IKEA Billy DIY bookcases without bolting in a wall. Is it a good idea/safe?

Question

Is it a good idea to buy a bookcase that is a DIY assembly for a large collection of big and heavy books?
Is it safe?
To be clear I am interested if the Billy bookcases of IKEA can be safely used for heavy books without bolting (L brackets or similar) it to the wall.
Does it depend on the height? Would something like bookshelf shims be needed/help?

Answer 1

Screwing to the wall has nothing to do with capacity

Think about it. The furniture isn't necessarily directly against the wall, and a screw or very thin bracket reaching across some distance isn't going to carry much weight in shear. I.E. the wall doesn't ordinarily bear any weight.

It's about safety

Ikea has a very strong message about standing furniture being screwed into the wall. You didn't quite get the whole message. It's to prevent furniture from toppling over and killing someone. Furniture topples over when its center of gravity goes outside its feet. Examples of how that happens:

• It isn't level
• the floor sags under the weight
• someone grabbing the furniture to catch their balance or pull themselves onto their feet
• Someone (e.g. child) trying to climb the furniture
• All the drawers open
• Heavy items in an open drawer not counterbalanced by heavy items in closed ones
• Use in a mobile structure (boat, RV, #vanlife, "tiny house" on wheels)
• Earthquakes
• The top heavily loaded when the bottom is not (greatly amplifying the above)

Every piece of furniture from every manufacturer of the same size will have the exact same problem -- that is basic physics. The only reason it's such an intense thing for Ikea is, they have chosen to invest heavily in their brand, which makes them targetable. Likewise, people are sickened by Mexican food trucks and burrito shops every day - but it only makes the news when it's Chipotle.

Answer 2

They can be used without bolts as long as no one is trying to climb the front of the bookcase. Something which greatly correlates with the amount of children in the vicinity

Answer 3

I have 7 Billy cases with extensions around the house. They are not bolted and full of books. Feels perfectly safe, but it may be just me - the huge believer in Darwinism. If you don't trust household occupants to never pull on the shelves and bury themselves in books or other items with a case on top, you should bolt them to the walls.

Answer 4

These book cases are not very stable. We have doors on ours and if the bookcases are empty and the doors are open they will fall forward. Putting books in will push the CG backwards however my recommendation is to use the wall brackets to be sure they don't toople over - better safe than sorry!!!

Answer 5

The risk with a bookcase depends on a number of factors.

1. How tall is it? a taller bookcase is higher risk than a shorter one. It appears that the billy comes in two heights, 106cm and 202cm, I would consider the 106cm to be low risk, but the 202cm to be much higher risk.
2. How heavy is the bookcase and it's load. Weight can be a double edged sword, a heavier bookcase will do more damage if it falls, but weight makes it harder to tip in the first place. In particular filling the lower shelves first makes it safer, filling the upper shelves first makes it more dangerous
3. How deep is it, deeper is more stable because it has to tip further before tipping over.
4. Who is using the space, you have to be more careful if children are around.