Overhead Bookcase

So you have a shed, or a treehouse, or even a finished home.
You also have a lot of books.
You can't put more books on the walls because the walls are full, or it's a small building (shed, treehouse), and space is at a premium.

What about

bookcases
...
on the ceiling.

This sounds silly.  But the ceiling is one of the last unused spaces in a building, books don't take up space you'd otherwise be using if they're there.

Here is how to put books on your ceiling.

Step 1 Preparations

Materials:
Wood, or other building material (you could use clear, hard plastic, or glass if you figured out how, to make it better).
Screws, nails, etc.  An attaching thing.
Books (or cds, dvds, etc).  Sorted basically by size.
Rafters, joists, etc make it easier to mount.  If you're trying to find studs under sheetrock, it'll be harder.

Tools:
Drill/Screwgun.
Drill bits.
Hammer (if you end up using nails).
Tape measure.

Environment:
Semi-exposed rafters, as you can see that I have, make this job pretty easy.  Floor joists, as visible in a post-and-beam house, would work well as well.  A flat ceiling will take a little more work, especially if you don't know where things can be securely fastened.

Comments

[Ricardo Furioso]

Finally a way to add bookshelves to our treehouse.
We have a lot of books on tree houses, and it would be good to have them inside.
Bravo.
Simple + Sensible + Useful = Brilliant.

[gwylan]

Very sensible, I think! Of course, I've been using ceiling bookshelves for some ten years now myself. My house is very small, and I'm a book-lover, so I really had no choice.

My situation is different, however, so I used a different theory. My shelves are simply boards suspended from the bottom of my bed loft, using loops of baling twine attached to eye-screws, one shelf on either side of each crossbeam. The twine shows no sign of wear (I am knocking on the nearest piece of wood as I write this, of course) after all these years. I do occasionally have to straighten the shelf holding the big books, which stick out beyond the 5.5" wide shelf board and tend to tip it outward. Total cost was near zero, as both boards and twine were salvage.

It's nice to see someone else's take on the problem.

[caarntedd]

This is pretty cool. I have no need for it, but I might just do it because it looks good. It should be easily adaptable for lots of other stuff besides books. Thanks for sharing.