I need some help with my dorm room furniture

[Cinnamon115]

I've got a single room, but with two sets of furniture. Because of that, I have an extra bookcase I don't know what to do with. I want to put it on top of my extra desk, but I'm not sure how much weight the desk will hold. Does anyone know how much weight a desk will hold? Both the desk and bookcase are wooden, and the bookshelf is 3 feet high with three shelves, if that helps.

 

[Judge]

Not sure about the configuration or load-bearing aspects of your furniture in particular.

Yet I know precisely what you are talking about. About half the people in the dorm I once lived in did just that. Had two desks with built-in bookcases on two ends with the beds in between them. And the top bed rested on top of the bookcase.

Whether or not these particular beds were intended to be used as bunks or not it worked. Never heard of anyone's collapsing from the weight. It certainly did free up the amount of space in each dorm room. Especially for those guys who had full-sized refrigerators in them.

Have such furnishings changed in the last 40 years? I suspect not...lol.

 

[Naturalist]

Bookcases can get quite heavy, something to keep in mind if you are looking to stack. Of what material is the desk? If it is oak or other solid hardwood, or good thick plywood with lots of bracing underneath, it will probably hold the bookshelves. If it is particle-board covered with laminate, or thin (1/2" or less) plywood, I wouldn't try it.

Sometimes the beds are made to be stackable. Also, you can ask your resident assistant if the maintenance workers can put the extra bed and desk into storage. Every college has storage for extras. Or get permission to move the desk at least into a lounge for the year, maybe with a note in the drawer about which room it originated in.

 

[Cinnamon115]

I've now put the bookcase (it and the desk are made of oak) on the desk. The desk is holding up the weight well. I've asked my ra if I can take the extra furniture out, and she told me that I can't because the university doesn't have room to store it. So I'm stuck with the extra furniture.

 

[Ste11aeres]

Why do you have two sets of furniture? Is it your furniture, or was it put there by the university?

 

[Cinnamon115]

It was given to me by the university. Nearly everyone has a roommate. I'm one of the few people who doesn't. I think it might be just me and the RAs that have their own room in my dorm.

 

[Kari Suttle]

So lemme get this straight you got a double room but no roomie? And like my old dorm, you aren't allowed to move their furniture out of the room. Ask your RA if the beds are bunk-able or can be raised up - maybe some of the furniture will fit under a raised up bed? Or bunking them can free up some room. Or you can get some help and move the furniture around for an arrangement that frees up some room.

My freshman year me and my roomie arranged the beds so they were laying up against the long wall of the room, freeing up tons of space, because the beds would only raise up enough to put small dressers and mini fridges under them. But my sophomore year i had another dorm where the beds could be raised up as loft beds and you could literally fit the desks and dresser under them, i saw a lot of people doing that too.

Going back to the original question, your RA or her boss the manager ought to know how much weight the desks can handle having put on them. I would ask. If its this late in the semester and you still have no roomie, chances are you won't get one till the spring semester though.

 

[Cinnamon115]

My beds are stackable and that's currently the way I have them. After reading what everyone has said here, I decided to put my bookcase on top of my desk. I did this a couple of weeks ago. Thanks for the advice everyone!