The bookcases are complete.
One year to the day -- Valentine's Day, to be precise -- after starting the project, it is finished. To relive the joy & pain (via a series of photo-journal entries totalling some 8 megabytes), follow the links below...
The approximate project cost: $1540 + 6.5 person-weeks. These numbers are from memory; I'm sure I'm leaving out several small items, but I think this accounts for at least 90% of the money and time.
Materials $920:
10 sheets of plywood (3/4" & 1/4") $400
Poplar for trim $200
Electrical boxes, cable & receptacles $30
Aluminum strips for drawer dividers $10
Shelf standards, nails, and supports $80
Drawer glides (3 sets) $50
Clear finish for drawers $15
Paint & primer $26
Birch edge band $30
Router rental $60
Truck rental $19
By others $620:
Milling of bullnose edge $100
Knife for existing trim $100
Mill using above knife $60
Cabinet doors $360
Labor total 259 hrs:
8 long days for two people @ 10hrs = 160 hrs
27 follow-up days alone @ 3 hrs = 81 hrs
6 Anne painting days @ 3 hrs = 18 hrs
Major mistakes/lessons learned:
Dadoes for shelf standards too narrow after painting.
Should have built backs for cabinets instead of scribing.
Cut toe-kick miter of south cabinet in wrong place.
Toe-kick receptacles should be lower & closer to corners.
Lack of overhang on video drawer exposes drawer glides.
Mis-measured depth of video drawer; can't fully use center section.
Drawers in face frame cabinets require walls flush with frame.
Original design had 4 drawer fronts that were made but not used.
A 30-inch 3/4" plywood shelf won't sag, unless it's full of tall, wide books.
Paint raised panel doors in the winter, or they'll shrink & reveal bare wood.
I reckon these mistakes accounted for 15-30% of the time and project cost. Inexperience accounted for much more still -- I spent a lot of time just thinking about what to do next.
Tools acquired $420 (not counted above):
Biscuit joiner $200
Power painter $100
Straightedge $15
Router bits $50
Hole saw $20
Speed square $15
Safety goggles $10
Ear protectors $10
2 router bases - made from scrap
rip fence extension - made from scrap
Initial week of daily activity: |
Day 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7,8 |
9 |
Long-term weekend progress: |
10 |
11 |
12,13 |
14,15 |
16-18 |
19 |
Intermittent bursts of effort: |
20-22 |
23-31 |
32-35 |
Comments? e-mail me.