Shelving Materials That Will Hold Weight

Shelf Boards

• Pine planks make for a classic look on shelves up to 12 inches deep. For shelves more than 18 inches deep, rip them from a sheet of either particleboard or plywood. Use melamine, which combines the strength of particleboard with a white veneer coating, for shelves in a more public area of your home. Thickness of the shelves should reach at least one-half inch, and ¾-inch thick for heavier loads.

Support Materials

• To reinforce your shelves for heavier loads, use iron rebar or threaded steel rod. Both can be cut to length with either a hacksaw or angle-grinder, but a threaded steel rod gives you the option of bolting your shelving support to the framework. Use rods a minimum of one-quarter inch in diameter, spacing them a maximum of 6 inches apart.

Framework

• Pine 2-by-4-inch studs work best as a framing solution for basement or garage shelving, making sturdy vertical and horizontal shelf supports. If you need more clearance than a 2-by-4 piece will allow, 1-by-2-inch crosspieces also support the weight of items in household storage. When using 1-by-2-inch strapping, pre-drill screw holes to prevent the wood from splitting.

Braces

• When building or buying support braces for your shelves, the triangle ranks as the strongest support shape. What kind of shelving support braces you purchase depends on the temperature of the location, especially if the shelves will be exposed to severe cold temperatures. Also, cheaper plastic becomes brittle over time; lessening the load your shelves can carry. Metal angle irons prove more durable, but expansion and contraction with temperature changes will warp your shelves if you do not leave expansion gaps.

Hardware

• How much weight your shelves can hold also depends on the hardware you use to put them together. Preferable to nails, screws will hold the wood together longer and won't slip as the wood changes shape with age. Screws also won't pop out of your shelves, risking damage to items on the shelf or injury to people standing nearby. Using metal U-brackets when framing will make the job easier and the shelves more secure.