Under stair cupboard and shelving

[Pewit]

I plan to build a cupboard under the angled stairway in my narrow hall which will have an area behind the shelves for storage. The under-stair recess is sloped to floor level at one end and 2.05M high (ceiling height) at the other. Width 230. Depth 90cm. (see illustrations below - not to scale)

I had thought about building a softwood frame and boxing that in with ply but now believe I could use 18mm MDF instead (any thoughts?)

I want to front the cupboard with shelves facing the passage to display my glass collection - preferably on glass shelves underlit with halogens. I also intend to create an access door at the open end - hinged at the wall.

My main issue is that the dog-leg configuration of the hallway means it may necessary to be able to move the sehlf section back into the stairway recesss in order to get large objects past (e.g. a Sofa) to back of the flat.

Therefore I am looking something that can be locked in place to the floor and stairs but moved into the recess as needed. I thought of either floor tracks or castors that can be locked when required.

The door to the storage area will be hinged from the wall so that the cupboard is separate and also it will fold back out of the way when required.

The floor is smooth laminate.

Questions

1. Is MDF suitable for this and if so - what should I use to join it for strength/looks.
2. Would locking castors be enough to hold the unit it in place or should I look at floor/ceiling bolts as well.
3. Would a track work better than castors

Any suggestions for suppliers or solutions would be welcomed.

Regards

Paul

 

[big-all]

looks realy good

my thoughts are
you will need a frame of some sort [not glass]to support the structure
the frame on the slope would have to be say 75mm thick to accomodate the spots [a box section]

on the other other side you could use mdf possibly lipped on the front edge

you would also need a plinth underneath so the doors will clear the flooring

i personaly would avoid doors going to a point i would try and plan it with at least a 25mm flat incase youve got to fit an edging

[just wait for jason b or scrit]

 

[Scrit]

Hi Paul

I plan to build a cupboard under the angled stairway in my narrow hall which will have an area behind the shelves for storage. The under-stair recess is sloped to floor level at one end and 2.05M high (ceiling height) at the other. Width 230. Depth 90cm. (see illustrations below - not to scale)

I had thought about building a softwood frame and boxing that in with ply but now believe I could use 18mm MDF instead (any thoughts?)

OK, first a couple of design pointers. As Big_All (Hi BA!) says you'll need to make an allowance for the lights, but you could always opt for surface-mounted light fittings or even look at LEDs both of which approaches will obviate the need to thicken the top panel excessively and which you might not find visually appealing. I'd certainly go for 18mm MDF as it is capable of producing a much lighter-looking carcass with simpler joinery requirements than using a softwood frame and boarding out. It will probably cost no more but be quicker to make. I agree with BA that that you'll also need a plinth beneath the structure for both additional strength/rigidity and keeping the doors off the floor but there are other reasons for incorporating one such as ergonomics (really), somewhere to hide your castors/tracks, visual reasons (we are accostomed to seeing carcass furniture on plinths, not to have one can look decidedly odd) and finally because it can simplify construction by keeping the main carcass elements separate from the "running gear" - this in turn allows a more modular approach to building and will even permit you to build the units above as separete cupboards and join them together on top of the plinth. You may find that easier to do than build a long carcass with many uprights. BA is also spot opn about that last door ending in a point. It would go visually less disturbing and less dificult to build a structure with a small vertical section at the end. The visual implications of adding a plinth would also bias me towards this.

I want to front the cupboard with shelves facing the passage to display my glass collection - preferably on glass shelves underlit with halogens. I also intend to create an access door at the open end - hinged at the wall.

Have you thought about using glass shelves edge lit from the back and uplit from beneath to provise a more dramatic effect?

My main issue is that the dog-leg configuration of the hallway means it may necessary to be able to move the shelf section back into the stairway recesss in order to get large objects past (e.g. a Sofa) to back of the flat.

Therefore I am looking something that can be locked in place to the floor and stairs but moved into the recess as needed. I thought of either floor tracks or castors that can be locked when required.

OK, so you'll need to mount the whole thing on (locking) castors. I'd hide them beneath the plinth. But the depth of the unit needs to be such that it is stable enough to be rolled back without bumping your glassware too much. Fortunately the floor is laminate (so smooth and flat) and that makes life a bit easier.

Questions

1. Is MDF suitable for this and if so - what should I use to join it for strength/looks.

It is eminently suitable and can be had in wood veneered form if you want the item to look more like a conventional piece of furniture. In fact you may find it easier to get a good finish on veneered MDF using Danish oil than using paint onto MDF. Both approaches have their pros and cons

2. Would locking castors be enough to hold the unit it in place or should I look at floor/ceiling bolts as well.

If you go for decent quality 4in locking polyurethane castor (probably 6 required) then I reckon that should be enough although a removeable hardwood stop on the floor might assist in locating the unit more accurately when it is extended out from the wall. I'd consider using something like the Dzus fasteners used on equipment cases to rigidly lock down the unit to the floor when movement is not required

3. Would a track work better than castors.

Only possibly. With castors you can roll the unit completely out of the way when needed - it really depends on how permanent you need the unit to be. "Tracks" are likely to be quite expensive as you'll have to support and slide up to 100kg+ in a unit of this size (glass, shelves and MDF)

This will be a bespoke solution, but there are se4veral firms who can supply good quality glass firrings to build the top of the unit - as for the MDF part, did I mention that my business operates a CNC router and that we do short run and bespoke cabinet making as well as parts only machining? Sorry for the plug, but it was too good to resist.....

A structure like this can be produced using cast acrylic (perspex) for the upper parts which is lighter and potentially stronger than glass and is better from a sefety point of view, although being softer more care will be required to ensure it doesn't get marked in service (cast acrylic is harder than extruded, BTW).

All in all this project is reminiscent of a display retailer in concept. Nice idea!

Regards

Scrit

 

[Scrit]

Which might look a bit like this:

Note the fillet in the bottom left corner of the stairs and the flat at the top right (if it's on castors and runs to a point you'll end up damaging the under-drawings on the stairs eventually). I can imagine the doors to be laid-on with no visible framing and no handles (touch-latch opening?). Uprights are 8mm acrylic, shelves 6mm, main carcass 18mm MDF. I think that the proportions of an almost square door are correct in this case. If the plinth is set back and a dark contrasting colour it could look a bit like the unit is "floating"

Scrit

 

[big-all]

scrits got it spot on there
wished i knew how to do diagrams on computer

as scrit says you need to elongate the width of your square [rectangle]to keep the symetry right
as long as you divide the internal triangle [inside the frame from where the points would actualy be]
by an equal amount in this case 5 equal segments along the base and up the side
otherwise your triangles will look poo as they will vary in size

 

[Pewit]

Thanks everyone - useful suggestions. - Will post photos when done.

Paul

 

[big-all]

as an aside

i would be exremly reluctant to fit castors on such a narrow high structure
although 230mm sounds ok remove 25mm set back for the front plinth plus 12mm thickness =40mm
plus your wheels if they are 50mm for example will need 26mm clearence from the centre where
it supports to the edge so thats another 52mm[2 wheels]
so thats 90mm off at 140mm thats an extremly unstable structure

needs futher thought

perhaps outriggers you can slot in at the back that stick out several
inches and rub on the floor would help!!!!!!
but whatever happens need great respect when moving

 

[Scrit]

I would be exremly reluctant to fit castors on such a narrow high structure although 230mm sounds ok remove 25mm set back for the front plinth plus 12mm thickness = 40mm plus your wheels if they are 50mm for example will need 26mm clearence from the centre where
it supports to the edge so thats another 52mm [2 wheels] so thats 90mm off at 140mm thats an extremly unstable structure....

....needs futher thought

I'd agree with you there BA. I wondered about making the unit another 100mm or so deeper then adding a couple of concrete slabs beneath the plinth to lower the centre of gravity. It's also why I favoured acrylic over glass (lighter)

Scrit

 

[big-all]

I would be exremly reluctant to fit castors on such a narrow high structure although 230mm sounds ok remove 25mm set back for the front plinth plus 12mm thickness = 40mm plus your wheels if they are 50mm for example will need 26mm clearence from the centre where
it supports to the edge so thats another 52mm [2 wheels] so thats 90mm off at 140mm thats an extremly unstable structure....

....needs futher thought

I'd agree with you there BA. I wondered about making the unit another 100mm or so deeper then adding a couple of concrete slabs beneath the plinth to lower the centre of gravity. It's also why I favoured acrylic over glass (lighter)

Scrit

or store all the xmas duty free in the bottom

 

[Scrit]

Another thing to do would be to make the top (lighting) section using 8 or 12mm MDF to keep the weight down. Possibly use burch ply spars onside where they can't be seen

Scrit

 

[masona]

wished i knew how to do diagrams on computer

We haven't the time, would take me & you all day to do 1 drawing

 

[Scrit]

That took about 20 minutes including the conversion to BMP....... It's a tool, just like a chisel or a saw bench.

Scrit

 

[LinB]

that is brilliant, I have been thinking for a long time what to do with the understairs - when I moved in ..there was a door to the understaird cupboard - I had the door removed - liked it like that - then thought it wasnt right! was dithering to put a curtain over where the door was..but you now have given me an idea - I now shall remove the panel and have it open plan with shelves similiar to yours.

 

[big-all]

that is brilliant, I have been thinking for a long time what to do with the understairs - when I moved in ..there was a door to the understaird cupboard - I had the door removed - liked it like that - then thought it wasnt right! was dithering to put a curtain over where the door was..but you now have given me an idea - I now shall remove the panel and have it open plan with shelves similiar to yours.

just make shure you dont remove any load bearing members