Skip to main content

BILLY bookcases hacked to fit under sloped ceiling

The space under a sloping ceiling is always a bit of a challenge. Costantino has an attic with a sloped ceiling where he wanted to fill with bookcases and free up the living room.

before

IKEA item used:

His bookcase of choice was the cheap and very hackable BILLY. However the BILLY is not modular, unlike the PLATSA system which lets you position frames like a step bookcase.

The only solution was to hack.

Admitting he was not skilled at carpentry, Costantino kept it simple.

His plan: cut the two sides into different heights and forget about a sloped top.

Here’s what happened on first attempt. It looked promising.

sloped ceiling bookcases

And the second.

sloped ceiling bookcases

Sloped ceiling bookcase hack

How-to:

First, measure and measure.

Then, he marked the cut lines on the BILLY side panels. Be careful to correctly mark the left and right panels. Cut the side panels with a jigsaw. For a cleaner cut, he recommends using a blade with finer teeth, set at a slower speed and to exercise more care in removing the masking tape from the cut lines.

And after completing the first bookcase, place the upright of the second BILLY side by side with the first and mark the cutting line. Otherwise you may get two sides with one or two millimetres difference, which would be a pain to fix.

Without the top panel, the BILLY was wobbly. Costantino shortened the top piece and positioned it lower as a top shelf.

assembly

The last step was to cut the back panel. Measure the top position at each side, draw a line and cut with a cutter on the white side (not the brown).

Secure each module to the wall with appropriate wall fixings.

sloped ceiling bookcases ikea billy hack

Lastly, he joined the bottom of one BILLY to another using metal joiners (leftover from a previous PLATSA installation). You can also screw the units together through the dowel holes.

base

All in all, he’s stoked with the results. The bookcases look good and fits perfectly under the sloped ceiling. 

sloped ceiling bookcases

See the full tutorial on Github.

~ by Costantino

The post BILLY bookcases hacked to fit under sloped ceiling appeared first on IKEA Hackers.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

WOW! Internet Plans

bbernard/Shutterstock About WOW!  WOW! (also known as Wide Open West) offers cable, fiber and DSL internet, phone and television services for customers in nine states providing services to over 7 million people . You can find WOW! internet in metropolitan areas like Montgomery, AL, Chicago, IL, Detroit, MI, and 16+ other markets. There are WOW! Internet package choices with speeds ranging from 100 Mbps to 1,000 Mbps (1 Gbps) to fit your streaming, gaming and browsing needs. WOW! Internet: what you need to know Check out this quick-reference guide for the most important things you’ll want to know about WOW! internet prices, speeds and availability.  WOW! products Cable, fiber and DSL internet, TV and phone WOW! internet speeds Up to 1,000 Mbps (1 Gbps) WOW! internet prices Plans starting at $59.99/mo. WOW! availability 19+ markets in 9 states Contract required? Contracts are required for promotional pricing *As of 03/12/2020  WOW! intern...

Hackers Help: How to attach headboard to ESPEVÄR mattress base?

I’m trying to figure out if a headboard can be attached to an Espevar Mattress Base , and how to accomplish that. I’m looking at a standard metal headboard (because I just prefer the look of curved metal to what IKEA offers) and am not interested in a slat base with just a mattress on top, and a wall mounted headboard is not an option due to renting. Thanks for any help! ~ Amy *** Hi Amy I’ve not seen the ESPEVÄR in person but I believe it is possible to attach a headboard to it. From the website, the ESPEVÄR looks like a regular wooden slatted mattress base under a bed base slipover. As to how to attach it, that will depend on the fittings on the metal headboard. So you will just need to get the right hardware to secure the metal headboard to the wooden frame. And make some small openings on the slipcover to let the fixtures to go through. Jules Photo: IKEA.com Try these free-standing headboards for size A lime green and white headboard that takes centerstage in the r...

SKÅDIS: 5 ways to make the IKEA pegboard even better

IKEA introduced its own pegboard system, SKÅDIS, two years ago and I’d say it’s one of the best systems IKEA launched in recent years. I love how super customisable it is, with a growing range of accessories that help keep things organized. It works everywhere, in your wardrobe to bathroom . Probably anywhere you have a flat surface to hang it up. Photo: IKEA.com SKÅDIS pegboard system See it on IKEA.com But no matter how perfect a system, you can trust IKEA hackers to improve on the SKÅDIS. And they’ve settle these 5 issues you may have faced with the handy IKEA pegboard. Read on for their fixes. 5 IKEA SKÅDIS issues and fixes #1 Expensive hooks? You’ll need quite a number of hooks and accessories to fill up the SKÅDIS pegboard, and Kenyer was shocked at how quickly they all added up. So he figured he could make his own hooks to save cost. Photo: Kenyer Over at Instructables , he shows us how to twist copper wires into the SKÅDIS hook shape. It works s...