jim gossage
04-22-2012, 9:20 PM
230347This lumber rack is fairly easy to build, costs about $150, and will hold over 2500 pounds of wood in 18 individual cells or shelves. The real beauty of this rack is that it conveniently stores wood of varying lengths (13-72) and you can easily tell the length of a given piece by seeing how far it sticks out from the unit since all pieces are pushed all the way in. No more having to sort through a pile of wood to find the right piece. The only caveat is that I am not a structural engineer so I cant promise you that your ceiling wont fall down! However, I did some crude load bearing tests on the ceiling joists (2x8s) to make sure they wouldnt sag under the weight of all the lumber and did not detect any problems. Also, after the unit was built, I measured the distance from the floor to the bottom of one of the central vertical supports before adding any wood. After the unit was up and loaded for more than 4 months, there was less than 1/16 sag. I was fairly sure that the vertical 2x4 supports, brackets, and pipes would hold the final load, but I worried a lot about whether the unit would be solid or whether it would easily rack when stressed. In the end, I was shocked at how solid this unit was. The pieces were interconnected well enough that it just didnt budge when pushed on from any direction. You can do whatever you want with the dimensions of the individual shelves, but I made the lengths progressively shorter from the top shelf to the bottom shelf. With a little testing, I determined that a piece of wood was fairly stable on a shelf as long as length of the wood was 3 less than twice the length of the shelf. The bottom shelf is 13 and can hold pieces of wood 13-23 long; the second shelf is 23 long and holds pieces 23-38; the top shelf is 38 long and holds pieces 38-73. All shelves are 14-1/2 wide based on joist spacing of 16. The top shelf is 25 tall to accommodate 24 wide sheet goods and the middle and bottom shelf are 15 and 16 tall. It is a good idea to have the bottom of the vertical support for the middle shelf of a length that you can walk under so you dont whack your head. Here are a few of the details of construction.
This unit design is based on ceiling joists and rear wall studs lining up, and ceiling joists that travel parallel to the length of the individual storage cubicles.
Supplies: good quality 2x4s, 1x4 strips, 1/4 plywood, 1/8 Masonite, 1x6x3/16 heavy duty L brackets (home depot), 1/2 galvanized pipe, four 1/2 pipe flanges, four 1/2pipe caps, 3x1/4 lag bolts, 1-1/2x1/4 lag bolts, 1 brad nailer.
The integrity of this unit is contingent on how well the vertical supports are anchored to the ceiling joists. So spend some time to accurately find the centers of the joists and mark them out. Once I located the joists with a stud finder, I used a 1/16 drill to confirm the outer boundaries of the joists so that I could pinpoint the centers.
Cut your rear, middle, and front vertical supports: 6 each at 58-1/2, 42-1/2, and 27-1/2. Since 2x4s have some variation in dimensions, I marked the front and top of each one so that I would have consistent reference points for all measurements (fig 2). Sand a little curve on the lower front edge of the supports so that you dont bump your head against a sharp edge once the unit is assembled.
Drill 1 holes for the pipes at 25-1/2 and 56-1/2 from the top of the rear support, 40-1/2 from the top of the middle support, and 25-1/2 from the top of the front support. Center all holes 1-3/4 from the front of the supports. If you want maximum support for your shelves, drill a total of six holes in each support (though the total of four holes has worked well for me).
Drill pilot holes in the top of the vertical supports for the brackets and then mount each bracket with two 1-1/2x1/4 lag bolts. I found it helpful to butt the top of the support against a vertical board near the end of my vice, and then lock the support in the vice, and then butt the bracket against the board while mounting it to the support (fig 3). This way, the brackets are flush with the tops of the supports. If you use the same rack dimensions as I did, you will need to cut about 1 off of the ceiling arms of the front bracket for the rear support and the rear bracket for the middle support so that the brackets dont overlap when the supports are mounted to the ceiling (Fig 4). Very easy with a metal cutting bandsaw, probably very tedious with a hacksaw!
Carefully place marks on the ceiling and the top of the supports so that you can accurately mount the supports to the ceiling with two 3x1/4 lag bolts per support (Fig 4). If the supports are not mounted within 1/8 of where they should be, your pipe holes might not line up (thus the reason for the oversized pipe holes).
Run the pipes through the holes and almost to the wall, and then mark the location for three 1x4 side wall supports (fig 5). Attach the side wall supports to wall studs with lag bolts. Attach the pipe flanges to the side wall supports with 1 screws. Thread the pipes into the flanges. The pipes will need to be precut and threaded to exactly the correct length to account for the wall support, pipe flange, and pipe cap (99-7/16 for my unit).
Attach three 1x2 or 1x4 rear wall supports to wall studs with lag bolts (Fig 5). The tops of these supports should be level with the tops of the pipes for each shelf. You will probably need to drill the holes at a 5-7 degree angle in order to clear the rear vertical support with your drill.
Now its time to cut and attach the shelf bottoms (Fig 6). 1/8 Masonite is too flimsy here. I used 1/4 plywood and it worked ok, but 3/8 would be even better. Start with the top shelf on the side against the wall, and work your way across the top, then move to the middle shelf, etc. Measure the exact width and cut a piece that just fits inside the vertical supports, and extends from the wall to the front of the pipe. Tack the back of each shelf to the rear support with three 1 brads. You will need to notch out the shelf bottoms where they touch the pipe flanges.
Once you have all the bottom shelves tacked in on a row, place a pipe cap on the free end of the pipe and tighten it. This snugs the whole system up and gives it rigidity.
Next, cut sides for each shelf out of 1/8 Masonite (Fig 6). Since the sides do not add much structural support, they are optional. I like them because they help keep the contents of that shelf inside that shelf. I made them about 14 tall and tacked them to the vertical supports with three 1 brads. Since the lower shelf only has one vertical support, I set a 1x2 on top of the rear support and against the back wall, and then tacked the back of each side to the 1x2 with brads. You will need to notch out the shelf sides where the touch the pipe flanges.
Fig 7 shows the finished unit, eagerly awaiting the wood the previously cluttered every part of my shop.
Now, load er up (Fig 1)!
230341230342230343230344
230345230346
This unit design is based on ceiling joists and rear wall studs lining up, and ceiling joists that travel parallel to the length of the individual storage cubicles.
Supplies: good quality 2x4s, 1x4 strips, 1/4 plywood, 1/8 Masonite, 1x6x3/16 heavy duty L brackets (home depot), 1/2 galvanized pipe, four 1/2 pipe flanges, four 1/2pipe caps, 3x1/4 lag bolts, 1-1/2x1/4 lag bolts, 1 brad nailer.
The integrity of this unit is contingent on how well the vertical supports are anchored to the ceiling joists. So spend some time to accurately find the centers of the joists and mark them out. Once I located the joists with a stud finder, I used a 1/16 drill to confirm the outer boundaries of the joists so that I could pinpoint the centers.
Cut your rear, middle, and front vertical supports: 6 each at 58-1/2, 42-1/2, and 27-1/2. Since 2x4s have some variation in dimensions, I marked the front and top of each one so that I would have consistent reference points for all measurements (fig 2). Sand a little curve on the lower front edge of the supports so that you dont bump your head against a sharp edge once the unit is assembled.
Drill 1 holes for the pipes at 25-1/2 and 56-1/2 from the top of the rear support, 40-1/2 from the top of the middle support, and 25-1/2 from the top of the front support. Center all holes 1-3/4 from the front of the supports. If you want maximum support for your shelves, drill a total of six holes in each support (though the total of four holes has worked well for me).
Drill pilot holes in the top of the vertical supports for the brackets and then mount each bracket with two 1-1/2x1/4 lag bolts. I found it helpful to butt the top of the support against a vertical board near the end of my vice, and then lock the support in the vice, and then butt the bracket against the board while mounting it to the support (fig 3). This way, the brackets are flush with the tops of the supports. If you use the same rack dimensions as I did, you will need to cut about 1 off of the ceiling arms of the front bracket for the rear support and the rear bracket for the middle support so that the brackets dont overlap when the supports are mounted to the ceiling (Fig 4). Very easy with a metal cutting bandsaw, probably very tedious with a hacksaw!
Carefully place marks on the ceiling and the top of the supports so that you can accurately mount the supports to the ceiling with two 3x1/4 lag bolts per support (Fig 4). If the supports are not mounted within 1/8 of where they should be, your pipe holes might not line up (thus the reason for the oversized pipe holes).
Run the pipes through the holes and almost to the wall, and then mark the location for three 1x4 side wall supports (fig 5). Attach the side wall supports to wall studs with lag bolts. Attach the pipe flanges to the side wall supports with 1 screws. Thread the pipes into the flanges. The pipes will need to be precut and threaded to exactly the correct length to account for the wall support, pipe flange, and pipe cap (99-7/16 for my unit).
Attach three 1x2 or 1x4 rear wall supports to wall studs with lag bolts (Fig 5). The tops of these supports should be level with the tops of the pipes for each shelf. You will probably need to drill the holes at a 5-7 degree angle in order to clear the rear vertical support with your drill.
Now its time to cut and attach the shelf bottoms (Fig 6). 1/8 Masonite is too flimsy here. I used 1/4 plywood and it worked ok, but 3/8 would be even better. Start with the top shelf on the side against the wall, and work your way across the top, then move to the middle shelf, etc. Measure the exact width and cut a piece that just fits inside the vertical supports, and extends from the wall to the front of the pipe. Tack the back of each shelf to the rear support with three 1 brads. You will need to notch out the shelf bottoms where they touch the pipe flanges.
Once you have all the bottom shelves tacked in on a row, place a pipe cap on the free end of the pipe and tighten it. This snugs the whole system up and gives it rigidity.
Next, cut sides for each shelf out of 1/8 Masonite (Fig 6). Since the sides do not add much structural support, they are optional. I like them because they help keep the contents of that shelf inside that shelf. I made them about 14 tall and tacked them to the vertical supports with three 1 brads. Since the lower shelf only has one vertical support, I set a 1x2 on top of the rear support and against the back wall, and then tacked the back of each side to the 1x2 with brads. You will need to notch out the shelf sides where the touch the pipe flanges.
Fig 7 shows the finished unit, eagerly awaiting the wood the previously cluttered every part of my shop.
Now, load er up (Fig 1)!
230341230342230343230344
230345230346