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If you can't be bothered fixing an easy fix, you can't blame him for not wanting to be bothered with it either.
I guess I missed your suggestion, Hopes. What was your "easy fix"? Are you saying pull out all the nails even though that might wreck it (the nails don't have proper heads to pull), or are you saying paint it?
If he can't be bothered to fix it and you can't be bothered to fix it, then I think your options are to live with it, move it to the garage, sell it, donate it, or give it away.
I think you must have misread my posts. I never said I'm not willing to change something - quite the opposite. I'm asking for suggestions because whatever I do end up doing is probably a one-shot deal.
Not everyone has tons of time and money, guys. Have a little heart! I'm trying to salvage my bookshelf wisely.
For those of you asking why I haven't done anything yet, I only posted this thread 2 days ago. There hasn't been a weekend involved yet, and I have young children. Obviously I can't start a painting project on a Weds or Thurs night during a school year.
For those of you acting like I'm lazy for not "fixing" it within a day of the thread posting, let me point out again that this is a young thread and I have children running around my feet. Let me know if you're offering to come over and babysit!
For the gentleman who had nothing to say except: "Purchase good quality pieces that do not have paper linings" - that wasn't very kind of you. You obviously haven't seen the pile of unpaid medical bills I have from my disabled child. There's a reason I got a cheap bookcase for my birthday; it's what we can afford and we thought about it for months before picking this one. My cookbooks were in a pile in the corner before this.
And, finally, for those who've said "just fix it" without offering suggestions...I made this thread to get suggestions in the first place! If I try to fix it mechanically and break it, there goes my money and my opportunity to have a bookshelf in my kitchen. I'm trying to do the right thing for my family by being prudent and frugal.
Sorry I annoyed a few of you with an honest plea for advice - please forgive me.
Not everyone has tons of time and money, guys. Have a little heart! I'm trying to salvage my bookshelf wisely.
For those of you asking why I haven't done anything yet, I only posted this thread 2 days ago. There hasn't been a weekend involved yet, and I have young children. Obviously I can't start a painting project on a Weds or Thurs night during a school year.
For those of you acting like I'm lazy for not "fixing" it within a day of the thread posting, let me point out again that this is a young thread and I have children running around my feet. Let me know if you're offering to come over and babysit!
For the gentleman who had nothing to say except: "Purchase good quality pieces that do not have paper linings" - that wasn't very kind of you. You obviously haven't seen the pile of unpaid medical bills I have from my disabled child. There's a reason I got a cheap bookcase for my birthday; it's what we can afford and we thought about it for months before picking this one. My cookbooks were in a pile in the corner before this.
And, finally, for those who've said "just fix it" without offering suggestions...I made this thread to get suggestions in the first place! If I try to fix it mechanically and break it, there goes my money and my opportunity to have a bookshelf in my kitchen. I'm trying to do the right thing for my family by being prudent and frugal.
Sorry I annoyed a few of you with an honest plea for advice - please forgive me.
You have nothing to apologize for!
If I were you, I'd just gently pull the little nails out and reverse the backing. It can be done - heck I had to do this recently on a $17 bookcase thing I bought at WalMart for inside a closet, and if I can do it with that piece of junk, it can surely be done on something from Ikea!
Good luck.
And no, I wouldn't paint the back. If you don't want to remove it, I'd recommend putting wallpaper over the part that shows. That might actually be pretty cool!
Cliff notes version: Painting would probably work better, as Billy bookshelves from Ikea have ultra soft nails that shred instead of pulling out. Ease nails out gently using a slender wood chisel.
I found time to work on the shelf this morning, after decided to try to remove and turn around the backing. As I predicted, the soft laminated LDF board was very delicate, gouging and splitting everywhere a tool touched it. It doesn’t look great, but I think I can cover the few gouge spots with a big pile of books!
It took nearly 2 hours just to get the nails out! The nails are very soft, and the heads bury into the backing making them difficult to remove. Once you manage to get a thin tool under them, the heads begin to tear away from the nail body; you have to get enough nail out to grab with pliers if the head is tearing.
Four of nails ripped too badly to pull, so I just pounded the rest of those nails into the MDF board of the shelf to get them out of the way.
Hammerheads are useless for these nails, and even the 3 different screw drivers I tried weren’t thin enough – thank goodness I had a 3/8 wood chisel. I stand by my earlier assessment that these were “stupid little nails”!
Thanks everyone for your help! Have a nice weekend.
If I were you, I'd just gently pull the little nails out and reverse the backing. It can be done - heck I had to do this recently on a $17 bookcase thing I bought at WalMart for inside a closet, and if I can do it with that piece of junk, it can surely be done on something from Ikea!
Good luck.
And no, I wouldn't paint the back. If you don't want to remove it, I'd recommend putting wallpaper over the part that shows. That might actually be pretty cool!
You know, I think I'm going to try that next time I buy an Ikea-style shelf. If I put the wallpaper on it before assembling it, it would be easy as pie. The backing is just a big rectangle after all.
You know, I think I'm going to try that next time I buy an Ikea-style shelf. If I put the wallpaper on it before assembling it, it would be easy as pie. The backing is just a big rectangle after all.
Thanks for the great idea!!
I've seen some examples of what Kathryn was talking about -- wallpaper can look great on bookcases!!
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There hasn't been a weekend involved yet, and I have young children. Obviously I can't start a painting project on a Weds or Thurs night during a school year. 
If I try to fix it mechanically and break it, there goes my money and my opportunity to have a bookshelf in my kitchen. I'm trying to do the right thing for my family by being prudent and frugal. 
Have a nice weekend.
