Wood – How to fix this gap between bookcases I made

carpentryfurniturewoodworking

I just built two bookcases to line the wall of a room in my house and apparently didn't build them square enough so, when I put them next to each other, I get this giant gap. (I think the one on the right is pretty square but the one on the left appears to lean to the left at the top.)

Any suggestions on how I can make this look better? The shelves are going to be sanded, spackled, caulked, and painted. One thought I had would be to remove the vertical strips of molding where the two bookcases meet (there is 3/4" square molding on all the edges) and make one custom piece that attaches to both. This piece would be wider at the top and taper at the bottom. Maybe that would look bad–I don't know. It also wouldn't address the gap on the top horizontal surface.

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Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Best Answer

Swap their positions.

Place the bookcases so that they lean into each other instead of away from each other. This will eliminate the gap between the tops.

Bookcase contents are usually quite heavy. Once the cases are filled, you will probably find that you can force the bottoms together and the weight of the contents will distort the shape of the cases so the gap disappears.

If an unsightly gap remains visible then you will need to resort to a decorative molding.