Shelving construction......

[Ihateclevernames]

Ok guys, after seeing the pictures of some of your shelving setups I figured I would start a thread in regards to different types of shelving construction.

I currently have a bare shell and would like to start on the shelving prior to moving anything in there.

I am planning on workbenches in several areas and would like to have overhead shelving above the majority of them. Since I have 12' walls, I would like to put some shelving around 8' high and have 2 levels in order to store the things that are only "occasionally" used.

I would prefer not to have them supported from the floor as those posts generally get in the way more than not. I was thinking about securing them to the wall at the 8' mark and attaching them to the posts with a ledger board and then supporting the front of the shelves from the trusses above.

I have seen things like this done int he past and was wondering if anyone had some insight as to if adding weight will effect the trusses in a negative way? I cant see any more than a few hundred pounds at most on those shelves as I don't want to have to climb in order to get things down that weigh a ton.

For the heavier stuff, i will be building a loft in the back portion of the shop with stairs, and underneath will be my main tool storage and work area, along with a clean room where I can put the kids if they are out in the shop with me.

Other than figuring out how to support the overhead shelves, I think the rest will pretty much come together as I go.

Don't want to get too far ahead as things always change and what have you.

Lessons learned are welcome as I am sure we have all done things in the past that we really love, and things that we really HATE!

Thanks in advance!

 

[akdiesel]

Lots of options in a metal form or wood form. I for one like the use of Unistrut. Search this site and you will see lots of ideas that support from the ceiling as well as supporting from the stud walls. This can be done both with Unistrut or wood.
Don't rule out the idea of floor supports. This can add some additional functions as well as supporting the shelf load. You can use the post to put a vise on some sort of receiver system so it can be moved out of the way if needed or to hide some air lines to feed air drops or electrical lines to feed outlets.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I know you mention staying away from floor supported shelving but a few members have had good luck using pallet racking. The lower shelf is used in place of a workbench and one can be put underneath that. Hang a light under the first actual shelf and the bench has nice lighting.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I have pallet racks, Here is a picture

 

[four.cycle]

maybe this isn't applicable, but:
I had to put up a bunch of shelving in my mother's garage. there was one wall where there was no way to support shelving from underneath, so I cut 18" wide panels of 3/8" plywood, tacked 2 x 2 onto the edges, and suspended them with 1/8" steel cable from the ceiling using eyebolts and cable clamps. not real fancy, but they've held everything she's put on them for over a decade. (not "hundreds of pounds", however.)
I'm not an engineer so I can't answer to what effect, if any, they'd have on the ceiling joists - they're at the outer edge of the structure, so I'm guessing the effect is minimal.

 

[ddawg16]

Clever....what you are doing is exactly what I did.

My garage walls sit on about a 9" high concrete wall around my garage....My cabinets sit on that wall as well.

NOTHING touches the floor. (except for my tool box and other junk)

 

[johnoutdoors]

Think about putting one lower than 8'. I am 6'2" and can reach a shelf at 7' comfortably. my lower "occasional" use shelf is there, letting me grab them without a ladder. I have storage above that for odds and ends that I don't use much, the old hand saw miter box, tiling tools, etc. Things that I may want to grab quickly, but that are worth having out of the way enough to get a ladder.

 

[e34 brian]

I'm in a similar boat, but looking for one row of shelves @ a bit more than 8' off the floor. Mine are going to be super wide shelves, 24", to support a zillion of those plastic tubs you store stuff in you need once a year. I'm planing to DIY wall braces from wood studs. But I reserve the right to change my mind and I'm happy to see what others use. But like the OP, I definitely want to keep the shelves high and w/o floor supports.

I too am suspicious about hanging much weight from ceiling trusses. But I'm no engineer.

 

[nine4gmc]

I know you mention staying away from floor supported shelving but a few members have had good luck using pallet racking. The lower shelf is used in place of a workbench and one can be put underneath that. Hang a light under the first actual shelf and the bench has nice lighting.

I'm using pallet racks with the lowest shelf at 6', my desk and filing cabinets are nestled in below with lots of storage above.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I'm using pallet racks with the lowest shelf at 6', my desk and filing cabinets are nestled in below with lots of storage above.

How about a few pics so the OP can see what we are talking about ?

 

[nine4gmc]

How about a few pics so the OP can see what we are talking about ?

This is an old pic but you can see it in the background here. I have the desk in the middle of two sets of matching file cabinets that I store tools/parts in. Three 12' shelves above with lots of storage space. At my old shop, I had my 12x36 Craftsman Lathe, Horizontal Atlas Mill, a drill press and cabinet for tooling where the desk/cabinets are now. I plan to get another rack soon for above the lathe/mill etc for this shop but it will be three verticals and two 12' long sets of shelves above. It's the cheapest and easiest way for me to add a couple hundred square feet without loosing floor space or adding on to the building.

 

[jnyost]

I use Gorilla Racks/Xtreme Garage racking from Menards. By far the best shelving I have found. I have tons of the stuff and can't get enough.