Local Food Bank/Shelf shelving project (for Eagle Scout project)
Hello,
My son is just starting his Boy Scout Eagle project which is designing, building and installing wood storage shelving for the local food banks’ new building addition and we’d like some design assistance please.
We’ve built 2×3/plywood shelves for our garage but we need to make sure these are safe for loading up with boxes and boxes of heavy cans and jars of food as well as maximize the shelf space and obviously I don’t want them to fail.
My only semi-knowns are:
– It’s a food bank run by volunteers and I assume that the shelves will eventually get loaded to the max with canned goods.
– The shelves will be about 23 ft. long x 10 ft. high x 2 ft. deep.
– I think the boxes they mainly use are 2 ft. x 3 ft. (banana boxes from the grocery store, though some will be cases of canned goods which will be an unknow size).
– We can attach the shelves to the wall and the parts that are near/on the concrete floor need to be pressure treated or at least isolated from the floor.
– There will be 4 shelves/levels starting at just above the floor to the ceiling.
– It’ll need to be cut and built in place with the help of other Boy Scouts and adults so I’d like to keep it simple.
Any ideas on how we design it so that it’ll be strong enough to support the unknown weight but yet maximize the storage space and minimize the cost?
Thank you!
john
Replies
Well, I’m a touch disappointed your post has yet to elicit any response. First, congrats to your son for tackling an Eagle project..
Questions:
1. What thickness plywood do you envision using?
2. How do you plan on attaching the tops and bottoms of the boxes?
Let’s start there.
Thanks Curmudgeon, it sure is a hectic time to try to do an Eagle project with all the covid rules in place!
I think they (food shelf) are asking for 5/8" OSB and 2x3 framing ... because that's what the guy used in his own garage and it worked. We've done wood shelving in my garage too but that doesn't make them proper and/or safe.
I attached a picture from the web that looks like what we have in mind but we don't know what the max span can be between vertical supports (4', 6', 8' etc.) to support the unknown weight of canned goods. They want the horizontal OSB shelving "support frame" to be a 2x3 to maximize the opening/space between shelves.
23 feet long is pretty long. You can build it as in the picture, but the fewer joints, the better. I would use two 12 footers to get to 23, but you won't find 2x3s over 8 feet. I'd use 2x4s, or else you would have to rip 2x6s or 2x8s to get 12 footers or longer.
I would use uprights front and back, AND fasten it to the wall in back, and ends if you can.
Build your long rectangular shelf frames. Add cross pieces every 2 feet down the length to keep the shelves from sagging in the middle. Once all the frames are done, have the scouts hold them up, and screw to the uprights while you level each one.
Rip 4x8 sheets in half for the shelves. Have the home center do it. If you can make the unit 24 long, the only cutting you'll have to do is a bunch of short pieces for the intermediate supports and frame ends.
If it's carrying a ton of weight, put the uprights every 3 feet maybe. Farther apart for light duty.
The picture looks fine to me, except it looks like the shelves are only supported by nails or screws through the posts. This is a food bank and you should plan on the shelves being heavily loaded. I would notch both the front and back posts and fit the shelf rails into the notch. This added mechanical strength will help support heavy loads.
I would also recommend visiting an existing food bank or charity food pantry and look at their arrangement. Talk to their people about what they like and don't like. There might be some standard size boxes or cans that come in you could plan for.
Johnm : above are great insights. I’m no engineer by any stretch, but not knowing the loading, and given the want 2x3 boxes to sit on the shelves, I’d use 3 ft betwixt the verticals. Ditto to what was commented above, use 2x4 stock for the posts n shelf supports. If you can I’d put verticals on the back as well on screw them into the wall studs. I believe 5/8 Osborne will handle each shelf span, but if there’s a concern, consider a 2x4 (or even a 2x4 ripped to 2x 1 1/2 as a cross member under each of the spans set perpendicular to the wall. Hope that makes sense... use some serious screws to frame it up, but to pin the OSB down something in the no. 6 range ought to work imo..
5/8 OSB
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