Our latest challenge was to build a matai shelving unit. To crank up the stakes, the shelves needed to be super-narrow to fit behind a door and nimble in design to work around a light switch.
You just can’t buy solutions like that so we decided to build one ourselves.
“Build one ourselves” sounds very much like hands-on teamwork. My Englishman did all the hard work on this one I must declare and an awesome job too, he won’t mind me saying. Someone has to make cake, pots of tea and take photos! This time, anyway.
After our renovations we now have a lovely new kitchen area (once an old built-in veranda) which looks out to the vegetable garden. It is open plan by nature with five windows at bench height (which used to be the handrail), cupboards beneath but little other wall space. We wouldn’t have it any other way but creative storage is required: hence a skinny shelf in an unusual space…to hold wine glasses of course.
With old matai floorboards throughout the house and natural wood windows, the shelves just had to be recycled matai. It so happened we had scrap lengths in the garage left over from our reflooring so they were put to great use. We liked the idea of black contrasted against wood, so decided to incorporate black anodized metal in the design.
When buying or acquiring used tongue and groove matai flooring, watch out for splits and evidence of borer holes. Used matai will often split during the demolition process as the flooring is lifted. Borer can often be hidden beneath layers of paint.
Here’s what we did coming in at under $40:
- 4 metres of second hand, tongue and groove matai floorboards 19mm wide ($5 per metre from reclamation yard)
- 19mm black anodized metal curtain rod, 2 x 2.4 metres long (from Mitre 10)
- 4 plastic end caps – from the general hardware aisle (from Mitre 10)
- 14 x 8G x 63mm sure fix screws
Boards were cut into lengths, in our case: 7 x 66cm, selecting usable solid parts of the left overs we had from renovations.
An electric plane (a must-have tool as we’ve discovered) was used to remove the ‘tongue’ and create a clean, smooth face. It was also then used to take off the years of dirt, paint and general stains on the top and bottom faces. This was a quicker option than sanding, however as the blade of the plane is not as wide as the board, without care you can end up with a difference in height of about 1/4mm. It didn’t bother us so much and saved a lot of time cleaning up with an orbital sander.
The way our boards were positioned the ‘groove’ was against the wall and not visible.
We then cut the two lengths of rod to the height required with a hacksaw.
On the first shelf we marked a place to drill 2 x 19mm holes for the rods to thread through. We drilled 30mm from the back of the shelf, more than enough to clear the skirting board (as the rod needed to sit on the floor). Using the first shelf as a guide, holes were then drilled in the remaining shelves.
To navigate the light switch and to ensure the spaces between the shelves were enough to fit tallest glasses, we simply used bits of masking tape on the door frame to show where the shelves would be. Lay the rods on the floor and thread on the shelves, tapping them into position so they are the right height (as determined by the markings on the door frame). A hole was then drilled from the groove side (the back) through the wood, through the rod and beyond slightly into the shelf (see photo above). Long screws where then passed through the hole and screwed tightly in place, ensuring it grabbed the shelf and was secure. While still on the floor the shelves were coated with Danish Oil. Because the screw is secured from the back and in the groove they are nicely reassessed and invisible once shelf is in place.
Once offered up to the wall, the unit itself was attached with a couple of screws; two at the top through the rod into a raw plug, via a tubular spacer (a short piece of dowel with a hole through the centre, to hide the screw in the gap between the rod and the wall) into the plasterboard wall. Another tiny bracket was attached underneath the unit on the bottom shelf (out of view) to stop the shelf being accidentally kicked or whacked by a stray foot or wayward vacuum cleaner.
So for $40 and a cup or two of tea, we had ourselves a designer, bespoke, native wooden shelving unit which happens to match the floor exactly! We love it. The shelves have nail holes and all the character of wood that’s been walked on for decades.
How we’ve got this sorted we’ve set our sights on a new ‘mug shelf’ which will be a slight variation, and a spice rack – both made from upcycled matai flooring. We are on a roll!
