Best way to evenly distribute the weight of a TV on top of a dresser?

July 12, 2010 6:59 PM

We've got a CRT TV sitting on top of an Ikea dresser that's causing the top to bow a bit, making the drawers harder to open. We looked around and couldn't find a way to distribute the weight of the TV to the corners. Anyone have any potential solutions we can try?

Since the dresser is already pretty tall, the optimal solution would be one that's only a few inches high. Ideas?

posted by gchucky to home & garden (10 answers total)

A piece of wood at or near the size of the top of the dresser would distribute the weight better. For some Ikea stuff, you can buy the plank of the same finish.
posted by birdherder at 7:01 PM on July 12, 2010

A small shelf like this or this might help distribute the weight. They're easy to spray paint any color to match your decor and will give you room for your dvd player, cable box, etc. underneath as well.

(I used one for a monitor stand for my computer for the longest time. It was great, I could just slide my keyboard under it when I needed workspace on my desk.)
posted by NoraCharles at 7:11 PM on July 12, 2010

Measure the top of the dresser. Go to your big box "lumber" store and get them to cut a piece of 3/4" veneer panel of the same surface material as the dresser, to the dimensions of the top. If you want a finished look, buy the iron-on edge tape and finish it off.

For the economy version of this, get 3/4" A/C plywood and cover it with fabric.
posted by Old Geezer at 7:23 PM on July 12, 2010

You can buy pre-cut, pre-drilled steel strips for keeping wood panels straight at a hardware store, then use short countersunk screws to attach them to the underside of the dresser top.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 7:26 PM on July 12, 2010

I had this problem with my IKEA dresser, which had my air conditioner on top of it in the winter.

The bowing was happening mostly between the right and left sides, so I put a plank of wood (about 3 inches wide by 1 inch tall) on the left, and another on the right, both cut to fit the depth of the dresser.

Then, I cut two more planks to fit the width of the dresser, and put one in the back and one in the front, sitting on top of the left and right ones like Lincoln Logs. Then I sat the air conditioner on the front and back planks. Those planks still bowed a bit, but they were held above the dresser top due to the height of the left and right planks, so that bowing kept anything from hitting the top of the dresser.
posted by Greg Nog at 7:49 PM on July 12, 2010

Depending on what dresser it is, you may be able to buy shelves specifically for it that, as birdherder says, are just planks of wood in the same finish. You could also try going to the As-Is department at Ikea and ask them if they have a piece of wood in the colour and dimensions you want; they may very well have something in the back, and will offer it to you for pretty cheap (about $10, I would guess). Alternatively, Billy bookcase shelves come in seemingly every colour of the Ikea rainbow, and in a variety of sizes.
posted by just_ducky at 7:49 PM on July 12, 2010

We looked around and couldn't find a way to distribute the weight of the TV to the corners.

The way I solved this problem with a wooden desk and two huge CRTs years ago was to pick up a length of angle-iron and some wood screws. Mount this underneath the shelf holding the weight and it'll easily distribute the weight to the edges.

You'll need a hack saw, a metal drill bit and a vice.
posted by odinsdream at 7:50 PM on July 12, 2010

1/2" tempered glass cut to the size of the entire top of the dresser will be incredibly rigid and distribute the weight evenly to all of the load-bearing parts.
posted by rhizome at 7:51 PM on July 12, 2010

Yeah, I came in to suggest a thick piece of wood cut to the dimensions of the dresser. 3/4 inch plywood can be cut to size at most big box stores for free (if you purchase the sheet of plywood). They may even have some half-sheets if you don't need a whole 4x8 sheet.
posted by ThaBombShelterSmith at 10:21 PM on July 12, 2010

Can I also suggest fastening the top of the dresser back to the wall? Your description of a heavy CRT on top of a tall lightweight piece of furniture sounds like a recipe for an accident, if someone falls over and grabs an open drawer or similar.
posted by emilyw at 12:24 AM on July 13, 2010 [1 favorite]