IKEA IVAR Shelf Assembly and Review | Clueless Dad

Assembly and review of the IVAR shelf unit from IKEA. This is the 175cm tall single shelf version. This is the 50cm deep version, they also have a 30cm version. Official dimensions are - 89x50x179 cm. It's made from untreated pine. Cheap but effective.
My assembly and review of the double shelf version is here - • IKEA IVAR Double Shelf...
Here is the listing from Ikea HK -
www.ikea.com.hk/en/products/o...
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/ @obscurecola

[@CluelessDad]

UPDATE: I did the double shelf version, which is the even taller version, check it out here - kzbin.info/www/bejne/pIG8YWd4ed6Corc

[@dokigirlproductions6462]

thank you I've literally used this tutorial for 3 moves and its so helpful.

[@fridayhunt7075]

I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MUCH I LOVE THESE SHELVES!!! I have been buying them since 2000 and they are some of the best money I've EVER spent. * The old ones have gone thru 9 moves, and have fit every place I've ever lived in, except that the tallest were too tall by less than an inch in a basement. * Somehow a combination of narrow and wide shelves have fit absolutely everywhere, sometimes with inches to spare. * I think that's ^ why some people think they are built in. * Sometimes I only have 2 or 3 shelves that haven't fit in a new configuration, I put them in a closet and can generally use them in the next place. * I use them in every room but the bathrooms ( just a preference - you can fit in the ones with narrower shelves). I have used them in very damp apartments with no discoloration. * The only treatment I've done on the wood is slightly spray them with cedar oil just for the smell and to repel moths. They only barely darken with age. * It takes a *lot* of weight for them to bow slightly over time. None of mine are noticeably bowed, even the oldest. * When moving, they break down to nothing. I've had movers say they won't disassemble furniture, but since even taking out the bracing screws takes about a minute, they'll do these. * Get that drop leaf table. Several of their accessories (like a larger one) have been discontinued. * I've never actually used the cabinets, most of the Ikea storage bins fit in like a dream. * They really only need 2-3 shelves (at any almost any height) to be stable. * The ones with plastic sides are just as stable and possibly more tenacious than the new metal ones. * The *very* old metal shelves rest on the pegs, they don't grip them. * The holes on different ages are less than a centimeter off from the new ones. * Attach the grey leashes at the top. * Use a square object when leveling the bracing. No need to pre-drill holes. * Two people are twice as fast as one. * Put a fabric type furniture foot on the bottom on the wall side and a taller metal one on the front legs to lean them slightly against the wall and compensate for the bottom baseboard on the wall. * Even the tall ones can withstand small earthquakes (~.4.3 *right on top of the epicenter*) without the leashes (I think that might be because of those feet ^). I use bracing every other unit attached to each other. * The corner shelves are really difficult to access stuff in, especially the big ones. I keep a slight space between units on the corners and keep brooms and mops and things on hooks in the corners (get those hooks too). They finally will give you replacement pins!!! I have lost pins in every move. I've made drawers for the deep shelves by cutting down boxes from Barnes & Noble and Amazon. I wrap them in white duct tape to make them sturdier. I've also used contact paper, but working with that was far more annoying. One fits in the narrow ones (I'm using those in my office), and the wide ones will take 2 with room to spare (those are in the garage). I have trays for some others, but they don't fit in as tightly. I have several types of hanging file folder boxes (standard by legal size) in the deep ones. The wide take 2, the narrow, just one. The ones with drawers look built in.

[@CluelessDad]

ha ha, thank for the detailed info. I haven't treated mine, but they're indoors and no problems, just turned a bit darker. I was thinking of replacing my hindos with more IVARS since my new home office has super high ceilings.

[@zwei2125]

This is the most helpful comment I’ve ever read, thank you so much!

[@woofer13]

I'm smiling. I have IVAR in every single room of my 13 room house....including the bathrooms. And yes, 5 of our closets are fitted with IVAR too. My favorite helpful hint is that when I'm constructing the tall shelving units, I tie one of the new side units to an already existing, but shorter unit that's already square, using pipe cleaners. I attach the front and back, top and bottom, with the pipe cleaners. It makes it a thousand times easier. Oh, the other thing is that I don't use the nylon thingy to attach to the wall. Instead, I use the round K-Nex pieces under the two front legs of the unit. They can't be seen, and yet they manage to keep the bookcase from tipping over. Actually though, any thin piece of wood 1"x1" would do. Just thought of another. I put wheels on the short units which makes it so easy to move them around. EDIT: I bought my first IVAR when IKEA originally opened up in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania 38 years ago. Thank you so much for all your very useful information.

[@lenny108]

There are now a few more wooden parts in the package

[@SuperLittleTyke]

I've needed additional pins before, so I went to the local hardware store and bought a 1m steel rod of the right diameter. You can hacksaw any number of pins from this. Use a file to remove any burrs.

[@loisbolton1800]

Great video. Your tips were just what I needed to give me confidence to add the cross-brace successfully & have it be straight. 🙂

[@SuperLittleTyke]

I've used IKEA Ivar shelving and drawers since the 1970s in Germany and England. Even in 2024 it's a very cheap solution to get some shelves up quickly. I've just taken delivery of another double unit, but this comes with the side units unassembled. However, it only takes about 15 minutes to assemble the sides and cross pieces. I also built my own shelving unit a few years ago from sawn timber, but it takes forever, and timber is no longer cheap anyway. I firmed up my Ivar shelves with 3" galvanised angle brackets between the shelves and the side pieces. They really add stability to the completed shelf unit. I also fix 3mm MDF sheets on the rear of the unit. They stop items from being pushed right to the back at the wall side and falling down. I just use very small nails to fix the sheets to the frame. Even 3mm sheet MDF adds a lot of stability.

[@singinprofessor5260]

So nice of you to post helping videos👍🏻 1)Please advise how to attach side by side next couple of stands to make a wall of shelves 2)Can you please make a video how to hang hooks and mirror 3) What’s the best way to hang paintings on new wall

[@lorddamocles2222]

Thanks! Plan to get a couple of these to go in a very narrow space, and needed to check that construction doesn't need screwing in from the ends

[@srikanthsk]

Simple instructions. I am glad you put out this video. I was wondering how to put the shelf together. I had it anchored to the wall by drilling a nail into the wall stud. In Philadelphia the wood built homes make it easy to screw in. Thanks

[@iheartmcflii]

thanks a lot, I just purchase the shelf last week the exact same one ! I was stuck and confused this shelf didn't come with instructions

[@mbpblue]

This was really helpful. Just bought these shelves secondhand with no instructions and I made the mistake of putting the cross supports on first and then couldn't get the shelves in as it seemed too tight. So will redo as you have shown here. Thank you. Cheers

[@crawmode]

Thanks for the video. Was a great help especially how to get it level with the door. Keep it up!

[@CluelessDad]

Glad it helped!

[@squeallymae]

Thanks for the instructions!

[@sebhadx]

Hi! Same thing here in Germany. Some years ago Ikea switched from steel to plastic holders on the shelfs but for some reason they went back to metal holders.

[@virginiacarlson9353]

I found that taking the pegs out by inserting the screwdriver from the sides was much easier than then trying to pry it out on the end.

[@LightningBlade1406]

Thanks for the tips, this is one of the best ikea furniture videos ive seen lol.

[@MorryB]

Just bought this shelf and couldn't figure out how to attach the shelves to the frame as there were no instructions provided in the box. Mine didn't come with the metal cross braces either. Thanks for the video.

[@inerdified]

Thanks for the video.

[@MINDoSOFT]

Hi thanks for this video. The shelves I have, go back and forth, they dont exactly lock in place. They lock to the pins but there is a small gap from the base so they go back and forth. Did you have this problem ?

[@loulwahalsohaim5494]

This vedio is so useful, thank you so much.

[@UrraSergio]

You can install the X frame before the middle shelves, which makes everything more stable.

[@CluelessDad]

yes, either way should be OK, just make sure its square.

[@Draqshorul]

Why I love this system is because I bought one for a tight spot which turned out to be a few millimeters to tight on the top part (walls were not straight). However, not being painted or anything else, I was able to take off the few millimeters from the exterior with a wood planer.

[@CluelessDad]

that's a good point. I'm planning on replacing my Hindo shelves with more of these Ivars.... they're pretty tall too, so good for places with high ceilings.

[@Shinchan-hr4wv]

Thanks I bought this shelf and i panicked because i have no drill but i managed to do it without thanks to you

[@marineloos8424]

How do you dismantle the shelf? When I do, it often happens that the metal part separates from the wood, which irritates me to no end!

[@MajidGhaffari]

Big help thank you

[@karenavery3672]

I found it hard to remove the pins, had to do it from the side instead of the ends. It is hard for one person to assemble, it came crashing down in me and I have put together at least 20 pieces of Ikea furniture in the past 33 years.

[@kailash680]

How to use the strip - you don't have to guess, just read the manual.

[@jean-danielbellaiche8335]

Pour fixer les tiges en métal, il y avait déjà des trous fait dans le meuble, ou il n'y en a pas et on fait les trous au fur et à mesure que l'on visse?

[@XeniasWorld]

I purchased this 5 yrs ago & love it, but in my recent attempt to purchase I've read the reviews & the new metal portion has horrible reviews 😔 glad you had a good experience

[@CluelessDad]

people like the plastic version more?!?

[@kailash680]

@@CluelessDad On one of my shelves the metal portion went off. It is not attached properly

[@CluelessDad]

@@kailash680 so the metal separated from the wood? how did it happen? anything collapse?

[@kailash680]

@@CluelessDad It happened only on one shelf on one side. No nothing can collapse the way it is build. It was when I toke the shelf off, the metal thing fell down.It was badly attached to the wood. It is something which needs improvement from ikea.

[@not_your_raccoon]

@@kailash680 can the metal part just be put back in?

[@Hedgemonkey5]

Thanks for this, I'm getting all of the parts (6 sides, ~40 shelves) separately to fit a space and couldn't figure out where to get the pins. I can also see how necessary the crossbraces are, which I was wondering if I could skip.

[@CluelessDad]

Glad I could help!

[@loisbolton1800]

A cross-brace is only required for every second section, according to IKEA. So for 3 sections in a row you would have 2 cross-braces, one on each end section

[@84MLA]

Hey thanks so much I could find a DIY hack video like this for IVAR. So useful specially for screwing in the cross X in. No previous holes was leaving me confused xD

[@CluelessDad]

I’m thinking of buying more and redoing my office shelves (hindo) because of the height of these.

[@jenzupan9782]

Thanks for the video! Do you know the width of the pieces of wood for the side pieces? I'm looking to use the side pieces flush against wall as a low profile display shelf! Thank you!

[@CluelessDad]

its 30mm x ~43mm (the narrow direction is the 'depth'). Does that help?

[@MsSpecialA]

Hi, thanks for the video. I couldn't decide whether to buy Ivar since I can't drill holes and connect it to a wall into my rented flat. Looks like it's pretty stable enough even without the connection.

[@CluelessDad]

No problem 👍 In my case I put a ~50lb laser printer on the bottom shelf and almost nothing on the upper shelves so far, so its not going anywhere (unless its a really, really bad earthquake....)

[@becv]

I have a feeling the wall fixtures are less for stability in these and more so to cover IKEA in case of accident - they can't be liable if they provided the hardware, it's with all of their items. Just my opinion though! 🤷‍♀️

[@CluelessDad]

@@becv Totally likely! in HK, if you have them assemble any tall furniture (shelves, etc) they are /required/ to mount it to the wall I believe.

[@mikel7509]

If you're using the shelf in a normal manner and not as a jungle gym or stacking it extremely top-heavy or something, then it is quite safe without wall anchoring. If you have kids that like to climb around like monkeys all over the place or live in an earthquake area, then that's a different matter. I'd probably sooner anchor the kids to the walls instead, but then I don't care much at all for kids either. :)

[@fridayhunt7075]

Put a fabric type furniture foot on the bottom on the wall side and a taller metal one on the front legs to lean them slightly against the wall and compensate for the bottom baseboard on the wall. * Even the tall ones can withstand small earthquakes (~.4.3 *right on top of the epicenter*) without the leashes (I think that might be because of those feet ^). I use bracing every other unit attached to each other.

[@sl2608]

Does the narrow version of the Ivar shelf unit, the 70" height with the 17" width shelves, require the crossbar? On Ikea's website it does not list the crossbar as a required component for the narrow Ivar unit. Do you know? Thanks.

[@sl2608]

Nevermind. After putting the unit together I discovered the answer for myself. YES. Had to make a trip back to the store for the crossbar.

[@user-wv1rd4he4e]

Nice tutorial and review! Can i use it outside of my bahtroom? Is it resistant to moisture? I actually want to buy Mulig shelf but they don't sell it anymore at least in Thailand's shop. So I'm looking at IVAR shelf now.

[@CluelessDad]

I think its ok for every day moisture from humid air, but if it was going to be directly next to a shower or get directly wet from splashing you'd want to seal it w/ some varnish.

[@user-wv1rd4he4e]

@@CluelessDad I see. Thank you so much for your advice! :)

[@gwood8706]

Lo clueless dad...Thanks for demo...These are useful vids to watch before purchase...What do you think about using hejna but using two post instead of one for extra strength??? This would save money ? Also Hejna are easier to transport because there are no cross-braces ? !! Cheers.

[@CluelessDad]

I think hejne still has cross braces? that's not a big issue, they're easy to remove.

[@singinprofessor5260]

I’ve heard IVAR is stronger

[@b.quentin7097]

In the 2024 Version of Ivar here in Germany you have to assemble the the two sideparts from scratch. Meaning you have to hammer in the struts between the two beams and secure them with a sort of wooden bolts. Very inconvenient and, when not used with glue, not so stable as before. Sad thing. Used to have a lot of them.

[@SuperLittleTyke]

I just constructed one side from the posts and cross pieces. The delivery van came about 2 hours ago and I expected the side pieces to be already assembled as they used to be. But assembling the parts was really no big deal and, yes, you could use wood glue as well as the dowels, but I didn't think it necessary. Once all the parts are assembled it feels pretty solid and stable.

[@glyphdoctor]

How easy is it to change the location of the shelves?

[@CluelessDad]

Not hard, you can pop the pins out just by lifting the shelf upwards.

[@crystalfern1966]

Hi, can you adjust the height of the shelf in the middle?

[@CluelessDad]

yes you can set the heights as you prefer.

[@crystalfern1966]

Thank you for answering my question

[@sl2608]

One thing I've discovered, these shelves are almost impossible to remove and move to a different height once they are clamped down in place. I have not been able to get the shelf out. Otherwise, love the unit.

[@CluelessDad]

i haven't tried to unpop those pins... i was thinking about getting more of these things for the rest of my office now and dumping the hindos....

[@theibecks]

In my experience they’re very easy to move - just use a bit of force to get the front pins popped out and then pivot the shelf up to get the back pins out as well.

[@darraghkane18]

Do the side units come assembled? I am thinking about getting this but I will have to modify it to suit my room.

[@CluelessDad]

yes, they do. so its just snapping the shelves on the pins and screwing in that X brace.

[@SuperLittleTyke]

Not any more in England. You receive one narrow, long box per side piece and the box contains two posts and several cross pieces, depending on the height of the posts. But everything is machined very accurately in true IKEA fashion, so although it's a bit of extra work assembling the parts, it's really not difficult. IKEA probably changed over to self-assembly even for the side pieces in order to keep costs down.

[@Sabrina-qg5tk]

Hi. Thanks for this video. Do you know what the weight capacity is for this? Not so much the bottom shelf, but the middle and top. I have a toaster oven that's about 15lbs. and wondered if it could hold it.

[@CluelessDad]

that should be no problem weight wise. I put a printer on the 2nd from the bottom shelf, it weights at least 50lbs. BUT -- i'd be more worried about the heat of the toaster oven on the wood. definitely put the toaster on a metal pan or sheet or something, to avoid the chance of fire or heat damage...

[@seraphie]

"It's very simple" "self-explanatory" Me: searching for tutorial on YT how to remove pins from shelves because I already broke my nails and a knife

[@CluelessDad]

ha. hope you figured it out eventually. Use a screwdriver and be careful you don't cut your knuckles on the metal edge.

[@moriahnelson2162]

Do you know is there is a way to take it apart?

[@CluelessDad]

i never thought about this, so I just tried it -- just push UP on the shelf and the pins will pop out of those tracks.

[@moriahnelson2162]

@@CluelessDad Thank you! I wasn't the one who put them together so I was rather confused!

[@laitae]

@@CluelessDad thanks I was wondering about how easy it is to take apart!

[@guccibullets]

Do you think the second to Bottom shelf could support 80 pounds?

[@CluelessDad]

yeah I think so but it doesn't list a weight capacity in the Ikea website. I have an HP printer on mine which weighs about 35 pounds plus a bunch of other stuff on there, I think it can take two of those and some extra weight...

[@fridayhunt7075]

My guess would be yes, though I haven't weighed the heavy stuff on my shelves. None of mine have visibly bowed after many, many years.

[@masfili3306]

can this withstand sun and rain is placed outdoor?

[@CluelessDad]

You'd have to use an exterior finish (or paint) made for exterior wood (like decks or lawn furniture, etc), since its untreated soft wood..... but given the holes drilled down the sides, I imagine it'd be impossible to get it sealed completely. In a garage or inside a shed would be OK. maybe a back porch, but not directly exposed to water. on an unrelated note - I have noticed that my other IKEA pine furniture (tarva bed) did change color in the sun, and that was while it was indoors....

[@HeidiBada]

@@CluelessDad I've done this before - get marine acrylic varnish or whatever oil-based you like. Since I'm in an apartment, acrylic is always preferred for easy cleanup and minimal fumes. I've made crates and stuff for travelling before, and it lasted a good long time; I never actually needed to refinish or fix any varnish flaws even though the crates were transported all over the place in a truck bed.

[@christopherclaure6689]

No instructions on the most important part which is getting the little rods out of the shelves to i

[@Poedoco]

i didn’t get the support X thing with mine tho

[@CluelessDad]

Ikea usually has a pretty generous policy for missing pieces and returns. Or you could try to make your own with some poles or rods (or even a yardstick?)

[@cvetlanasvet1107]

What is the weight of the shelf???

[@CluelessDad]

looks like its ~6.5kg

[@SuperLittleTyke]

I would not recommend doing any kind of DIY in bare feet. You would only need one of those heavy shelves to slip out of your grasp and it could injure your toes quite badly.

[@evangreenacre3172]

it might be OBVIOUS 2 u, but I can't see the details on those pins on the edges of the shelves! a close-up would be awesome... thumbs down!

[@psips0koin0]

No good manual

[@Graeme758]

10 minutes to show a 30 second assembly? So much talking.

[@carlosrubens3853]

Thanks for the video.