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Do these shelves seem strong enough? Toller 08-01-2007
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Posted by Toller on August 1, 2007, 1:50 pm
I put up 3 18"x96" shelves in my basement.
Each shelf is a frame of 2x4s, covered with 1/4" plywood. They are securely
screwed to the wall in the back.
In the front all I have is a 2x4 support screwed to the each side.
It looks like a pretty long unsupported shelf, but when I lean about 80
pounds on it right in the middle at the front (presumably the worst possible
place) there is no noticable deflection.
They will hold no more than 150 pounds each, fairly evenly distributed.
Are they sturdy enough, or should I add another support in the middle? It
would make putting the big bins (full of my son's scouting gear; 4 sleeping
bags seems excessive, but what do I know) up more difficult, but is
certainly better than having it break.



Posted by dadiOH on August 1, 2007, 3:07 pm
Toller wrote:
> I put up 3 18"x96" shelves in my basement.
> Each shelf is a frame of 2x4s, covered with 1/4" plywood. They are
> securely screwed to the wall in the back.
> In the front all I have is a 2x4 support screwed to the each side.
> It looks like a pretty long unsupported shelf, but when I lean
> about 80 pounds on it right in the middle at the front (presumably
> the worst possible place) there is no noticable deflection.
> They will hold no more than 150 pounds each, fairly evenly
> distributed.
> Are they sturdy enough, or should I add another support in the
> middle? It would make putting the big bins (full of my son's
> scouting gear; 4 sleeping bags seems excessive, but what do I know)
> up more difficult, but is certainly better than having it break.

Will 150# break an eight foot 2x4? Not in my experience.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico




Posted by Don Young on August 1, 2007, 10:19 pm

> Toller wrote:
>> I put up 3 18"x96" shelves in my basement.
>> Each shelf is a frame of 2x4s, covered with 1/4" plywood. They are
>> securely screwed to the wall in the back.
>> In the front all I have is a 2x4 support screwed to the each side.
>> It looks like a pretty long unsupported shelf, but when I lean
>> about 80 pounds on it right in the middle at the front (presumably
>> the worst possible place) there is no noticable deflection.
>> They will hold no more than 150 pounds each, fairly evenly
>> distributed.
>> Are they sturdy enough, or should I add another support in the
>> middle? It would make putting the big bins (full of my son's
>> scouting gear; 4 sleeping bags seems excessive, but what do I know)
>> up more difficult, but is certainly better than having it break.
>
> Will 150# break an eight foot 2x4? Not in my experience.
>
> --
>
> dadiOH
> ____________________________
>
> dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
> ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
> LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
> Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
>
>
I suspect it might sag quite a bit over time. You might consider removeable
supports in the middle.

Don Young

Don Young



Posted by mm on August 3, 2007, 5:27 am

>I put up 3 18"x96" shelves in my basement.
>Each shelf is a frame of 2x4s, covered with 1/4" plywood. They are securely
>screwed to the wall in the back.
>In the front all I have is a 2x4 support screwed to the each side.
>It looks like a pretty long unsupported shelf, but when I lean about 80
>pounds on it right in the middle at the front (presumably the worst possible
>place) there is no noticable deflection.
>They will hold no more than 150 pounds each, fairly evenly distributed.
>Are they sturdy enough, or should I add another support in the middle? It
>would make putting the big bins (full of my son's scouting gear; 4 sleeping
>bags seems excessive, but what do I know) up more difficult, but is
>certainly better than having it break.
>
I don't have a feel for this, but thats not enough to shut me up.

How about: Compromise and put in a middle support for the lowest
shelf. Will that make putting in the bins more difficult? Then put
the heaviest stuff on the lowest shelf.

Posted by DanG on August 3, 2007, 7:33 pm
A 2x4 spanning 8 feet will be just fine for anything that doesn't
bow or buckle 1/4 ply.

If the shelves show signs of bowing, you can always add a center 1
x 2 face nailed to the 2 x4 s some other day.

--
______________________________
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)
dgriff237@7cox.net



>I put up 3 18"x96" shelves in my basement.
> Each shelf is a frame of 2x4s, covered with 1/4" plywood. They
> are securely screwed to the wall in the back.
> In the front all I have is a 2x4 support screwed to the each
> side.
> It looks like a pretty long unsupported shelf, but when I lean
> about 80 pounds on it right in the middle at the front
> (presumably the worst possible place) there is no noticable
> deflection.
> They will hold no more than 150 pounds each, fairly evenly
> distributed.
> Are they sturdy enough, or should I add another support in the
> middle? It would make putting the big bins (full of my son's
> scouting gear; 4 sleeping bags seems excessive, but what do I
> know) up more difficult, but is certainly better than having it
> break.
>



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