anyone use ikea for lp racks?

I use the Expedit shelves and am very happy with them for how little they cost. I use the ones with 4 cubicles and have two of them stacked on top of one another.I keep all my japenese pressings, MFSL pressings and mint original early issue lp,s and rare lps in them. Approximently 50 or more for each cubicle depending on how many are gatefold lps. The rest of my collection (daily drivers but still in excellent condition)I still keep in the milk crates I used from the seventies. As a woodworker the time and cost to make them myself could not be done for so little. The only changes I made was adding backs to each cubicle to keep the lps from being pushed back to deep into the shelves. These 4 cubicle units are inherintly more stable than the larger wall units for obvious reasons. They are reasonably priced and work well to shelve lps in. Cost me 100 dollars for both units. I figured to make similar shelves from the solid wood I usually work with would cost me about 1000 in materials to do myself. So 100 dollars and 900 dollars put towards more vynil was a no brainer. Cheers.

Forgot to add shelves (each cubicle) is 13 and 1/4 inches high by 13 an 1/8 wide by 15 and 1/8 inches deep. The depth is the only problem but easily remedied and by doing so the units become sturdier. Cheers

The Expidit is a no brainer!!!

thanks guys...no earthquakes here in boston so expedit it is!

I have this exact IKEA Expedit 25 cubicle rack in the brown/black finish (as it looks more expensive that the lighter finishes IMO). All 25 cubicles are chock full of LPs. It is excellent and as solid as a rock. The trick is to do four things:

1) Build it as close as possible to the site at which it will be placed to avoid tweaking it during movement. It is very heavy and will be heavier after you add mandatory support. It does not scoot well and is too heavy to lift once assembled.

2) Brace the entire back of the unit with plywood of some type using woodscrews and glue.

3) Secure it to the wall with the provided hardware.

4) Load it from the bottom up.

I used 1/4" Luan plywood from Home Depot for the back of mine because it takes stain better than other plywood. I cut it to the outer dimensions of the shelving unit, doubled it up (2 layers thick) by gluing it together with the seams offset from each other - you will need (3) 4'X8' sheets of Luan. After gluing, you will need some heavy items (floor jacks, concrete blocks, bricks, etc) to place on top so that it will not bow while drying.

Next, I stained the front side of the Luann with Minwax Ebony stain, also from Home Depot. It matched the finish of the shelving unit perfectly. Let it dry overnight.

Now assemble the shelving unit, preferably at the site where it will be placed. Assemble it so that the front is face down to the floor and far enough from the wall that the unit can be stood up after assembly into place with little if any scooting.

Next, take wood glue and run a THIN bead of it along all of the rear faces of the shelves.

Now carefully lay the Luan plywood back down on the rear of the shelving unit (stained side down), making sure to align the back with the other edges of the shelving unit before actually laying it to rest to avoid smearing the glue on the stain.

Next, take SMALL DIAMETER 1 inch or longer wood screws and, starting at the middle (not the edges or it will bow when finished) screw one wood screw into each shelf ledge, eventually working your way to the edges. This should take 39 screws. Place screws every foot into the thicker outer pieces, starting in the middle of each side and finishing at the corners. This should take an additional 25 screws.

Now, stand the rack up into place and bolt it to the wall using the supplied hardware or something stronger. THIS IS IMPORTANT! It not only adds critical torsional stability, but also ensures it will not topple down short of an extreme act of God.

At this point, if you try to wiggle it, it will be as solid as a rock and not move any whatsoever. I mean NONE!

Let the glue dry overnight.

Last, load your LPs starting at the bottom and work your way up.

I took 2.5" tall baseboard and cut it into 13.25" lengths to place at the rear of each cubicle to push my LPs forward such that they are flush with the outer edge of the shelves. It is much easier to see the titles this way.

I know this sounds like a lot of work, but it is not that bad (maybe two hours to cut and stain the Luann, two hours to assemble the shleving unit, and another hour to glue and screw the back on).

This unit will be totally unsafe to load with LPs if you do not brace it substantially and attach it securely to the wall. There are threads on Audioasylum where people did not do this and had catastrophic results. You have been warned!

Good luck.