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Bookshelf notch too small for skirting

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23 Sep 2025
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I know this is pretty trivial, but:

I bought a bookcase from Ikea. The cutout is a few mm too short for the baseboard/skirting.

Here are all the ideas I can think of. Do any of these sound OK? Or is there another option that I missed? (No matter which option I choose, I will anchor it to the wall at the top.)

(1) Push it as close to the wall as it will go. Cons: The top of the notch barely touches the baseboard. So this puts some force on the baseboard itself, which seems not great.

(2) Keep it an inch or so away from the wall. Cons: It's leaning back a bit. But maybe I can attach some kind of footpads to the front, to take some of the weight?

(3) Buy screw-in feet, to lift up the entire shelf a tiny bit. Cons: Screwing them in to the particle board doesn't seem very durable or reliable.

(4) Have someone cut a few mm more off of the top of the notch. Cons: I don't have the tools or experience to do this and make it look nice.

(5) Put the whole bookshelf on top of a board. Cons: Will look ugly

Help! What should I do?
 

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It depends how fussy you are. For a perfect fit you would need to make a template the same as the skirting and cut the shape into the unit.
If you just want it to stand upright but not go right up to the wall then you could just get some course sand paper and sand enough off to let it clear the skirting
 
Just use a handsaw from Screwfix for £5 and cut it yourself, I'd put money on it not being deep enough as well as not tall enough.
 
try the non-invasive method first

i would start with something like 12mm wide 9-12mm thick and perhaps 50mm long bit off material [usually wood or plastic] at the front edge off the sides and any centre dividers that give support this will both lean the unit back and match the carpet gripper at the back that is leaning it forward
 
try the non-invasive method first

i would start with something like 12mm wide 9-12mm thick and perhaps 50mm long bit off material [usually wood or plastic] at the front edge off the sides and any centre dividers that give support this will both lean the unit back and match the carpet gripper at the back that is leaning it forward
Do you think it is gripper bars rather than where it is catching the top of the skirting that is throwing it forward
 
Do you think it is gripper bars rather than where it is catching the top of the skirting that is throwing it forward
it will be sitting on the gripper, thus it's leaning forward

often what happens is once you lift the front by 12mm it will lean back and touch the wall then as you work it back it raises the back perhaps 2 or 3mm as most off the 12mm has sunk into the carpet and compressed the underlay
placing the blocks under the front by default means it touches and stays in contact with the wall without any fixings
 
Do you think it is gripper bars rather than where it is catching the top of the skirting that is throwing it forward
yeah, this is the thing

I bet if you notched out more it would still lean

I personally would add a strip of wood around the bottom
 
Simple method is to add a few of these to base , only requires a hammer .Dont fit any within 50mm of rear .
 

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