Looking for a light alternative to bricks for some bullshit I'm doing

October 26, 2023 12:06 PM

I am trying to make an oddly-sized modular little shelf set-up for objects that weigh very little (shoes). I also want the structure to weigh not so much. What should I use instead of bricks or cinder blocks?

I'd usually put planks up on bricks, here I'd like to put planks up on . . . something lighter, uniform size of about 3.5"-5.5" tall, commercially available or just readily available. What would you recommend?

(I have been racking my dang brains about this all morning and come up with nothing. I'm sure that as soon as I hit "Post," I'll come up with it, but in the meantime hit me with your best shot.)

posted by kensington314 to Home & Garden (22 answers total)

Honeycomb cardboard packing material, like this.

Every time I get a flat pack piece of furniture I take out these little pieces, no bigger than my own foot, and step on them for fun. A foot size piece supports my entire body weight, it is INCREDIBLE stuff. Will easily support your shoes, even if you decide to keep them on your feet during storage.
posted by phunniemee at 12:10 PM on October 26, 2023 [7 favorites]

Yoga blocks?
posted by tinydancer at 12:17 PM on October 26, 2023 [5 favorites]

Six empty bean/soda cans taped together?
posted by wenestvedt at 12:25 PM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

Yeah, check your recycling bin for likely candidates. If you don't like the look of recycling-as-furniture, you could spray paint cans or cover sturdy cardboard boxes with wrapping paper.
posted by librarina at 12:30 PM on October 26, 2023

Empty shoeboxes? Thematically consistent!
posted by Pre-Taped Call In Show at 12:34 PM on October 26, 2023 [2 favorites]

Blocks of wood cut to uniform length and stacked. Two very easy ways to get this:

If you have or can borrow a saw, you can find free scrap wood from Craigslist or something. If your shelves are 11" wide, cut the pieces to 10.5" long. If you find 2x4 pieces (the most common type, in actuality 1.5" thick), you can stack 3 pieces to make a 4.5" tall support.

Otherwise, most big home improvement stores will cut lumber for you. You can buy one 2x4 board and get it cut to make all the pieces you need. You'll need one 6' long board for each 12" deep shelf. Or, one 12' long board for 2 12" deep shelves. If your shelves are only 8" deep, you'll need less wood for the same number of shelves.

I will warn you though: it's possible that, if you use something very lightweight, you'll find your shelves are more likely to fall if you accidentally nudge them while walking past or loading/unloading stuff from them.
posted by amtho at 12:36 PM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

What's your budget? What tools do you have?
My first thought is to use metal EMT conduit as the 'legs' of a standing shelf/bookcase, and some sort of clamp to support the shelf boards. 5" tall is pretty small for a shelf but you could space clamps any distance you want.
posted by TDIpod at 12:44 PM on October 26, 2023

I remember seeing furniture made of lego-type blocks at a home show maybe 5 years ago. A quick search tells me they're called Everblocks. They're aren't particularly cheap though.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:49 PM on October 26, 2023

Ooh, how about egg cartons? Easy to find, lightweight, cheap/free. Stacking 2 or 3 before the next plank should give you the height needed for shoes. Glue together to give so they don't collapse when bumped.
posted by tinydancer at 1:00 PM on October 26, 2023

Response by poster: I like all these ideas, keep 'em coming and thank you.

To TDIpod question, I'd say, maybe something in the range of $free.99 to like $30.
posted by kensington314 at 1:18 PM on October 26, 2023

One thing I would consider using is stackable plastic shoe boxes. Then you can put your best, fanciest, don't let them get dusty shoes in the protective boxes at the end and open the door or slide out the box when you want to use them, and put planks on top of the boxes to hold all your other shoes.
posted by jacquilynne at 1:19 PM on October 26, 2023 [3 favorites]

Best answer: How about using PVC pipe?

You could use threaded PVC pipe (PVC Risers for lawn sprinklers) and threaded caps to create the space. You would need to attach the pvc to the boards, which you could probably do with a glue or by using a bolt/washers/nut. For glue, it looks like a polyurethane glue would be good to bond PVC to wood, but you could try hot glue or something else if you have it around.
posted by bruinfan at 1:22 PM on October 26, 2023

You could also just use any kind of sturdy cardboard boxes. E.g. "book boxes" from U-Haul, file boxes, etc. Look for people giving away (intact) moving boxes free.

Face the box opening toward the front so you can still put stuff on the shelf in that spot.
posted by amtho at 1:33 PM on October 26, 2023

Best answer: Sonotube (like a giant toilet paper roll used as a form for pouring concrete footings) would probably work pretty well too. You can buy a 4' long tube for under $20 and cut it to the size you want.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 2:24 PM on October 26, 2023 [5 favorites]

I've seen this done with clay flue liners - think terracotta-like squirkle tubes. Very elegant.
posted by Glomar response at 4:08 PM on October 26, 2023

I use styrofoam bricks (aka foam blocks) for similar purposes. They come in various shapes and colors.

Here's an example: https://www.amazon.ca/Craft-Foam-Block-Rectangle-Polystyrene/dp/B07C9637SJ
posted by Umami Dearest at 7:09 PM on October 26, 2023

Best answer: Ohhhh sonotube! That's a great suggestion. I built a telescope using one of those (and a whole lot of other hardware) and it's super strong, especially if you cut it down to say six-inch slices for your shoe shelving. Thick cardboard in a big circle is STRONG. You can paint it to make it look nice -- I put a couple coats of semi-gloss on my telecope's tube.

It's big, so you'll probably need to buy it locally -- if your hardware store doesn't have it, I'm sure the local construction supply place does. If they only sell longer lengths (like 10 feet, standard column height), you can literally cut it in half in the parking lot with a handsaw like I did, so it fits in your car. In fact, that easy cutting is the main advantage over PVC, for your application.
posted by intermod at 7:10 PM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

Yoga blocks ! If thats too light but bricks are too heavy i also made a mental note of something brickish i came across at a tractor surplus the other day - compressed wood bricks for .
Wood stoves i think ? Not light .. but also not ceramic like a brick !
posted by elgee at 7:35 PM on October 26, 2023

Sonotube is awesome: I made a stand for my son's synth out of it!

You can cut it with any old saw. And it's paper, so you can slap paint on it easily, too.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:39 PM on October 26, 2023

Searching plastic egg crate or storage crate will bring skeletonized plastic cubes in various sizes.
posted by SemiSalt at 4:43 AM on October 27, 2023

Empty wine bottles! You'll need a few tools to make it but looks pretty cool.
posted by ljesse at 9:22 AM on October 27, 2023

I did this with flower pots\
posted by kathrynm at 10:54 AM on October 27, 2023