Doors for rack shelves

abstamaria · Oct 17, 2011

I am planning to install open-rack industrial shelves for long-term storage, but want to put doors to keep things from spilling out (I live in earthquake country) and also to hide the clutter. A great idea, visually appealing to me, is seen in the background of some photos here.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=316202&page=5

Any idea how those doors were installed? They seem to be corrugated sheet to me. Would you have other suggestions?

Andy

Stuart in MN · Oct 17, 2011

It appears you have to be a member of that site to see photos. Are you talking about open rack wire shelves, like Metro? http://www.metro.com/commercial/shelving/wire/ They're a popular brand in the US.

Poking around their website I found some enclosed units, like this: http://www.metro.com/healthcare/clinical-products/carts/case/case-carts--closed-stainless-steel You may be able to find other models that would be more suitable.

abstamaria · Oct 17, 2011

Thanks, Stuart. I was thinking of the large industrial racks that can be bolted to the walls. I will see if I can lift a photo from the link I posted.

Andy

Voi · Oct 18, 2011

I'd be interested in seeing those pictures as well.

I've seen pictures of something like this before, I think here on this forum. Pretty sure wood face frames were attached and the sliding glass track was mounted to the frames. Face frames were probably overkill but it cleans up the look, especially if using plywood doors, and it allows the lower track to be mounted lower than the shelves so boxes can be slid over the top of it without contact.

Sliding doors only allow less than half the space to be accessed at once but you don't have to worry about swinging door clearance and the doors are pretty easy to lift out and re-install, assuming you use a deep enough top track.

You can buy the plastic track from Outwater or you can buy aluminum extrusions at steel shops. Or some people mill their own. If you mill your own make sure to make the top track deep enough so you can lift the panels up and out of the track.

Carl B · Oct 18, 2011

A couple sections of UniStrut along with a few Trollies would allow you to hang just about any material for sliding doors..
http://www.unistrut.us/index.php?WP=S00_Channel
and
http://www.unistrut.us/index.php?WP=show&GRP=Trolley

FWIW,
Carl B.

abstamaria · Oct 20, 2011

Here are the doors.

Here are two photos from the link I posted. I don't have permission to post these so have cropped the owner's photo out. He is a very creative fellow.

I like the look, which is industrial and very modern, especially if they cover a long wall. They are galvanized steel sheets.

I plan to order the industrial racks and bulid similar doors. However, my racks will be much taller, so I will have to alter the design.

Andy

csp · Oct 20, 2011

That's standard sliding door hardware like used on a barn.

Do a google search on "Sliding barn door hardware" to find suppliers of the track and rollers. Maybe you can find someone who can get it to the Phillipines.

jdub63 · Oct 20, 2011

Here's my racks with sliding doors. Just glue nylon door tracks and 1/4 inch panels for the doors.

icecactus · Oct 20, 2011

Wow, i really like the idea of that corrugated roofing as the doors.

I have been thinking about adding doors to my shelves to keep dust out, but i didnt liek the idea of plywood since i have to paint it, plus it likes to warp. This is perfect. Dimensionally stable, cheap and NO PAINT!

dittle fart around · Oct 20, 2011

Liking the corrugated roofing sliders. They probably have some framing behind the roofing for stability. Here's a link to the pallet shelving your talking about.

abstamaria · Oct 21, 2011

Thanks for the suggestions. I will see what the equivalent of barn-door hardware is here, or use another sliding door system.

The owner of the garage twrote me to say they are galvanized sheets that he framed up with 1x4 wood stringers which were also his edges. He used aluminum flat metal bar as a rail with standoffs and bolted wheels onto the panels. As they slide over each other like a closet, one door has wheels on the front and the other on the back. Everything from Home Depot.

Jdub63, your installation is very neat (and you have a very shiny floor!), and I might just go that way. At the moment, I am thinking of large doors covering the whole pallet system, so I can still have the option of moving the shelves around.

Andy

bluesman2a · Oct 21, 2011

Looks like barn-door hardware. You should be able to get kits/track at just about any box store/tractor supply.

abstamaria · Oct 26, 2011

Another Section

Yes, they seem to be barn-door slides. That method is not common here in the tropics, so I will have to adapt another mechanism. The owner has sent me photos and been very helpful, so I will try to do something similar. The concept is so practical and looks great as well (see photo below, drawn from the forum I referred to earlier). He has a great garage.

Andy

tjpavlov · May 22, 2012

I know that this is an old thread, but did you ever get around to putting up these doors? I love the idea and would be very interested to hear how it turned out. Also, pictures would be most appreciated!

SWK78 · May 9, 2013

I am interested in & looking for a sliding door solution for 2 sections of 8' x 8' x 30" deep pallet racks.

Has anyone come across a commercial solution, or a vendor in the US that can do something like this?

I would like to incorporate wood & metal, for an industrial theme if possible.

Thanks,
Steve

Storage Guy · May 9, 2013

If you have existing industrial type closed shelving, most of the manufacturers offer optional doors. They are often available with closed front front or a clear poly glass front. These units are mounted in to a frame that bolts to the upright posts. This only works if you can identify the brand as attaching different manufacturers is more of a hassle than they are worth.

Here is a link to a manufacturer that offer a high quality system that can be modified either with doors, extra shelves, locks or 400# drawers. Remember, not everything belongs exclusively on a shelf or in a drawer, flexibility is the goal.

Available in a multitude of colors at no extra charge.

Manufacturer: http://www.rousseaumetal.com/docs/060-075_Spider_Shelving_System.pdf

Where to buy: Preferred Equipment Resources 800-711-8698

Good Luck

sxk122 · May 9, 2013

I built something similar using my existing metal shelving, sliding door harware, and a bit of elbow grease.....

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=177054

Olliecampbell · May 9, 2013

Well thanks abstamaria. I've just spent most of the evening reading through a Dino rebuild thread now

freedomgli · Jul 2, 2013

Thanks for the ideas. I'm looking to make some sliding doors to de-clutter my wall of Whalen Black Steel Storage Racks. My problem is mounting the doors in such a way that I still have unhindered access to items on the top shelf as I'm using all the wall space from the floor to the ceiling. I might have to sacrifice and go with a ceiling mounted track as opposed to something mounted on the top shelf.

I was originally looking at the white plastic corrugated roofing as it's cheap but I might have to go for that post modern industrial look and choose the galvanized corrugated roofing tin instead.

I PLAY FOR KEEPS · Jul 2, 2013

freedomgli said:
Thanks for the ideas. I'm looking to make some sliding doors to de-clutter my wall of Whalen Black Steel Storage Racks. My problem is mounting the doors in such a way that I still have unhindered access to items on the top shelf as I'm using all the wall space from the floor to the ceiling. I might have to sacrifice and go with a ceiling mounted track as opposed to something mounted on the top shelf.

I was originally looking at the white plastic corrugated roofing as it's cheap but I might have to go for that post modern industrial look and choose the galvanized corrugated roofing tin instead.

I have a whalen rack and the same issue with top rack clutter. I'd love to see what you end up doing :thumbup:

alpinewhite · Oct 27, 2014

sxk122 said:
I built something similar using my existing metal shelving, sliding door harware, and a bit of elbow grease.....

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=177054

Are these regular closet doors similar to the ones available at Home Depot?

sxk122 · Oct 27, 2014

You could possibly make doors work. These are scratch buil with a wood frame and luan skin. For the size I needed the premade doors werent quite right, and this was cheaper.

bad_idea · Oct 27, 2014

Couple of happy looking dogs there. They look absolutely thrilled to have their picture taken.

Justanoldguy · Oct 27, 2014

Re: Here are the doors.

abstamaria said:
I don't have permission to post these

Interesting.
Been on the net for 20 years and have
posted thousands of pics from other sites.
Am I a criminal.. :eyecrazy:

Doors for rack shelves

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