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How to secure bookcase without backing to a brick wall?

Hi there,

I have 3 Ikea Billy Bookcases that I want to build and put together side by side on an empty wall. What I would like to do is leave off the card backing and secure them to the wall as we have exposed brick and I think that would look really nice with the brick showing through.

Removing the backing is going to make the bookcases wobbly I would imagine, and was wondering if there’s brackets or something I could use to make sure the bookcases are stable and strong enough to hold the shelves full of books.

I’d really like to keep the exposed bricks peeking through the shelves if I can but wasn’t sure if it’s possible. If it’s not I’ll go with plan B and build as the instructions suggest 😁

Many thanks,

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MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Onepowerball. It's wonderful to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about securing bookcases to a wall.

The backing prevents movement on the diagonals, so as long as the bookcases are pinned back to the wall, you should be able to leave them off. The neatest way I can think of to do this would be with Zenith 50mm Stainless Steel Angle Brackets. They can be fixed into your brick wall at the appropriate height with a STAHL Masonry Kit 6mm Drill With 35mm Red Wall Plugs kit. You can then position the bookcase and screw down into the tops of the side panels. I'd also advise that you screw all the abutted side panels together to form one solid structure. Make sure you use a screw that is shorter than the thickness of the two panels. You don't want it poking through the other side. These screws can be hidden directly under the shelves, so they're out of sight.

Let me mention a couple of our knowledgeable members, @Noyade and @JDE, to see if they can think of any alternative fixing arrangements.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

Noyade

"Removing the backing is going to make the bookcases wobbly I would imagine"

My thoughts as well.

I would love to know how you got on with this project.

Cheers.

MitchellMc

@Noyade,

Let me mention @Onepowerball to see if they can give us an update. I'd be interested to see how they're getting on as well.

Mitchell

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