Steel Shelving Planning Steps
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If you have ever thought about installing steel shelving in your garage or storage shed, then you might be wondering how to go about planning for the shopping and installation. Here is a 10 step guide to help you with your next organization project.
1 - Pick a shelving unit style - open or closed. Depending on what look you are going for, and the items you have to store, deciding between open shelves where you can see and access everything right away, or choosing closed storage which presents a much cleaner storage space, is a combination of personal preference and practicality.
2 - Pick a shelf style - solid or wire. Decide on the style of shelf based on the objects that you will be storing. Lots of small or unevenly shaped objects would probably benefit from solid shelves, whereas boxes and more boxes would work well on wire shelves.
3 - Decide the width you will allocate to shelving. Measure the side to side area that you have available for your shelving units. If you have an area that is longer than it is wide, you may choose to install double wide shelving units with one end towards the wall, as opposed to single shelving with their backs against the wall.
4 - Figure out the space required by the objects to be stored. Determine this by measuring the height width and depth of the objects, and sum the total of the objects to be stored. Keep maximum dimensions in mind for when figuring out shelf dimensions.
5 - Determine the weight capacity required. Add up the weights for the number of items that you plan to store on each shelf. Shelving units come with a weight capacity for the entire unit, which is generally calculated under the assumption that the weight is evenly distributed between all shelves.
6 - Calculate the width of the individual steel shelving units. Typical shelving unit widths are 36", 42" and 48". If you are storing a number of similar items, such as storage boxes, choose a shelving width that is slightly larger than a multiple of the objects width in order to maximize storage efficiency.
7 - Calculate the depth of shelf required. Typical steel shelf depths are 12", 18" and 24". Take into account the orientation of the objects to be stored - it may make sense to go with a narrower unit with deeper shelves if you can rotate your objects to store them lengthwise.
8 - Determine the max capacity for an individual shelf. As an extension to step 5, make sure that your metal shelves will be able to accommodate the weight requirement of your heaviest predicted shelf.
9 - Calculate the height required for your shelving. Vertical space will be determined and limited by a number of factors. You will be limited by the ceiling height in the storage space you are outfitting. Other than that, calculate the height between shelves that your storage items require, and multiply that by the number of shelves required. You may want to round this off to the closest standard height that steel shelving is available in - 75", 87" (most common), and 99".
10 - Figure out the total weight and volume required to store your items. This is the final step where you take all the previous measurements and total up how much shelving you require. Make sure to accommodate any oversize items and remember to keep in mind the best orientation to store items most efficiently in the space you have available. Now you should be well prepared to purchase the right number and size of steel shelving units to transform your space into an efficient storage area.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
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