Lumber Storage, large amounts and concerned with weight

[Jesse Busenitz]

I'm working on my storage and although they are pricey and take up a bit of room I'm going with cantilever racks. I have a bunch of my own wood I've had milled and also starting to buying several hundred bd ft of wood at a shot as my business increases.

[Scott Brandstetter]

I have a concern (sounds like its unfounded) that storing wood vertically will cause warping. It would sure save a lot of space but the other issue is that my ceilings are barely over 8 ft.

For those that store vertically, do you have any supports for the boards to rest against?

[Keith Winter]

Any issue with stacking and storing large amounts of 1/4" and 1/2" plywood flat on a wood pallet if you have the floor space? Will it warp doing this?

[Mike Heidrick]

Keith just one 48X48 pallet for full 4X8 sheets? I would make custom pallets that are full size 4X8 to fully support the ply (or at least 4X6) but allow the times to go in the middle of the 8' length.

[Todd Burch]

I go vertical with mine. Same racks you find at Home Depot. Even the same color. Got my 3 sets of racks for $250 a set. Also have one set of 14' wide racks of flat storage. $250 for that too.

[Keith Winter]

Keith just one 48X48 pallet for full 4X8 sheets? I would make custom pallets that are full size 4X8 to fully support the ply (or at least 4X6) but allow the times to go in the middle of the 8' length.

I'm storing precut plywood already cut roughly into thirds so each square is roughly 48"x32" and on 48"x40" pallets stacked about 4 foot high. I have the floor space so it makes the wood on pallets easy to move around with a pallet jack. Is this a bad way to store them, will the be prone to warp storing them this way?

[Mike Heidrick]

I'm storing precut plywood already cut roughly into thirds so each square is roughly 48"x32" and on 48"x40" pallets stacked about 4 foot high. I have the floor space so it makes the wood on pallets easy to move around with a pallet jack. Is this a bad way to store them, will the be prone to warp storing them this way?

I am doing the exact same size 40 sheets to a pallet (1000lbs) and double stacking the pallets using a loader on my tractor. No issues so far (had them for 1 year) and I have about 1200 sheets.

[george newbury]

Well I don't know how I missed it but.

As I'm still just setting up shop I "invested" in pallet racking off CL.

Costs were about $120 per 9'x42" section (except for 10 sections I got for $100 total). Plus every shelf will hold up to about 3 ton.

Presently I'm storing most of the wood horizontal, except 4x8 sheet goods.

Attachment 278254Attachment 278255

I'm about 6' tall so part of my "modus operandi" is to put up the first shelf at a suitable bench working level, put down a 4x8x3/4 sheet of plywood and cover that with a 3/4" sheet of MDF, I then have a "rugged" worksurface. Then I put the next shelf up at about 6' high and the third at 8'. I store my wood at 6' high and the top shelf is saved for empty light things, like packing materials, foam, etc.

One of the beauties of pallet racking is it's ease of assembly/disassembly. Like Lincoln logs for big boys.

All told I've about 150' linear feet of shelving units each 8' to 9' long, about 44" wide, about half of that is 12' high units w/ 3 levels. Of that only about a dozen shelves are dedicated to wood storage.

SWMBO is wary of me even mentioning pallet racking but is extremely pleased with the storage it provides for her stuff and the adult children's stuff.

[Tom Clark FL]

I've had this simple wood rack for around 30 years. The second shelf has separate legs so it does not add any weight to the first rack. Bottom sectiom was built from 3/4 plywood scraps. Top section is all 2x4 with a 1/2 ply shelf. It is free standing so adds no weight to the walls.

[Jon Endres]

This is a couple of not-great photos of my wood rack in my shed. It's 12' long, ceiling height is 9' and the cross pieces are 5' long, which are 10' lengths of 1-1/2" EMT cut in half. I used a hole saw to cut the holes in 2x6 uprights and the EMT just slid right in. Nothing holding it in place except the weight of the lumber. Right now it's got somewhere around 2300 board feet of mixed species on it, but packed full to overflowing (assuming I could do such a thing), it could theoretically hold around 6500-7000 board feet. It is on a concrete slab and it is also attached to the ceiling joists. I am going to build a smaller version for my new garage, to hold lumber for short-term storage; this one will be relegated to long-term storage.

IMG_2497.jpg IMG_2499.jpg

Edit: I should add that I got the idea from one of the Fine Woodworking special issues, I think it was called "201 Tips for Woodworkers" or something like that. The guy who submitted the idea used gas pipe and wrapped it in duct tape to be snug in the holes. I maintain that the 1-1/2" EMT is going to hold all the weight you can put on it. I am just over 300 lb. and was unable to bend the pipe either by pulling upwards, or hanging off of it, without mechanical assistance.

[fRED mCnEILL]

I use a lot of sheet goods and store them vertically as I have 10 ft ceilings. However on the floor I built a small angled platform with UHM plastic that the sheets stand on. I can pull out a sheet with one hand.The plastic is like a roller, the sheets slide really easy.

[Fred Renich]

This is my first post.
I am currently working on turning part of a pole barn into a woodshop. My problem is that I don't have enough space to store a lot of lumber inside. I do have an area under an covered awning outside the barn. Will stacking the wood out there pick up too much moisture over time? I live in the Eugene, OR area and we get a fair amount of rain in the winter.
Thanks, Fred

[Alex Stace]

I followed jays ideas as well.

Each piece of conduit will easily support my body weight.

[Alan Schaffter]

Vertical and "soldier style" (edges to the wall).