How to fix leaning bookshelf?

[kraanti]

Hey folks, I made this bookshelf the other day however it’s leaning forward now. 
any ideas on what I did wrong or what can I do to fix this?? 

here’s the shelf btw 

 

[Noyade]

G'day @kraanti 

Originally there was an Ikea link in your post - gone now?

When I looked at it - their shelves were only 30 cm X 28 cm and all the 'wood' including the back were maybe 50 mm thick.

Your wood is too thin and the shelves too big.

Looking for a fix? Or do we start again?

All here are happy to help.

Cheers.

😁

[Noyade]

Found it.

https://www.ikea.com/au/en/p/lack-wall-shelf-unit-white-40282187/

It's a wall unit - not self standing.

[kraanti]

Yeah the IKEA shelves were smaller, I wanted to be tad bigger so I can put my books properly. 

I also felt like that the backing wood was too thin. 

how do you reckon I can fix it? 
should I get a solid timber about the same size and attach it to the back? 

[MitchellMc]

Hi @kraanti,

As @Noyade mentioned, units like this are typically designed to be fixed to a wall rather than freestanding — not only because the thinner materials may not hold up under the weight of books, but also for safety reasons. Once loaded, a forward lean can become dangerous, especially if the unit tips over. This is a leading cause of serious household injury, which is why safety regulations now require many flat-pack furniture items to be secured to a wall.

If you’re hoping to keep this bookshelf freestanding, it would require a significant redesign — a deeper footprint, a more robust frame using solid timber, and additional bracing to ensure stability. Even then, anchoring it to something solid (like a wall or the floor) would still be the safest option.

For now, your best path forward might be to reinforce the back with a solid sheet of timber or thick plywood, well secured across the frame. That should help square it up and reduce movement, but it also needs to be fixed to a wall with brackets for safety. 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[Noyade]

If you just want a free standing bookshelf - put sides on it = instant bookshelf.

But if you want it wall mounted - with 'floating' looking shelves - then it needs a redesign.

It's the thickness of the IKEA's small shelves that make theirs work.

Have you butted and screwed/glued the shelves - or have you trenched the back with a router for the shelves?

What dimensions is your build at the moment?

What's the dimensions of your biggest book?

Are you against using brackets?

Is the aim still to have it wall mounted - off the floor?

Cheers.

(Sorry @MitchellMc  - I did not see your post above.)