Most people choose a shelving system from a picture. Oak or white, heavy shelves or slim ones, rods or side panels. The questions that cause trouble later do not show up in the picture: will the binder stick out at the front? Will the wall hold? Will another section still fit next to it in three years?
All seven can be answered before you buy. We show the answers using KUUDU as the example, because we know those numbers from the configurator. You can ask the same questions of any system.
1. How deep does it need to be?
The depth depends on the widest thing that goes on the shelf, not on the room. A paperback is 12.5 centimetres wide, a binder 28.5. KUUDU has two depths: 35 centimetres for binders, coffee-table books and records, 15 centimetres for paperbacks, non-fiction and cases. Where the narrow shelf is enough, the unit sticks 20 centimetres less into the room. The full table with ten formats is in our article on shelf depth.
2. What grid is it built on?
A system is only as good as its grid. At KUUDU every section is 75 centimetres wide, with 69.5 centimetres between the rods. The compartment heights come from a fixed series: 5, 10, 16.7, 25, 35 and 60 centimetres, plus tall compartments of 70, 85, 95 and 120. Each section gets its own layout.
Fixed steps sound like a limitation. They are the reason parts still fit together later.
3. How much does a shelf hold?
A KUUDU shelf holds 20 kilograms. That sounds like a lot, and usually it is: 37 paperbacks weigh about 11 kilograms. Binders are where it gets tight. Eight fit side by side, and full they would hold around 24 kilograms of paper. If you store files, plan five full binders per shelf or keep the upper ones lighter.
4. Does it stand, hang on the wall or hang from the ceiling?
That decides what the wall or the floor has to take. A wall shelf 150 centimetres wide with six full shelves puts 30 kilograms on each bracket. A universal plug in 12.5 millimetre plasterboard holds 15 kilograms, according to the manufacturer. There you need toggle plugs, a stud in the wall or a freestanding unit. The calculation is in our article on wall load and plugs.
At KUUDU every wall bracket comes with a plug and a screw, and a ceiling shelf comes with the fixings for the ceiling. Freestanding units from 60 centimetres in height come with a wall restraint. Whether your plug suits your wall is something you check yourself; no manufacturer can do that from a distance.
5. Can it be extended?
At KUUDU every section is 75 centimetres wide and built from the same parts, whether it came with the first shelf or three years later. You attach another section to the existing one. You can plan it in the configurator, and single shelves and rods are available among the individual parts in the shop.
For any system: ask before you buy whether the parts will still be available in five years and whether they fit what is already standing.
6. How is it assembled?
The shelf itself goes together without tools. Only for mounting on a wall or ceiling do you drill the holes for the plugs supplied. A KUUDU order arrives as a parts list of individual components, exactly as the configurator put it together.
7. What is it made of?
The shelves are FSC-certified oak veneer, oiled, and the rods are powder-coated aluminium in black or white. Ask every system precisely: "oak" can mean solid wood, veneer or a foil printed to look like wood. That changes weight, care and price.
And then?
Once you have the seven answers, one question is left that no table answers: whether you like it. In the configurator you see every section in 3D with its price. Delivery takes 3 to 5 working days, and you can return it within 14 days.
If you would rather send measurements than build it yourself: send us your wall. We plan with you free of charge and get back to you within 2 to 4 working days with a suggestion.
