Stolmen and Ekby compression bookshelf system

Step 5 Total costs

Poles:  4 x $30 = $120
Brackets:  7 x 5-pack (with safety spares) at $15  = $105 
Shelves:  8 x $30 = $240
Drill bit: $5
Bolts:  8 x 3-packs at $2.30:  $19
Tube ends:  4 x $8.16:  $32.64
Threaded feet:  4 x $4.75 and 4 x $2.38

Total:  $550 and change for two substantial shelves

Shipping added about $50 for the leveling mounts and tube ends, not including trial and error orders.    

Comments

[bordenkecher]

 are the polls then tension mounted b/w the floor and the ceiling? so that you're not actually drilling a whole in the floor or ceiling to install the shelving system?

[L-A]

 Exactly, the pressure simply keeps the feet in place. That's the big advantage of compression poles :)

[56dustbunny]

I really wanna do this but it comes out to be pretty pricey, awesome hack. I'm gonna keep this bookmarked for future project. Great choice of beer to work with :)

[tiffehr]

 Turns out this little project got picked up by a few home-improvement/gadget blogs.  The commentors (not all of which are as cool as y'all—some assume I'm a dude) offer some alternatives, some of which are indeed less expensive. There are a few I wish I'd found when I was in my research phase.

CrunchGear
Unpluggd/Apartment Therapy
Lifehacker

My favorite thus far is  Elizabeth and Dave's DIY Pipe Shelving

[56dustbunny]

OMG I was so pissed at the comment on the Unpluggd/Apartment Therapy post that I had to comment back in your defense !