Who can make this?

darrenheaphy · 04-12-2019 6:01pm #1

I’m trying to find a floating TV unit, not sure if that’s the correct phrase. Basically it’s mounted to the wall upon which sits TV and speakers.

Can’t find anything online, Ikea offer white shiny versions. Am looking for something like the attached, about 180cm long. Am I better off just getting it made? Any suggestions?

chillyspoon · 05-12-2019 8:23am

Any decent joinery / cabinet maker should be able to make you one of those Darren. If you post where you're based you might be able to get some local suggestions.

The other option is DIY but there's a bit to hanging these units, particularly if the house is older, doesn't have regular framing or you simply don't know what's behind the plaster! A couple of DIY examples (both are in US homes with their pretty consistent framing regulations):

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS5nuNivbSw
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pswTje1hLVE

PS health warning: the Modern Builds channel is so heavily sponsored these days that almost every second of his videos are an ad for something!

Peatys · 05-12-2019 8:31am

The Wood Factory
Hickeys yard, Broughan, The Ward, Dublin
(01) 864 2791
https://maps.app.goo.gl/GkhYP4MiX44sYS7B6

Got these lads to make up a couple of bits for us over the years. Their stuff is top quality and lasts.. not the ikea throwaway stuff..

They're quite reasonable, price wise.. I'd send them that photo you have and ask for a price.

I not affiliated with them, just heard of them around Swords where they have a good reputation.

darrenheaphy · 05-12-2019 4:29pm

Thanks guys! Am based near Kilkenny, will check out those links &#55357;&#56397;

05-12-2019 4:32pm

As far as I am aware the Besta range in Ikea can be wall mounted.

darrenheaphy · 05-12-2019 6:06pm

Deleted User wrote: »

As far as I am aware the Besta range in Ikea can be wall mounted.

Yeah, I know, I prefer the sold wood aesthetic though

06-12-2019 1:24am

darrenheaphy wrote: »

Yeah, I know, I prefer the sold wood aesthetic though

Well if you're actually looking for solid wood, then make sure you mention that to a cabinet maker if you're getting it made up, as by default, most will make it out of MDF or chipboard with a veneer.

chillyspoon · 06-12-2019 10:37am

Deleted User wrote: »

Well if you're actually looking for solid wood, then make sure you mention that to a cabinet maker if you're getting it made up, as by default, most will make it out of MDF or chipboard with a veneer.

I'm sure that'd be fine for the OP as long as it's a real wood veneer and not a melamine fake wood.

E.g. an oak or walnut veneer'd MDF would be perfectly fine for something like this and will look like the real thing at a fraction of the cost.

06-12-2019 5:56pm

chillyspoon wrote: »

I'm sure that'd be fine for the OP as long as it's a real wood veneer and not a melamine fake wood.

E.g. an oak or walnut veneer'd MDF would be perfectly fine for something like this and will look like the real thing at a fraction of the cost.

I'd imagine the difference would be fairly negligible, though? I worked in a furniture shop before and they used 'real wood' veneers on top of a lot of their products. They did look better than the chipboard-covered kitchens I used to work installing, but not massively so.

Personally, I'd have been as happy with the cheaper product as I felt the price difference between the two made it disproportionately expensive to opt for the 'real' finish.

I know OP already knows Besta exists, and is familiar with it, but I'd really be taking a better look at the likes of This Unit as an affordable compromise.

That said, I don't know the circumstances. If it's a temporary or rental house etc. your approach would obviously be different, than if it's a 'last time I'll change it in my lifetime' approach.

(for example, I'm renovating the house in general and spending over the odds, but I don't plan to be doing it again anytime soon, so it makes sense for me, personally. OP is presumably similar).

tabby aspreme · 06-12-2019 11:54pm

To my eye, the size of that unit looks about , 2.4m wide / .45m deep, and the timber is 5cm thick, with the drawer fronts probably 2cm thick. To make that from solid timber you would need 11-12 cubic feet of timber, that quantity of Oak would cost 900, Walnut 1300 from the timber yards, plus whatever materials are needed for the drawers.

darrenheaphy · 07-12-2019 12:59pm

Thanks chaps. This is for a permanent placement, not rental. The Ikea Besta is nice but feels too much like a temporary thing, the laminate finish reminds of a student house &#55357;&#56832; good to know what the indicative costs are, thanks Tabby

tabby aspreme · 07-12-2019 1:07pm

darrenheaphy wrote: »

Thanks chaps. This is for a permanent placement, not rental. The Ikea Besta is nice but feels too much like a temporary thing, the laminate finish reminds of a student house �� good to know what the indicative costs are, thanks Tabby

They are just the cost of materials.

A good compromise would be veneered Mdf with a 20mm✖ 50mm solid lip, around the front to give a chunky look, or make it from 1" solid timber with the 2" lip

07-12-2019 6:04pm

tabby aspreme wrote: »

To my eye, the size of that unit looks about , 2.4m wide / .45m deep, and the timber is 5cm thick, with the drawer fronts probably 2cm thick. To make that from solid timber you would need 11-12 cubic feet of timber, that quantity of Oak would cost 900, Walnut 1300 from the timber yards, plus whatever materials are needed for the drawers.

Serious Money. I wonder would someone be able to "up-cycle" some scaffolding planks with a bit of stain on top to make it look a bit richer, for a significantly less expensive version?

recipio · 08-12-2019 12:38pm

I would be inclined to make it out of flush doors cut down to size. They can be veneered or not . Flush doors are 'torsion boxes' - very light but stiff. They have inset hardwood strips in the edges so you can join them.
This might be a bit novel for a joiner and I've yet to meet a joiner that likes veneering but its easily done.

chillyspoon · 09-12-2019 8:32am

I wouldn't ever presume too much about someone else's budget lads. Something eye watering to one person is completely normal to another. My wife is a former architect and had clients for whom a solid wood fitted cabinet at 10 grand was literally nothing.

At the top of the tree ('scuse the pun) you've got Tabby's spot-on estimate for timber costs, then high quality hardwood veneered ply/MDF, then melamine faced chipboard - we're still talking custom made by a cabinet maker so we've got to add in labour of course, then we're on to joinery-made but fixed design options, and then on to mass-produced IKEA type options, and lastly the cheapest mass produced stuff you'd pick up in Woodies/B&Q etc. - something for everyone's budget.

So for the OP, give three or four local cabinet makers a bell - tell them what you'd like and your budget, and they'll tell you what's possible

recipio · 09-12-2019 3:26pm

chillyspoon wrote: »

I wouldn't ever presume too much about someone else's budget lads. Something eye watering to one person is completely normal to another.

Making this out of solid wood is just nuts. It would weigh a ton for a start - never mind the expense. I would ask a cabinet maker to make a torsion box and veneer it with a suitable material. You can get 4 mm veneered sheet in the usual American species for the outer skins if your'e ok with the appearance.

chillyspoon · 09-12-2019 5:22pm

recipio wrote: »

Making this out of solid wood is just nuts. It would weigh a ton for a start - never mind the expense. I would ask a cabinet maker to make a torsion box and veneer it with a suitable material. You can get 4 mm veneered sheet in the usual American species for the outer skins if your'e ok with the appearance.

I totally agree - that's why I suggested veneered MDF a few comments above. It looks great.

The nuts factor is very real - we've hijacked your thread a little bit here Darren; this is not directed at you!

- so the missus told me about one bespoke piece of cabinetry that cost a absolute fortune in solid hardwood and was finished beautifully, it was going into a very large new build. The interior designer in charge of the build decided she didn't like it when she saw it in situ and had the whole thing sprayed gloss white, the client never even saw it in its natural timber state. So if they'd figured it out before material selection they could have made it from standard MR MDF and saved thousands but the budget was so big that such an issue wouldn't even have occurred to them. I suspect the cabinet maker never knew.

recipio · 10-12-2019 2:28pm

chillyspoon wrote: »

I totally agree - that's why I suggested veneered MDF a few comments above. It looks great.

The nuts factor is very real - we've hijacked your thread a little bit here Darren; this is not directed at you! - so the missus told me about one bespoke piece of cabinetry that cost a absolute fortune in solid hardwood and was finished beautifully, it was going into a very large new build. The interior designer in charge of the build decided she didn't like it when she saw it in situ and had the whole thing sprayed gloss white, the client never even saw it in its natural timber state. So if they'd figured it out before material selection they could have made it from standard MR MDF and saved thousands but the budget was so big that such an issue wouldn't even have occurred to them. I suspect the cabinet maker never knew.

If I were that cabinet maker I would be furious :eek: I see this a lot on utube. Eager young Americans wasting quality hardwood on very mediocre designs. For every piece of furniture there is an optimum design solution and I always mull over a design for a few weeks before cutting my precious hardwood.
I'm amazed people settle for cheap (far eastern) furniture that will end up on the scrapheap in ten years. We just don't appreciate good design or else I'm a cranky old git:D

looksee · 10-12-2019 3:00pm

I just had something slightly similar made by a guy in Piltown Co. Waterford. He used double thickness natural oak veneer chip with a double width edge finish and it looks absolutely the business without costing solid timber money.

Who can make this?

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