Lumber rack in existing studs?

[Joe Shinall]

Ok, so I have....ALOT of lumber. I bought a storage shed full of cherry, white oak, mahogany, and some various other woods. I have a 10x16 shed that I want to put it in. The shed was built by a contractor a few years ago and is studded and top plated so it is well built. The studs are 2x4's on 24" centers and walls are close to 8' tall.

I was wanting to do a lumber rack with holes drilled in 2x4's and conduit placed in at about a 5 or 10 degree angle, using the conduit as shelves. Picture is below. But what I wanted to do is drill the holes for the conduit in new 2x4's and then attach them to the existing studs, within the wall (wall is open, no sheathing). So basically sandwich them next to the existing studs and screw the hell out of them to each other.

My question is, how well would the wall support the weight? When I say I have a lot of wood, I mean, both side walls would be full from bottom to top. But only 12" wide pieces so the weight should be close to the wall, if that makes sense. Downward pressure so to speak.

conduit-lumber-rack-16.jpg

[Andrew Seemann]

I have a similar rack, except that I used black pipe and two 2 x 4s (actually a 2x10 ripped in half, it is what I had on hand) nailed together on the flat rather than a single 2x4 drilled in the narrow side; that kind of scares me. They are lag screwed to the studs and go the full length of the wall and rest on the floor. That way the weight of the rack rests on the floor rather than on the wall, and the wall is only resisting the thrust/twist of the rack. I think engineers call it moment of inertia or something like that. If the bars only go out about 12 inches from the rack and uprights rest on the floor, most of the force should be going down into the floor rather than out.

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[John K Jordan]

The force will certainly be down, but there will be a significant force away from the wall, the amount depending on the the lengths of the conduit and the more the weight is away from the wall. You might want to calculate the maximum weight you might put on the wall and figure the force both down and outwards.

I don't know how your shed is constructed but I have a couple of prebuilt sheds and portable buildings and I would not trust the walls in them to support a lot of weight. Best thing is to consult with a structural engineer - it might be cheaper than you think. Otherwise, I would reinforce things, what to do would depend on the situation. Are the shed walls open on the inside? If so, bolting 4x4s next to each stud and reinforcing at the top with something like a horizontal 2x6. Might work.

I would personally build a free-standing rack welded from steel and fasten to the wall, but I have steel for something like that and welders.

Another thing: normal conduit walls are pretty thin and won't take a lot of weight. (The conduit might even fail before the wall does.) I've done racks like this to support steel stock by welding heavy square steel tubing to angle iron and bolting the angle iron to vertical wood beams, but they were heavier than 2x4. Heavy wall steel pipe would be better than conduit.

BTW, a lot of people like to store lumber vertically (if the ceiling is high enough). That way the weight is on the floor AND you can get to individual boards easier. A rack for that is a lot simpler and doesn't need to be as strong.

JKJ

Ok, so I have....ALOT of lumber. I bought a storage shed full of cherry, white oak, mahogany, and some various other woods. I have a 10x16 shed that I want to put it in. The shed was built by a contractor a few years ago and is studded and top plated so it is well built. The studs are 2x4's on 24" centers and walls are close to 8' tall.

I was wanting to do a lumber rack with holes drilled in 2x4's and conduit placed in at about a 5 or 10 degree angle, using the conduit as shelves. Picture is below. But what I wanted to do is drill the holes for the conduit in new 2x4's and then attach them to the existing studs, within the wall (wall is open, no sheathing). So basically sandwich them next to the existing studs and screw the hell out of them to each other.

My question is, how well would the wall support the weight? When I say I have a lot of wood, I mean, both side walls would be full from bottom to top. But only 12" wide pieces so the weight should be close to the wall, if that makes sense. Downward pressure so to speak.

conduit-lumber-rack-16.jpg

[Joe Shinall]

Andrew, I like your method and think that might be the way I go instead of mine. Your shelves are a lot deeper than mine will be.

John, trust me I completely understand your method, but I am not a metal guy and that's way too much for me to handle with all the metal and welding.

I have also thought about upgrading the wall studding to 12" on center instead of 24 since I can get to everything with it being open on the inside. I think that combined with Andrew's looks to be the route I will go unless any better options come about.

Thanks guys!

[John K Jordan]

I have also thought about upgrading the wall studding to 12" on center instead of 24 since I can get to everything with it being open on the inside.

Remember you are not limited to just 12" centers or to using 2x4 studding - as I mentioned, 4x4 "studs" would be stronger, especially if you are drilling large holes in them for the pipes. Then if you fasten horizontal 2x lumber (or plywood) to all studs a I mentioned, the whole wall will be stronger since the forces can be shared. For strength and other reasons I built my shop with 6x6 beams and 2x6 studs and sheathed them inside with 1/2 ply and outside with both OSB and smartside panels. I don't use a rack like you pictured but I'm sure the walls would handle it.

[Joe Shinall]

Thanks John, meant to mention that I am going to use 4x4's to upgrade the walls. I do like that idea and it's not much extra cost.

The horizontal support you speak of, should I do that at the top, bottom, or several down the wall?

[John K Jordan]

Thanks John, meant to mention that I am going to use 4x4's to upgrade the walls. I do like that idea and it's not much extra cost.

The horizontal support you speak of, should I do that at the top, bottom, or several down the wall?

I tend to over design things, especially things that may be inconvenient if they fail. If not plywood, I'd probably put one at least across the very top. This would be better than simply toe nailing the tops and bottoms of the 4x4s to the plates. since it will distribute forces at the top to the neighboring studs, even if they are a foot away. I use 3" or 3.5" deck screws to fasten 2x lumber to things like that. I'd probably put one at the bottom too and probably some in the middle. These do steal 1.5" of your shelf space but the impact is less if you fasten horizontal 2x4s just underneath some of the pipes.

Doubled or tripled 2x studs are also quite strong - that's how people normally frame for doors and corners. I usually use 3" deck screws for that, one every 12-18" Laminating 2x lumber also has the advantage that any tendency to warp is eliminated, such as is possible with 4x4s that are not dry.

4x4s should be strong I use either lag screws or carriage bolts if sistering to a studs. All the 4x10 beams (double 2x10) in my shop are fastened to the 6x6 posts with 3/8" carriage bolts and washers. I also sometimes use those long, hardened screws often used for landscaping. Very strong.

JKJ

[Jim Becker]

Don't forget the direction of the force of the rack as mentioned earlier. Beefing up the wall itself is important, but you also need to insure that the force of the weight has something to transfer to. That "may" require spanning between the walls with something to take care of that...a regular stick built structure more than likely has what it needs, but sheds are sometimes less stout because there was no intention to support that kind of weight.

[Joe Shinall]

Thanks for the tips John! I buy deck screws 2 or 3 boxes at a time because I build just about everything shop or yard related using them. I'm not a nail person except when building walls. But for structuring them I will definitely be using deck screws or lags.

[Joe Shinall]

Jim, what do you mean by spanning between the walls?

[Jim Becker]

Jim, what do you mean by spanning between the walls?

Tying to the opposite wall to "hold back" the wall that has the weight on it. May not be needed, but then again, it may be needed. How the shed is built dictates that. If it has ceiling joists or trusses, you will likely be fine. If it has just angled rafters from the top plate up to the peak with a few collar ties...you may need more between the walls to support a lot of weight on the walls so that your building doesn't "change shape".

[Joe Shinall]

It has angled rafters from the top plate. Good thing you said that because I also thought about doing that to tie into a middle free standing rack anyways so that just goes to make me feel better on what I was going to do haha.

[Eugene Dixon]

I built a couple of racks like the ones in the OPs picture. I used the black lag screws from the big box and counter sunk them. The 2X4s rest on the bottom plate. I used the conduit supports. Havent been able to break them yet. YMMV.

[Josh Kocher]

My lumber rack is mounted on 2x4s in my basement.

The end of the 2x rest on the floor, the top is lag screwed into the joists above. No problems...