luke's Profile

Don't use expedits! It takes as long to put them together as it does to build real wood shelves that won't disintegrate if you get them a little wet.

Here's some instructions that are just about as easy as the expedit:
0) Tools you'll need: a hammer, a small drill and a screwdriver. if you have an electric screwdriver you probably don't need a drill.
1) Get some pine select wood from Home Depot (any type of wood works, but thats the cheapest good looking stuff): Have a 12 foot section of a 12 inch wide plank cut in half. Also have a long plank cut into six equal pieces (however tall you want the shelf). Finally, have a 1x2 board of the same wood cut into at least three foot-long sections.
3) Get eight galvanized 2" L braces, some elmer's wood glue and some 2 1/4" nails (if you can't find them, choose any long thin nail whose top you won't mind looking at). These L braces will reinforce the corners of the rectangle created by the two long pieces and two of the short pieces. Make sure to keep each corner flush with the brace (aka, 90 degrees). I'd recommend having the short piece entirely between the longer pieces, so that the top looks cleaner. Apply the glue, hold the side piece vertical on the long piece, and install the brace (this is the trickiest part, and will be easier with the help of a wall supporting the vertical piece. the screws for the brace may need to be pre-drilled if you have chosen a hardwood like oak. After that, hammer some finishing nails through the top and bottom into the side pieces.
4) Decide how you want to install the shelves. There are many solutions, some more elegant than others. The simplest is just glue and finishing nails, again.
5) if you want feet, I'd recommend a using a 12 inch long 1x2 plank of the same wood that you used for the shelf. Just glue them on vertically and hammer nails from the bottom up.
6) clean up the glue. If its dried then a little light sanding will do the trick. If you want to finish it, there are spray on varnishes that will protect the shelves for years (though you'll need ventilation).

The resulting shelf will be far more durable than the expedit, though its lateral stability will depend entirely on the L braces, so make sure not to skimp on those. Additional L braces on the shelves will make the structure stronger, if that's a concern.

Voila, you're done.