Sauder Heritage Hill Library - Classic Cherry finish

I have a set of Sauder Heritage Hill 5 Shelve Bookcases and needed more. Checked on line and found the exact match, ordered 3. Web site is easy to navigate. Received confirmation of order and advised delivery. We actually received delivery faster than stated. Wonderful service.

I LOVE the color of this bookcase. The bookcases at the big chain store generally cost around $100, so this is about what I was expecting. It's a nicer quality with thicker shelves than the big chain store bookshelves and I really wanted the cherry color, which, on this bookcase, is gorgeous. It was a bit difficult to assemble only because I asked for help from a male friend who insisted that we skip through the directions. We ended up getting a screw caught between two beams because he didn't want to sort out the screws like I ALWAYS do before assembling any furniture. Note: just breathe, relax and take your time and follow the directions, and if you ask for help from someone, give them a sedative, like a big dose of kava or something because it's going to take several hours. Once it's finished, though, it's really lovely. I filled it with books and so far, it's been fine. It is particle board with a finish, so if you scratch it, it's going to show. But, it comes with a brown color-coordinated marker so you can cover up minor scratches or flaws in the finish. I was a little surprised that the top of the bookcase is unfinished, but maybe a lot of bookcases are not nowadays. I wouldn't put it in a location where the top of it shows - like next to a staircase. The backboard is cardboard folded in half with the same cherry finish, which for me really wasn't an issue because I always fill my bookcases completely with books so the back doesn't really show. There are weight restrictions for each shelf, so make sure you pay attention to those - some shelves hold more weight than others. I plan to assemble the second one by myself now that I understand what's involved. I have to give five stars because customer service was so amazing. I didn't open the second bookcase for a long time, but despite the time that had passed, they still replaced a damaged beam very quickly, and even reshipped the beam a second time because I had given the wrong address. That was really amazing! Never had such a good experience with customer service before.

Très bel article et assemblage facile.

I specifically bought this bookshelf because I already have the Heritage Hill desk and lateral file cabinet, so natually this is the one I wanted to add to my office. LOOKS: This shelving unit has the same look as the other pieces to the Heritage Hill collection, so it fits in perfectly to the look of my office. STURDINESS: I'm not a big fan of the side panels because are not one continuous piece. It definitely is not very sturdy while you are trying to assemble it (more on that later) but once it is fully assembled and secured to the wall it seems very sturdy. I do not anticipate any issues. STABILITY: A wall anchoring bracket was included with the product, so when it's properly attached to a wall there will be no concerns over stability. They did not include a drywall anchor with the bracket, so unless you plan to screw this directly into a stud, you definitely need to have a drywall anchor on hand to use. ASSEMBLY: This is where it gets a little frustrating. I am no stranger to assembling pieces of furniture from kits like this. I understand why they have chosen to use the hidden screws and L-brackets everywhere, but it does add time on to the assembly. It probably took me about 90 minutes to assemble this product. The trim pieces that go on to the front of the shelves (around the sides, top, bottom, and fixed shelf) make the shelf look like a higher quality product, and the L-brackets you use to attach them have oval-shaped holes so that you can adjust the positioning of each piece of trim to make everything line up right. You can adjust the positioning so that you don't see any of the unfinished wood or have ugly gaps. Or so I thought! This trick worked fine for everything except the 3 adjustable shelves which also have a trim piece that go on the front, but for the life of me I could not get everything to line up properly. I read this in other reviews so I was prepared to do some troubleshooting and adjusting, but I could not get it to look right, so I just left these pieces off. You really don't need them. It makes the shelves easier to more around and it still looks great. The directions offer some "hints" on what to fix. There was a 1/4" gap between the edge of the shelf trim and the edge of the trim going down the side of the shelf. So the directions tell you to adjust the side pieces of trim to close the gap. Well the problem with doing that is after you adjust the side trim then the other edge of it no longer lines up properly with the edges of the trim piece of the fixed shelf. Another tip: You don't have to leave the thing laying on its back the whole time you are trying to screw in the hidden screws or the L-brackets. You can carefully rotate it onto each of its sides to complete the installation of all the trim pieces, and it actually makes it easier to make sure they are lined up properly to each other the first time. I was just careful doing this because it's not very sturdy while it's being constructed. They also include a touch-up marker in the package as well that really is the same color as the wood finish. I had a couple pieces that had minor scratches on them, probably from shipping. I had great luck with the marker by just coloring in all the scratches and then rubbing all around it with my finger. One larger spot needed this done about 3 times, but when I had finished, I really couldn't tell it was ever scratched, especially at the "normal viewing distance" I would normally see it from.

PROS: - Looks pretty nice once fully assembled - Higher load bearing weight than most other book shelves/cases CONS: - It's all made of particle board, which chips easily - Chipping occurs when you screw in screws during assembly - Parts machined inconsistently in factory, unacceptable number of screw holes did not line up on the one I got - Molding and backing also did not sit flush on the one I got - Exposed particle board facing the ceiling - Backing of unit is just cardboard - Wobbly when assembled, even worse on carpet - No spare parts included REVIEW: My girlfriend and I both went to college for engineering. We put together model kits and do 3D printing as hobbies. We read the negative reviews on this product, and we thought, "These other people just didn't put their units together correctly. We can do much better." We were wrong. It's not the reviewer, it's the product itself. This product comes with 60 screws. The instruction manual says that all you need is a #2 hand screwdriver to assemble it. If screwing in 60 screws by hand sounds like too much of a hassle for you, then stop here. You'll also be using 59 finishing nails and a hammer to affix the backing cardboard to the unit. This admittedly reinforces structural integrity so the unit doesn't collapse in on itself, but it doesn't address the unsturdiness of the unit. Putting 10 LBS of force on the side is enough to tip it over. So they ask that you use an electric drill to affix an anchor strap into your wall. Lots of work, huh? We used only the prerequisite tools outlined in the instruction manual and followed all instructions perfectly. It took us 4 hours total. Assembly would've been much faster if the screw holes lined up properly. We counted 11 screw holes that were completely misaligned. We had to re-measure and then re-drill these 11 screw holes. At least 30 of the other 49 screw holes were not fully drilled. Most of these screw holes are for angle brackets that have to sit flush with edges; I had to pre-thread all of these before attaching angle brackets. We put it together correctly, but the fixed sectional shelf is inlaid by ~1/16". The horizontal molding is also offset by ~1/8" from the vertical molding. The cardboard backing comes in 2 pieces and is supposed to interlock perfectly. We measured the bottom and affixed it as level as possible. When we interlocked the top piece, the top stuck out on the very top right corner by ~1/16". We had to adjust this, which meant that more particle board is exposed on the back. And this is a minor complaint, but the instruction manual tries to be endearing by having flavor text blurbs for different steps. The last step says "time to go take a nap" which just adds insult to injury in my opinion. My black 5 shelf Basic Editions Walmart bookshelf cost less than half of this and was easier to assemble. It's wider and less prone to tipping on the same flooring, but it doesn't have as high of a weight limit per shelf. We wanted this to actually store BOOKS on. You get what you pay for with this. I'd rather have spent more for a real wood bookcase.