wouldn't trust, but as you can tell, they are HEAVY S.O.B.s unassembled. It's a great product.
 
targeteye said:
..becuase its very hard to keep the lp's line up at the same depth otherwise. A minor issue but enought to just be a PITA always having to line them back up.

Steve
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Do what I did.

Pieces of wood (I used wood) one inch high placed in the back and instead of screwing them into the unit shelf, just use velcro strips.

My unit is against the wall so the pieces of wood aren't falling off in the back.

I bought some pine (1" x 3" x 8') and cut pieces exactly 13 3/16" to fit snugly into the back.

All records are ligned-up perfectly, looks very neat.

:thmbsp:
 
A Heads Up on Ikea

bhundu said:
Thanks Luke,
The website helps as you can see if what you want is in stock and which aisle and location number to find it in the warehouse section.
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The nearest Ikea to me is 90 minutes away. I couldn't get there until after work. I checked the stock on the blond Expedits, which I thought would match my custom shelves better, just before I left. There were plenty available.

I drove to Atlanta and went straight to the aisle. There were none on the racks, but I could see there were plenty above in storage. I found an assistant and eventually a manager and told them what I wanted. I let them know I checked stock before I left and that I came in from out of town.

They explained that company rules does not allow forklifts on the floor during business hours and I would have to come back. They also said they couldn't reserve a set for me to retrieve the next day. I wasn't happy and pointed out the shortcomings of their system.

I had two choices. I could take my chances and try later, or I could buy a set in black right then. Since my collection is in a dedicated closet, color coordination is a minor issue and I bought the black.

This is a long winded way of saying just because an Ikea lists an item in stock on the web site, it doesn't mean it will be available to purchase when you get to the store.
 
DougMac said:
The nearest Ikea to me is 90 minutes away. I couldn't get there until after work. I checked the stock on the blond Expedits, which I thought would match my custom shelves better, just before I left. There were plenty available.

I drove to Atlanta and went straight to the aisle. There were none on the racks, but I could see there were plenty above in storage. I found an assistant and eventually a manager and told them what I wanted. I let them know I checked stock before I left and that I came in from out of town.

They explained that company rules does not allow forklifts on the floor during business hours and I would have to come back. They also said they couldn't reserve a set for me to retrieve the next day. I wasn't happy and pointed out the shortcomings of their system.

I had two choices. I could take my chances and try later, or I could buy a set in black right then. Since my collection is in a dedicated closet, color coordination is a minor issue and I bought the black.

This is a long winded way of saying just because an Ikea lists an item in stock on the web site, it doesn't mean it will be available to purchase when you get to the store.
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I had a similar experience that soured me on the 45 minute drive. Their is a hole in their Customer Service plan.
 
I have an Expedit 5 x 5 that sits against a wall, but not fastened, because the slight angle to the floor keeps it leaning against the wall. When the Ikea guy was installing it (it's common in Hong Kong for them to deliver and assemble the things so cheaply it isn't worth doing yourself!), he said there was no need, pointing out that since it angled back slightly against the wall, the more weight I put on it, the more stable it would be.

I have it fully loaded, not just with vertical LPs across each shelf, but (temporarily) with a few more laid horizontally over the top of each row, and a few more leaning in front in each cubicle... plus more across the top of the unit! There is absolutely no sign that the Expedit is the least bit strained by this load. It seems as solid and stable as a rock.

The only complaint I have is the outgassing it does, of fumes so bad they made my lungs swell and bleed internally for a couple months, making it hard to breathe at times for all the fluid build-up. I would strongly recommend you leave the thing in a garage or covered patio or somewhere like that to "breathe" before you bring it indoors into any space you will spend time in, and try not to get near it for any length of time. Leave a window open in whatever room it is in. Or get a well-used one. When new, those things are AWFULLY TOXIC!!! After a few months, though, they seem to "gas out" pretty well and the problem abates.
 
Arkay said:
The only complaint I have is the outgassing it does, of fumes so bad they made my lungs swell and bleed internally for a couple months, making it hard to breathe at times for all the fluid build-up. I would strongly recommend you leave the thing in a garage or covered patio or somewhere like that to "breathe" before you bring it indoors into any space you will spend time in, and try not to get near it for any length of time. Leave a window open in whatever room it is in. Or get a well-used one. When new, those things are AWFULLY TOXIC!!! After a few months, though, they seem to "gas out" pretty well and the problem abates.
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That may be a regional thing.

I noticed (with surprise) that the Expedits I bought here in the States were made in the USA, and there was no "gassing" (usually formaldehyde, IIRC).
 
As a somewhat experienced shelf builder and DIY home remodeller that has done woodwork for 40 years I would strongly suggest that you cover the back of your shelves with either a 1/4" plywood or 1/4" tampered hard board (if you don't like the color then cut the material to size and then paint it before attaching it. Use 1.25" long drywall screws to hold it on I would put one screw into each piece so if you had a 5x5 cube you would end up with a screw in the center of each shelf between each upright and a screw in each up right between each shelf.

The I would find the studs in your wall and either use a spacer board or if possible remove the bottom molding so the shelf fits flat against the wall put at least 4) 2" long screws into the wall. At the top of the shelf.

Just because it feels stable does not mean that it will always be stable. MDF/Particle board will sag slowly with weight on it. And this sagging can change how well the joints are in the pieces.

For the little bit of cost and time being safe beats the hell out of coming home and finding all your LP's in a heap on the floor. And any collateral damage
 
I've had mine for two years now Mark, and the way they are built, they just don't sag.

Each upright slat transfers all the weight to the very bottom of the unit. Mine hasn't loosened no sagged..

The slats in between are just pinned to the shelf above and below using a small steel pin for locating the slat. The top and bottom are then screwed to the sides compressing everything in between.

Super stable and they stay tight without sagging I've found.

I even took mine apart, moved it, then reassembled. As tight as the first time I put it together. I was surprised by this. I expected it to turn wobbly but it hasn't from that.

Simple but impressively stable and heavy duty design.
 
I've got to agree with simi on the strength of these things. I used mine solely for record storage for over a year and about a month ago moved it in to another room to use as an equipment stand as well as record storage. It now has about 2/3rds of my LP's in it as well as a stack of stereo equipment that probably weighs 85 pounds. I also have a 200 pound television setting on it and the thing won't wobble at all. No sag either so far. BTW it is a 4x2 sitting on it's side.
Steve
 
arkay said:
the only complaint i have is the outgassing it does, of fumes so bad they made my lungs swell and bleed internally for a couple months, making it hard to breathe at times for all the fluid build-up. I would strongly recommend you leave the thing in a garage or covered patio or somewhere like that to "breathe" before you bring it indoors into any space you will spend time in, and try not to get near it for any length of time. Leave a window open in whatever room it is in. Or get a well-used one. When new, those things are awfully toxic!!! After a few months, though, they seem to "gas out" pretty well and the problem abates.
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WTF?



i
 
bhundu said:
Went down to Ikea today and picked up the 5 x 5. I had to take out the passenger and rear seats of the Daihatsu so the three boxes would fit.
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Nice work! Enjoy the Expedit, I think they're great for LP storage.

Believe it or not, I fit an unassembled 5 x 5 unit into a Ford Festiva subcompact hatchback and covered about 15 miles. It was a tight fit and a bit difficult to shift gear with the stick :D

I've had the 5 x 5 unit, plus three 4 x 4s and a 4 x2 unit filled for a couple of years without any problems. None are wall-attached. Here's a picture w/ the white 5 x 5 unit:

platinum001.jpg
 
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