Do it Yourself Bookcase Into a Stud Wall

Find the studs in the wall where you want your bookcase by using an electronic stud finder or tapping on the walls and listening for the solid sound. Hammer a small nail into the wall to verify that you have found the stud. If you located the stud, the nail will be hard to hammer into the wall and you will have to pull it out with the claw on your hammer. Locate the inside edges of the studs by marking where the nail easily hammers into the wall.

Use a pencil and a yardstick to draw the dimensions of your bookcase on the wall. Begin at the bottom edge of the bookshelf above the wall baseboard and mark its top edge three inches below the ceiling.

Push a wallboard saw into the wallboard along your pencil line, and cut out the section of wallboard between the studs. Remove the wallboard flush with the stud. Smooth the edges of the remaining wallboard by sanding along the cut line with a medium grade of sandpaper.

Use a table saw to cut two pieces of 2-by-4 that will be the base and top frames of your bookshelf. Make the wood inserts snug so there will be no space between the insert and the studs or the wallboard behind the bookcase. Screw four L-brackets into the inserts so the edge of the L-bracket will be flush against the stud at the front and back of the insert. Set the inserts into place, flush with the bottom and top edges of your bookshelf and screw the L-bracket into the stud.

Tape the remaining wallboard covering the studs at the top and bottom of the bookcase with painter’s tape. Paint the studs, wood inserts, L-brackets and the wallboard back of your bookcase. Remove the tape after the paint dries.

Cut six or seven pieces of 14.5-inch-long 1-by-6 for the shelves. Slide each shelf between the studs to verify a fit. Sand the edges smooth and paint the top, bottom, front edge and sides of each shelf. Allow the shelves to dry.

Mount two L-brackets underneath each shelf at the back edges where the shelf will meet the studs. Mount two more L-brackets underneath the front sides of each shelf 1.5 inches behind the front edge. Slide each shelf into the bookcase and screw the L-brackets into the stud. Your shelves will extend about 1.25 inches from the wall.