Question re: Lumber Rack Spacing

[Sam Chambers]

I've seen a number of photos here and elsewhere of lumber storage racks. I need to get my boards off the floor, and was just thinking about it when the question popped into my head...

How far apart should the vertical standards be? Assuming the rack will store 8' to 12' boards, how many supports do I need to keep my boards adequately supported?

Thanks,

[Todd Burch]

Sam, it depends on the thickness of the boards.

However, for a general purpose rack for 4/4 material, I would space them anywhere from 24" to 32".

Todd

[John Miliunas]

Sam, not sure if there's a hard-fast "rule" for it, but FWIW, my outdoor (semi-sheltered) racks are supported at 24" OC, while the shelf brackets in the shop where I store my exotics and WIP (Work In Progress) boards are 16" OC. Thus far, both configurations have worked well and I have a pretty fair amount stored in my outdoor rack.

[Steve Cox]

I use 16" for mine simply because that's where the studs are in the shop. However, I have found a couple of advantages for closer spacing like this. First, it does increase the capacity of the rack and that's always a good thing. Second, I don't always have 8' or longer boards and closer spacing allows me to store shorter pieces (3' to 5') with adequate support and makes the whole rack more flexible (for storage purposes).

[lou sansone]

I use 16" spacing for a couple of reasons. first it is handy, second I pile a lot on them and did now want to overload them with being on 24" centers

lou

[Peter Mc Mahon]

Place them where your studs are, and if this is too far apart just lay some sacraficial material down to bridge the spans.

[Sam Chambers]

Thanks for all the responses, guys. What got me thinking about this was the Triton lumber storage racks. Rockler (and others) carry them, and they only have 2 vertical standards. I have no doubt that they'd hold the weight, but they recommend spacing them 4 to 6 feet apart. There's so much open space that I'd think the boards would sag in the middle. So my next thought is if 4-6 feet is too much, how much is enough?

My rack will be attached to the studs in my basement shop, which are on 16" centers. For an 8' long rack, that's 6 vertical standards. I guess that will work, though it'll be more expensive.