OT: Electrical Outlet Alignment?

Measure twice, cut once.

I shove a pin, dowel, drill, shaved pencil, or whatever is handy into the ground pin of the wall outlet. Put the bookcase on cardboard so you can slide it around on the carpet or floor. Move the bookcase up against the pin to mark the back of the bookcase. Drill a very small hole to mark the location. A cardboard template and jig saw finishes the job. If you use a metal pin, you can also use a nail finder to locate it through the back of the bookshelf. Biggest mistake I've made doing this was not compensating for the weight of the books compressing the padding under the carpet.

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Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

Aha! Excellent idea, Jeff! I already have a template that I use for "old work" add-on boxes. I'll just punch a hole that aligns with the ground pin. I'm on tile floors, so carpet compression is not an issue. ...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson                                 |    mens     | 
| Analog Innovations                               |     et      | 
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    | 
| San Tan Valley, AZ 85142     Skype: skypeanalog  |             | 
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  | 
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     | 
              
I love to cook with wine.     Sometimes I even put it in the food.

put the case in place and get out your voltage sence wand and and probe the area.

Jamie

Make extra big holes.

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www.wescottdesign.com

;-) ...Jim Thompson

-- | James E.Thompson | mens | | Analog Innovations | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | San Tan Valley, AZ 85142 Skype: skypeanalog | | | Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat | | E-mail Icon at

| 1962 | I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

That's what you have after the second cut!

Mikek

Don't forget the thickness of the cardboard.

A commercial solution if you don't mind shelling out $25

--sp

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Best regards,  
Spehro Pefhany 
Amazon link for AoE 3rd Edition:            http://tinyurl.com/ntrpwu8

a dowel point in the earth hole?

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  \_(?)_

A tape measure, a scratch pad, and a dremel tool?

The guy must have zero common sense.

Given a standard wall stud spacing (or just a spacing you don't intend to have to alter in your lifetime) make or buy the bookcases in units that allow placement without obscuring the hardware, or losing function of a shelf.

Mine are 30" wide, since '82, and have seen 10+ moves. Only precaution was height of ceiling each time. Was bit by this in '95, resulting in a (now) detachable bottom shelf on three of them.

Anyways, bookshelves? Not something the average Joe will need, nowadays. Hope they're worth the contents (and that's another story).

RL

I have 15' x 94" high of engineering books,

...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson                                 |    mens     | 
| Analog Innovations                               |     et      | 
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    | 
| San Tan Valley, AZ 85142     Skype: skypeanalog  |             | 
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  | 
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     | 
              
I love to cook with wine.     Sometimes I even put it in the food.

That's cute! If I had a lot to do I'd buy that. In my case there's only two and Jeff L's pin in the ground will be more than adequate... back panels are recessed ~5/8", so alignment is not super critical... I'll use a shallow extender to mount outlet and plate. ...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson                                 |    mens     | 
| Analog Innovations                               |     et      | 
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    | 
| San Tan Valley, AZ 85142     Skype: skypeanalog  |             | 
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  | 
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     | 
              
I love to cook with wine.     Sometimes I even put it in the food.

Hmmm... My average book is about 8" deep. Assuming a packing factor of 0.8 to deal with different size books, that would be:

15ft * 94in / 12in/ft * 8in / 12 in/ft = 78.3 ft^3 of books. Google shows a wide variety of numbers for the weight of a cubic ft of books. Taking a rough and conservative average, I'll call it 35 lbs/ft^3. Therefore, your books will weigh about: 78.3 * 35 = 2,740 lbs plus the weight of the bookshelves.

Assuming the bookshelves are 10in deep, the floor loading will be: 2,740lbs / (15ft * 0.833ft) = 219 lbs/ft^2 Since your floor is probably designed for a live load of 50 lbs/ft^2, you might want to look into reinforcing the floor under the book shelves. I had that problem in the 1980's, when my 7ft high magazine collection caused the floor to separate from a load bearing wall.

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

There are six of them here, fabbed in pairs to the ~same dims as required over the years, with gradually increasing binder-height capacity. Another two to a different pattern for optical and magnetic media, with partial-depth sliding panels in lighter material.

Won't do it again, considering the rising cost of the original materials (~2" pine), though they're doing wonders with adhesives and composites nowadays. Originally a statement of nature's generosity, this carries a mixed message, nowadays.

Last one actually used a waterbed frame found in the garbage, instead. Same 2" materials but with spanish-style scrolling on hidden surfaces. Almost entirely precut to usable dims, as found, but stained dark, so relegated to dark corners.

This is Arizona... slab floor, post-tensioned, more steel than I think I've ever seen in a poured floor before. ...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson                                 |    mens     | 
| Analog Innovations                               |     et      | 
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    | 
| San Tan Valley, AZ 85142     Skype: skypeanalog  |             | 
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  | 
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     | 
              
I love to cook with wine.     Sometimes I even put it in the food.

Oops. I forgot about that. In my area, mostly hills, we build with raised floors mostly made from tongue and groove plywood. Concentrated loads, like your bookshelves, can be a problem with such floors. As you were...

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

That results in a rather sloppy location. However, I've seen that done with a metal wall plate and a stud finder. The stud finder will easily locate the edge of a steel wall plate through wood or pressboard bookshelf backing. However, it does take some testing and practice.

Next question will probably be how to deal with the baseboard trim. Hopefully, the shelving will have baseboard clearance built in. At

94in high, with 2in total clearance to an 8ft ceiling, there may also be a similar problem at the ceiling. We'll also soon see if 2in total clearance is sufficient, or if the carpet padding and carpeting have conspired to reduce this. Of course, all this assumes that the ceiling really is 8.0ft (96in) high. Since this is a custom home, it's likely that the walls and floor are square (90 degrees) and not warped. Eventually, there will be a question involving what to do with the 1 to 2in gap between the top of the bookshelf and the ceiling which will collect dust and is difficult to clean.

Stay tuned to this thread for the next thrilling installment of Jim versus the monster bookshelf.

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

Plus all those earth-quake "proof" piers >:-} ...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson                                 |    mens     | 
| Analog Innovations                               |     et      | 
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    | 
| San Tan Valley, AZ 85142     Skype: skypeanalog  |             | 
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  | 
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     | 
              
I love to cook with wine.     Sometimes I even put it in the food.