How to hack the ALGOT system - OPTIMIZE!

Hey! I added a video - how to take out the fuss out of the ALGOT system - intuitive, accurate and flexible - maximize that weight carrying capacity!

[picture shows ALGOT shelving system installed by Studio Kosnik inside a sliding-door closet]


Chapter 1 - Algot Love

It is the most annoying when an article that you want is not on sale at IKEA. Usually you can expect that a product line that you want to purchase - and thus massively improve the functionality of your space, could be PAX or Sektion or even Besta - will go on sale at least once a year. I would say do all your planning first and then purchase when the sale hits. If you need an installer, research one - when the time hits it will be a seamless transition - from the box to the wall. There! Fixed to the wall - means it is safe - done PROPERLY. 

SO with EXCITEMENT I learned that the IKEA threw a wardrobe sale. Nah, I wasn't looking at PAX - although NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY THEM. I was looking for ALGOT**. Algot is this great system that I think is only now getting the recognition that it deserves. 

What is ALGOT? - ALGOT is a wall mounted, modular, very flexible storage system. I imagine the beginnings of ALGOT in a scenario like this: IKEA designers said 'let's design the best wall mounted system that will be very cheap to produce, fairly easy to install, and will offer a great number of storage options.' And they did just that. ALGOT is sooo awesome - it is simple, and intuitive and works well across other IKEA platforms - like boxes and baskets. 

Because it is so utilitarian - it ain't a looker - it is best if it is hidden from view - like a small, maybe cramped, walk-in closet; floor-2-ceiling slidings doors closets are good candidates for it too. Walk-in pantries are a good match with ALGOT. 

A small, cramped walk-in closet transforms dramatically with some new lights and two walls of algot - this one is for 'HER'. 

[picture shows an inside of a small walk-in closet that features ALGOT shelving unit - for 'HER']

First of all notice the integrated hanging rods below the shelves. That allows you to hang your jackets, shirts, etc. - anythings that requires a hanger. Below that are the pull out baskets - think socks, and small stuff that needs organizing and you got bazzillion of. Next to it, on the bottom is a shoe rack. Got more shoes? You can always box them and store them above, right? AND that tall space? Well, that's for your 'long things' - like jackets or dresses.  

Other side is just shelves and pull out large baskets. Of course, keep in mind that those dynamic components are NOT as sturdy as a built PAX drawer, or a custom built drawer /w BLUM slides. Ahh no....   but you know what? I don't really care that much - I can put up with a bit of flimsiness when it comes at such an awesome price - check out the pricing on the combinations, it really is incredible. 

My fave portion of this closet? You know what? Surprisingly..... It's that single vertical rod with all those baskets! I think that combo is like within $60 Canadian, and you got tons of storage off a single stud! Belts, scarves, little things - pair that up with a mirror and it's an 'accessories blast' - just sooo much storage for little things. 

Alright, so OK - ALGOT is awesome. So where is this ALGOT hack? What is this awesome hack that you speak of Karol? 

OK- here is the greatest ALGOT Hack of all times - hahahaha! -  so I was doing a pantry one day - small, windowless room, right next to the kitchen - about 36" wide by about 7 feet in length. I don't know where you shop 4 food, but one of MY favourite stores to shop for food is COSTCO. And as you can imagine, COSTCO sells COSTCO size packages of food. 

- 32 cans of club soda? [i think, check!]
- giant bags of dog-food - I got a dog; small, but it still eats;
- rice bags - 50lbs;
- boxes of cans, etc. 

So think, that part of the solution will have to involve moving, big and heavy bags and boxes on and off ALL THE TIME. That is what I call a dynamic load - and you know what? - drywall ain't the best for holding fasteners that are used to attach the vertical rails of the ALGOT system. Eventually they will fail, and when that happens, I know - no, I am certain - that I will get a call back. Call back along the lines - 'Yea, hi Karol, the shelves you mounted are NOT sturdy....'. And you know what? - I don't want that. SO while it easy to plan to catch SOME of the verticals on the studs [every 16" or 24"] but you can't catch them all.... or can you. 

HERE IS THE SOLUTION:

[picture shows a diagram of ALGOT shelving unit with backing strips installed] 

Grab a sheet of 3/4" Douglas fir ply, good-1-side - that means that the sheet has one nice face - that's gonna be the visible face. Rip it down [cut it lengthwise] into 3" strips. Install those strips horizontally on the wall - the top strip should mark the top of the vertical rod, and the bottom strip should mark the bottom of the vertical rods. Space the other two strips equally between the top and the bottom. Use adhesives on the back of those strips [I ALWAYS us adehsives - PL500 is my favourite] and screw them to the studs [or drill them into concrete if you have to]. Wait one day for the adhesive to set - those strips will be ROCK solid!

NOW proceed to install the ALGOT vertical rods! With the nice looking [that's why 'good-1-side'!] plywood as your back-up for screws you do not have to worry about the holding power of the screws in drywall OR the spacing!  Use #8 woodworking screws and it is solid. 

Just as a side note - when I was done with that pantry, I did some calculations - totally maxed out those IKEA Algot shelves - 3600 lbs!. 3600lbs of food could safley be stored on those shelves! Too bad I don't have pic of that project - lost my data to a computer crash - BECAUSE my computer was not connected to the cloud at that time.... 



** it is with greatest disappointment I learned that ALGOT is not part of 'wardrobes, but HOME ORGANIZATION?

IKEA 2018 Catalogue* - Review - *this is crazy!

first impression

*I star it because I have the Canadian edition. But the personal stories in the catalogue are international - you really do feel like a citizen of the world reading it. SO accessible - I think every household in Toronto gets one in the mail, and I am certain that if you did not get one than you can call up IKEA and request one. In this digital age, print format still rules - I was surprised how many people 'phoned-in their RSVP' for my show/talk last year, even though instructions were clear to reply by e-mail - technology can be a barrier to some. 

Back to the catalogue, though! It's wonderfully square, reading it feels like browsing on a wide screen - a nice comforting feeling, a lot of us are used to that 'widescreen format'. Paper good as usual, glossy, good quality print. 

I will not talk about the tastefully arranged interiors featuring exclusively IKEA products - encompassing all aspects of living. The offering - products and ideas - is so wide, that it boggles the mind how one company can manage to do it so well. Their size makes them incredibly influential - with great power comes great responsibility - and IKEA shows how to do it well. 

*edit: but I will say that a lot of the floors in that catalogue are crazy expensive - I don't know if you can get more expensive than large format herringbone, for example - having done a lot of floors in my life. 

If IKEA is paying any attention to what is happening in the world of design it will not be able to avoid the fact that it's products are hacked. I defined it as a conscious creative act of taking an IKEA product and altering it in a way - can be creative or utilitarian intent. You cannot imagine my glee when I read that there are 2 [TWO!!!] chapters dedicated to IKEA hacking! One - on an individual level - how can one become a hacker themselves! Yeezus! Straight from IKEA's mouth - that's a legal statement I would argue! For sure that chapter was very well reviewed by IKEA legal. 

Another chapter - IKEA + Tom Dixon. Shut up! Tom Dixon?!! Tom Dixon is probably the most well known and respected name in Design - a giant monolith with no natural predators - Wikipedia lists him as a self taught designer - I carefully studied his furniture designs - I am furniture designer myself [I list that as my obsession] - so I would like to say that even though I am nowhere near the greatness of Tom Dixon, I can say that we share similar experience of designing furniture - if not passion for furniture. AND they use the word 'hacking' - this is a first too! Official! Printed copy 4 every1 2 see! That's a legal statement - right there! I guess all the big lawyers at IKEA had a meeting - I wonder if their team is international? like they have someone from the US / N. America?, surely there exists a European Union division - so they had a meeting, and they figured it out that this 'IKEA hacking' isn't going away, it's here to stay and likely get larger, so might as well take a stance on it. And what do they do? What is IKEA's opening salvo in the IKEA Hacking world? - TOM DIXON. That's HUGE! 

So, imagine that in the world IKEA Hackers - usually, average ordinary people - Community* - mind you on the crafty and creative side, but never really big, famous names - maybe with the exception of that Balenciaga, $2145 knock-off of IKEA Frakta bag ! [get out of here with your knock off Balenciaga! and c'mon! $2145 for a bag like that?!! that's undemocratic!! - I yell from the stage]. And suddenly you get the biggest name in design thrown in! Is that even compatible? What will be the result? There is a process - I have to read more in-depth to cast my verdict though. Curiosity though! - the final 'hacked' product will be available both at IKEA and Tom Dixon - I am wondering about the price point, go check out Tom Dixon on-line. 

*First edit: This collaboration, with the participation of Tom Dixon's students from the design classes that he teaches at renowned and prestigious design schools - they floated some interesting ideas - but it appears that anyone will be able to collaborate on the design with IKEA. I think this is the world's first such 'relationship' - the scale - 1 to 1 - an individual with a giant. I mean, relationships like these existed before - design butique firms that specialize in small batch productions, productions that larger companies just would not bother with, there is no money in it. And here we are facing the case of 'the smallest batch production of 1'. It is as if we are back at the arts and crafts era, when jobs were artisanal - people were making in a fashion that a broom-maker could exchange work with a shoe-maker or a baker - very intimate personal relationships. Maybe I am thinking too much about it. 


Anyways, it's late already and I got to wake-up at a decent hour tomorrow. Rest assured I will add to this later.

Ciao!
*I defined IKEA Hacking by its three core pillars - Accessibility, Affordability, Community,