How can I fix this gap between bookcases I made?

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I just built two bookcases to line the wall of a room in my house and apparently didn't build them square enough so, when I put them next to each other, I get this giant gap. (I think the one on the right is pretty square but the one on the left appears to lean to the left at the top.)

Any suggestions on how I can make this look better? The shelves are going to be sanded, spackled, caulked, and painted. One thought I had would be to remove the vertical strips of molding where the two bookcases meet (there is 3/4" square molding on all the edges) and make one custom piece that attaches to both. This piece would be wider at the top and taper at the bottom. Maybe that would look bad--I don't know. It also wouldn't address the gap on the top horizontal surface.

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Qualquer sugestão seria apreciada!

por johnnyb1970 07.04.2019 / 16:10

6 respostas

Thanks everyone; I figured it out and came back here to update my post and noticed that Michael Karas said the same thing I realized (although it was a comment, so I couldn't mark it as the correct answer): I had to pop the back off the left unit (which was actually quite easy because it was just 1/4" plywood attached with brads and no glue), re-rack the unit into square, and then reattach the back. Thanks for the input!

07.04.2019 / 17:21

Swap their positions.

Place the bookcases so that they lean into each other instead of away from each other. This will eliminate the gap between the tops.

Bookcase contents are usually quite heavy. Once the cases are filled, you will probably find that you can force the bottoms together and the weight of the contents will distort the shape of the cases so the gap disappears.

If an unsightly gap remains visible then you will need to resort to a decorative molding.

07.04.2019 / 16:58

You don't have to buy or get a framing square : just measure the diagonals... That will tell you if either or both units are out of square.

If they are both ok, then look to the floor - small change in the floor will make a large gap at the top... Then you need some adjustable feet of some sort.

07.04.2019 / 16:56

I have used interscrews (e.g. from screwfix) in the past to join units together to make them line up nice and tight.

08.04.2019 / 09:31

If the shelves are sturdy, just get some molding and cover the junction of the two units. Nail the molding to only one unit so they can be easily separated if you want to move them.

07.04.2019 / 16:37

I would turn the left bookcase upside down. If the other side of the left bookcase is more square, or slants to the right, this will fix your problem.

10.04.2019 / 07:18