The behemoth is finishedIt’s a project months in the making. I purchased the first MDF for it back in September, and actually got to the building of it January 5th. I got the bones of it up in a couple of weekends, and by the middle of January the painting, sanding, painting, re-sanding, and re-painting began in earnest.

Nearly four months later I’m finally finished enough to actually put a book on it (although I’m going to wait a week or so to ensure that the paint has fully cured). The paint is applied, the shelves are assembled, the grommets and shelf supports are installed, and the behemoth looks spectacular.

It’s pretty sweet looking, folks who have seen it all comment that it looks quite professional (that’s what a couple of months worth of painting, sanding and re-painting will do for you).

Here’s a cost breakdown:

QTY Product Price Total
6 8 x 4 x 3/4″ MDF $ 36.00 $ 216.00
2 8 x 4 x 1/2 Maple Laminate $ 64.00 $ 128.00
1 Roll Maple Laminate Edging $ 20.00 $ 20.00
8 8′ x 16″ x 3/4″ Pine Shelving $ 18.00 $ 144.00
24 Crown Molding $ 1.89 $ 45.36
24 Crown Molding (that I screwed up) $ 1.34 $ 32.16
24 Baseboard $ 1.50 $ 36.00
2 Poplar nosing $ 20.80 $ 41.60
2 Benjamin Moore paint $ 40.00 $ 80.00
1 MDF Primer $ 20.00 $ 20.00
1 5 pack napless rollers $ 5.49 $ 5.49
1 12″ napless roller $ 7.89 $ 7.89
1 4″ roller cage $ 8.00 $ 8.00
2 latex caulk tubes $ 3.49 $ 6.98
1 tube wood glue $ 5.00 $ 5.00
2 100 count wood screws $ 7.00 $ 14.00
4 Shelf Sleeves (100 count) $ 4.50 $ 18.00
4 Shelf Pegs (50 count) $ 4.95 $ 19.80
1 8′ x 16″ x 3/4″ MDF Side Wall $ 16.00 $ 16.00
$ 864.28

Add another 15% for taxes, and you’re looking at around $1000.00. I figure a conservative estimate to get this thing done professionally would be around $3500.00, so I saved $2500.00 by doing it myself.

This is the behemothThere’s a little bit more work to be done though. I need to build three sets of doors for the base, fill, prime, sand, sand, and sand them before putting a final coat on and adding the appropriate hardware. I’ll also have to paint the bottom shelves.

When I’m done with that this behemoth will be a fully armed and operational battlestation (sort of like the Death Star in Episode IV, rather than the half completed Death Star in Episode VI).