I built a removable base for mine, as I needed to to work around a system floor return. This is what I would suggest.
Oh wow look at that. Clearly you feel my pain! No sagging there, huh? How long has it been in place like that?
29lb per shelf, 55lb on the top of the unit, not 55lb overall. That equates to about 40-50 records per shelf within the weight limit plus whatever you want to put on top.
The dozens of people here who have been using Kallaxes to store extensive vinyl collections for years would probably disagree with whatever this is.
I agree with the idea of support in the middle. I used adjustable legs from Ikea under my 4x4 Kallax, four in the corners and two in the middle. Also helps to bolt the units to a stud, up near the top (less wobble).
Excellent. Finally someone using ikea legs with a 4x4. How long have you had it setup like that and what ikea product did you purchase? Those look fully loaded so if that’s working for you I might be interested in giving it a shot.
There was some slight gapping on the sides, but it was fine. Supported within the base with 2x4 at 45 degree angles. I only had it this way for a year, I've since moved.
I had to get one up and over an HVAC vent in my former room and simply cut a sheet of plywood to match the size of the base and screwed 5, 6” feet to the bottom - one in each corner and on dead center. Worked like a charm.
Uneven floor is your problem. Kallax/Expedit work well when you do everything right e.g. level floor, level unit, assembled so the shelf supports run vertical like yours. Since you had an uneven floor, there's uneven pressure on the bottom. Correct that and you should be fine, however, if it were me I'd get a new unit or see if you can buy the bottom part. Ikea does sell parts (here). Your best option, IMO, is using the Ikea designed feet support as posted earlier in this thread.
If Ikea were to give figures, they'd err on the side of caution, the honeycomb structure of the base board can support many times more weight than each cube of records is subjecting it to, likewise each 13 and 1/2 inch span of board that makes the shelves, I'd happily place a fully loaded 5x5 on top of another 5x5 and not expect either the uprights or the top and base board to fail as long as everything was properly constructed and rigid, I will concede that my earliest 5x5s came with cross braces though which is probably a sensible idea along with fixing to the wall and a level floor.
FYI I did the arithmetic. 55 lbs is about 25kg, which is equivalent to 139 "180g vinyl" records - that's not counting the weight of packaging. 139 albums would seem to be a drastic underestimate of the size of most SHF members' collections, judging by what I see posted on the forum.
It's been up for a few years with no issues. Sorry I do not recall the model name for the legs. Crazy names Ikea uses!
I know what you mean! Crazy names indeed! They actually use Nordic language names. Crazy! In this case, they went totally nuts: "KALLAX Base on legs" KALLAX Base on legs, white, 571/2x153/8x71/8" - IKEA
That’s what I’m thinking of going with, but @eflatminor has installed something with support in the center as well (not just the sides). Those are just ikea legs screwed into the bottom of the shelving unit I guess? Something like this? CAPITA Leg, stainless steel, 4 1/2" - IKEA
My concern with using the Capita leg in the middle is that there might not be anything to screw the leg into other than the plastic outer part of the shelf. I have an older version of the shelves and that is definitely the case. The Capita might work with the Kallax base though. I see a trip to Ikea in your near future. (Enjoy the meatballs.
The 55 lb weight rating is just for the top. It says 13 kg per shelf (roughly 28 lbs). Edit: I think the 13 kg rating is for the Kallax shelves. I can't find anything about a weight limit for the Kallax shelving unit besides the silly "55 lb on top" limit.
When my sewer line recently failed, I was glad that my records were several inches off the basement floor, in boxes on shelves. In my area, I hear about sump pumps failing or not being able to keep up with freak storms all the time. For that reason, if at all possible I would leave the bottom shelves empty thus also providing space for reinforcing if necessary.
If you go that route, you might be surprised how much dimensional lumber changes with the seasons. Twists, bows, etc. might turn into a problem. If I was going to put a piece of stock underneath I'd cut a piece of LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) and tack a skirt of some nicer solid lumber around it.
My biggest concern is precisely that or even worse the wood just fails on me the same way the shelf base seems to be failing except maybe instead of bending it snaps. I’ll be mulling over my options the next several days. Thanks for the advice everyone.
Yes as far as the assembly and how the OP has it standing. However these 4x4 are stronger with the weight of the records when the long center boards are vertical and short boards horizontal. When the three long boards are vertical they are ridgid and act as feet, when horizontal they bowe like what the OP has going on. The short boards will not bow because they are too short and the long boards will keep them flat and level. I also prefer the long outer boards to be the side panels, again they are more rigid and act as feet taking all the weight. Like this, the side boards go all the way to the floor, the longer inner boards are vertical (dividers), and the short boards are horizontal (Shelves) Having to move my collection before as well as constant reconfiguring around the house I abandoned anything larger than a 2x2 four hole cabinets. For one thing you can push them around in a room fully loaded and they will not collapse. Two guys can lift and stack them fully loaded so if you have to move they can get saran wrapped and put on dollies and stacked on a truck, no cardboard boxing of records when moving. My collection is always in constant growth and 2x2 or 1x4 four hole, allow the changes and and movement of loaded units. They are stronger and can be stacked to make whatever the room will fit as well as having counter height if that also works in the layout.
A 5 foot piece of 2 x 12 is not going to snap and very unlikely to bend or twist with that weight on it and in a controlled environment. Also it gets you 2 inches off of the ground.
