******
- Verified Buyer
Very sturdy and attractive...looks and feels like actual wood. A lovely addition to our home. May order one or two more to use together to create a wall unit effect in our living room.I bought this to coordinate with a French writing desk I inherited. I'm very happy with the bookcase. To gauge my skills, I'm fairly handy but not a pro. All told, it probably took me, without assistance, 3 hours over a day or two to complete assembly, including the extra steps I took, described below. I used a variable speed drill with phillips attachment for most of the project (but kept my drill speed on the low side), and sometimes a manual #2 phillips. My advice: take your time and read the instructions through beforehand so you know what to expect. Take breaks if (when) frustrated. You can do this!The long side facings on my unit were broken when I unpacked the box. I suggest going through the hardware bag to ensure you have all the hardware you need before contacting Sauder. The instruction booklet tells you how many pieces of each type of hardware you should have. I was missing a few pieces of hardware and was able to have those shipped with the new side facings.While assembling, I found it difficult to get underneath the unit to attach the screws to the side facings while keeping the facings in place. You are really working "upside down" and attaching pieces from below, and it's very difficult to see what you're doing. My solution was to first glue the side facings onto the front of the bookcase (a 1/8" bead of carpenter's glue on each surface is all you need); spread the glue around and apply the facing. MAKE SURE you place these facings the correct way as shown in the instructions, so the scored line on the back of the facing runs through the screw holes on the brown plastic connectors. You can use a mirror to check this. No need to clamp but you will need to wait several hours for glue drying. Then you can attach the screws after you flip the bookcase over, and the side facings will stay in place. This extra step takes time, but improves accuracy and makes that part of the task much easier. Also, if you are using this approach, you can minimally attach the front top arch with the screws first, and finish attaching the arch when you flip the bookcase.Make sure you have enough working room to complete assembly of the bookcase, because you must flip the bookcase over in mid-assembly.When attaching the back, I advise to ensure each nail hole on the front (finished) side is punched through to the back prior to attachment. On mine, some small nail holes did not go through to the back so I had to remove the back and repunch the holes. The back is dark brown and it's difficult to see the holes if they are not punched through.If you can avoid it, don't punch through the "handholds" on the back unless you really need them. I was able to pick up the bookcase myself without using the handholds but had already punched one partially out. I can't imagine why the handholds are there--the backing is very thin and I could feel the small brad nails that hold the back to the bookcase coming loose when I attempted to use the handhold. If anything the handhold might be used for leverage, but I advise not to place any pressure on the handhold.When attaching the feet, I initially had problems turning the foot screw into the foot. I then used a pliers to hold the screw stable while turning the screw onto the foot. That worked much better. You just need to get it started straight; then when you screw the foot into the bottom of the unit, your leverage will do the rest.Don't forget: there's no scratch protection on the bottom of the unit. If you are assembling this unit to be placed on a wood floor, be sure to place felt furniture pads on the bottoms of the feet and the back. You can buy these self stick pads at any home improvement store. Each foot takes a 1 ½" round felt pad, and the back takes a 3" x ¾" rectangle.I have a lot of books, and it's not difficult to reach the suggested weight limits of 25 to 40 lbs. with big art books. I weighed the stacks of books on the bathroom scale before placing them, so as not to exceed the weight limits.The completed bookcase is very functional and looks a lot more expensive than it is. (Well, that probably depends upon how you value your time and frustration.) For me, it was worth it. I might order another one!1/3/2014I did buy another unit and can't believe it, but nothing in the box was damaged and all hardware was included. Such a pleasant surprise--I was telling myself that I would have to wait to assemble it, but the parts were all intact!This looked like a beautiful shelf and was the right size for my office. Very difficult to put together. Particle board broke apart at connectors. Very frustrated with the process.I have been a HUGE fan of Sauder furniture for years, which is why I recently decided to buy a few more pieces. This time, I was in need of a new family room setup. While I have yet to receive the entertainment center to match the pieces here, the library cabinets that I ordered were delivered earlier this week. I spent my Thanksgiving day building them, while the hubby took over the turkey.The first library (with the doors) was built without incident, as expected, as I've rarely ever encountered a problem with Sauder furniture. However, when I started on the second unit, I should have heeded more CAUTION after reading previous reviews on these particular pieces. As careful as I was with following the directions, I still managed to (somehow) drive a screw through the top piece while attaching the top molding. It was step #6 in the instruction book. I think the predrilled holes in the molding were a little TOO drilled, enabling me to go right through the top piece. I don't believe this was an error on my part, as I had barely tightened the screws before it went right through - plus, I didn't have this problem while building the first unit. For this reason - and this reason only, I did not give this product five stars. While it may be a tiny flaw, it is still a damaged product now, and that is very disappointing. As I said, I have been a Sauder Girl for years.As for shipping, both units arrived a lot earlier than expected, and without any damage. The Fed Ex carrier AND the UPS carrier were both polite enough to deliver each piece inside my door, as the pieces arrived separately and from different vendors.I love these new cabinets. They are beautiful with my décor, appear to be quite sturdy, and were pretty easy to assemble. It took maybe an hour for each piece, at the most. I would love to give this five stars, but that damn screw screwed that up. Maybe next time, Sauder. Maybe next time. ;)We bought the 2 pieces to go with the a 3rd center piece Sauder Harbor View Library with Doors to make it a connected 3 pieces to be a wall flushed library unit. With a good furniture assembler it looks superb. The only complain I have is with the OJCommerce who, within 24 hours of my order, sent an email stating they will deliver it by November Vs the immediate delivery was provided. Worse still, I had to get to Amazon to cancel these 2 pieces as well as the center piece as these 2 sides had to go with it, ONLY to receive an email from OJCommerce stating it shipped via fedex. Again, I spent time with Amazon to request not cancelling all the 3 items and had to reschedule my installer's time / date. Finally, while we chose the Antique aint, the picture Amazon.com shows is that of White Colored piece so that started the whole confusion. Other than that, the product is really a great value for the price and looks elegantVery heavy so I had to have someone put them together and move them in. They are so much nicer then I was expecting. Great Value.This was easy to understand and instruction manual was very helpful. It took me without any downtime 2 hours to assemble. I got ambitious and had fun doing the project found the recycled wood very thick and sturdy. Enjoying my finished product ? Now time to add some nick nacks...I love the look of this bookcase. The balled feet just add a touch of elegance.Unfortunately, it was shipped using a carrier that wasn’t prepared for the weight of the case. Some minor damage occurred because of dropping or mishandling due to the weight. Two people should have been dispatched to handle the load.The item was just as I had expected - worth the $$ spent on it (especially how very plain book shelves sell for the same price!)Was shipped from US - arrived early w no extra fees (border & customs) needing to be paid (always a fear of mine when product are coming from outside of Canada).The instructions were clear & the unit easy to assemble (easier w someone to help).The bookcase was everything I expected, solid and well built. A few of the wooden parts should have had identifying labels but it became obvious where they went in time.The only reason for 4 instead of 5 stars was Fedex, they dumped the 135 lb. boxes on the stairs in the snow when it was - temperature, didn't even ring the doorbell or knock on the door and we were home.It was easy to assemble and is very sturdyA snap to assemble. Looks great.I really liked how everything fit togethers so easily.I bought the matching TV stand also.
