Need cheap chrome wire shelves 24 x 48

bobb_2002

19 years ago

Hi,

I am outgrowing the table where I start seeds in the garage, and I would like to buy some inexpensive wire shelf units (chrome plated) to give me more space. There are a few places like Costco, Sam's Club, Lowe's, etc. that sell commercial shelf systems (sometimes on castors) for under $80. They are usually 4 to 6 shelves and anywhere from 60 to 75 inches tall. The problem is that they are almost always 18 in. deep, which I think is an inconvenient size for starting seeds. Seed flats tend to be about 11 x 21 so you can only fit 2 per 18 x 48 in. shelf, unless you put 4 of them sideways and let them hang over the edge. If they hang over then the plants on the ends won't get much light. A 24 x 48 shelf would be much better because there could be 4 flats per shelf with a little room to spare.

Does anyone know where I could get a cheap 24 x 48 system? The cheapest I have seen is from globalindustries.com but they want $168 plus shipping. Is there a better source somewhere?

Bob B.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (14)

jkirk3279
19 years ago
My Father picked up a whole bunch of wire racks at a going-out-of-business sale once upon a time.

I still have some around. You could look for wire racks from old refrigerators... barbecue grills...

Office Supply stores ?

Or when you're bored with that, you can build your own system.

(I happened to have metal shelves that are 17 x 48 so I used them with a timber frame).

You'll need 2x4's or 2x3's, some screws, glue, and hardware cloth, the 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch square grid type.

Sketch out a design for a timber frame, whack it together with 3 inch screws and Gorilla glue, and when it's done use the hardware cloth for the shelves.

I suggest using enough 2x3's to run lengthways for support every 12 inches so the hardware cloth won't droop between the studs.

If you like, I could draft up a plan for you with parts list... for a consideration.
maineman
19 years ago
Bob,

I have a couple of these Tall Chrome Carts that I purchased from Northern Tool. (One last year and another one this year.) I use them as plant stands by hanging fluorescent shoplights from the shelves. The shelves are sturdy and very portable with really big heavy-duty caster wheels.

MM
Related Discussions
Germination Station - Cheap-ish
Q
Comments (11)
I was too! Wellspring reassured me though as long as temps are above 30 (we had a little of a "warm" spell for a few days) they'll be fine. And sure enough, other than your standard shipping trauma, they were perfectly alright - they do a great job effiecently packing their stuff too. The borneo giant and the GWBOP will be going in large planters outside for the summer so the neighbors have something to gawk at. The black coral, puckered up, and another black colo will be going directly in the ground once soil temps get cozy in a side bed with gold lysimachia and lime green sweetpotato vine and some blue-ish hostas underneath to really set off the contrast scales. I just dig them up in the early fall and put them in nursery pots full of orchid bark potting mix or something similair mixed with soil they were planted in and over winter them in a sunny window in large storage tubs (so fancy). I've got two I've aready done this with from last year that are maybe slightly less than happy, but will survive non the less and take off again once they hit the soil. The GWBOP and BG will be taking dominance of my living room this next winter (assuming what I've read of their growth rate is true and our iowa winds don't knock them over too much)... ha On your set up under 3 lights, were you putting your trays end to end (2 per shelf like me) the long way or doing 3-4 trays per shelf? I have some reflective insulation I plan on putting on top of them, i'll post more pictures when I get to it. Getting close to the first group going in!
...See More
Have awesome wire rack inserts for sale cheap...greenhouse or sto
Q
Comments (2)
Hello, the wire shelves are gone. Thanks to all who responded. Danielle
...See More
40 wt. shop light fixtures won't fit nice wire rack at Costco.
Q
Comments (4)
Sunslight, "Checking the actual, inside, dimensions of the shelves, I came up with approximately 46x16." Actually, I have one of those shelves right here beside my computer, in use to hold my computer, scanner, video camera, CD drawers, and a bunch of books. I bought three of those shelf units, and I have one of them in use as a fluorescent plant stand right now. The distance between the posts is actually a bit less than 16 inches. I measure about 15Â¾" between the chrome posts. The distance between the heavy wire structure at the bottom ends of the shelves is about 46Â¾ inches, maybe a hair more. However, that should be not problem, because you hang the fixtures from the wire shelf above the shelf, and the fixtures can extend well beyond the end of the shelf, if need be. I use 1" S-hooks to hook over the wires of the overhead shelves, and the lightweight chains that came with my Home Depot shoplights. The chains let you adjust the height of the lights to keep them reasonably close to your plants for the best results. That leaves the problem of how you fit three fixtures in the relatively narrow space of 15Â¾ inches. There are several possible solutions. For your 50" x 6" fixtures, you hang them in a "staggered" configuration. Hang two of your fixtures snug against the poles, down a few inches lower than the minimum hanging distance, and hang the third fixture higher up and centered so that its light can come down between the other two fixtures. A variation on that would be to hand the outside fixtures at enough of an angle to allow the third fixture to fit between them. That would put your three fixtures in sort of a "hip roof" configuration, fitting between the poles and protruding a bit beyond the end of the shelves. A third possibility would be to hang all three of your fixtures at an angle, in a sort of "venetian blind" configuration. A fourth possibility is to buy some narrower fluorescent shoplights. Home Depot has $8 48-inch T8/T12 shoplights that are only 5 inches wide, and three of them fit neatly between the chrome wire posts. Since Home Depot sells a box of 10 Philips Cool White T8 bulbs for $19.95, they cost only $2 each. They draw only 32 watts each, contain less mercury, and are more efficient than T12 bulbs, so they put out as much or more light. And their lifetime is rated for 20,000 hours, which is a long time. Another advantage of the Home Depot Commercial Electric shoplights is that they can be converted to "overdrive" your tubes for at least 50% more light output per tube. That would give you the light equivalent of 9 tubes per shelf. MM
...See More
Cheap fix needed... (long sad story)
Q
Comments (37)
What great ideas! I particularly love the 'handmade paper with water' idea. Talk about nothing to lose -- And we do have two good craft stores nearby, so I think I may just mosey on down there to see what they have in the way of handmade paper, ModPodg, etc. I'm leery of the spray-on stuff because I have such large expanses of glass that any unevenness at all would really show. That Tatouge system is neat too. Wish I'd known about that when I was doing nurseries! The undersea scene shown on the website would have been perfect for my younger son's room. Those Gallery Glass windows are gorgeous Oceana! Are they hard to do? I'm talking about three panes that are each 23" x 66", so that's a lot of space. And given the contents of these closets, I'd need to obscure the entire glass area. Valinsv - That's a great offer and I'd love to take you up on it - Thanks! But I'm unable to get your e-mail to work from your 'MyPage'. My email is linked here, and maybe that will work?
...See More
sonnypippo
19 years ago
how about plywood? a 2'x4' piece costs ~$5.
gbrendemuehl
19 years ago
Costco used to carry a 24" deep unit ( I bought one), but apparently they don't any more. I also found some deeper units (22" - 24") at Menards for around $60.
rokal
19 years ago
Home Depot in my area has 48" L x 24" W x 72" H steel shelves. I think the price was $77.00. The frame is steel but the shelves are particle board.
gawdly
19 years ago
My local HD has the same racks in black or chrome for $55-60.

Sam
rokal
19 years ago
I noticed that someone on the "Growing From Seed" fourm has a picture of the shelf system sold at Home Depot that I was referring to. Here is a link to the thread...

light stands

Scroll down to the 8th post which was made by Cynthia.
bobb_2002
Original Author
19 years ago
Thanks to everyone for their suggestions, they all have their advantages. It's certainly tempting to make wooden shelves or buy steel shelf units with wooden shelves, but I really like the chrome wire look. The airiness of it makes it look less overpowering in size, and I think the air and light circulation would be better. And if it has wheels I can roll it outside for hardening off.

The link to Northern that MM supplied is really what I'm looking for and it's cheaper than the Global shelves. But when I add $50 for shipping I have to decide if I really want to spend the money. Home Depot has some chrome and black wire shelves but nothing in a 24 x 48 size. I wish I had a Menard's in the area but no luck. There are a few lucky people who got racks from bakers going out of business, but that's something that you just fall into by luck.

I'll try Costco again tomorrow to see if they have any 24" deep units. If not I might settle for the Costco 18 x 48 or else I'll buy the Northern one.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.
Bob B
gawdly
19 years ago
Bobb, I know the shelving at my HD is 24"x48"(I have one in my pantry). WOnder why yours has only the smaller version...

Sam
ceresone
19 years ago
got mine from meek lumber, online
freefour
19 years ago
I wanted the exact same thing but found all chrome shelves too expensive! (plus most were flimsy)

I ended up buying 2 - 30" wide 5 shelf sturdy plastic storage shelving units from wallymart for $20 a piece. These units are designed to connect to each other and make a single shelving unit. Basically, one shelf slides into the next shelf horizontally. With my 48" shoplight in the middle, it leaves me 6" on either side to put stuff (like a fan). When totally assembled the whole unit is VERY sturdy and can be picked up as one unit and moved very easy. Plus, it take 5 minutes to totally take everything down and store during the summer.

Best of all--I only have $40 in it and no shipping costs!

--freefour
bobb_2002
Original Author
19 years ago
Thanks again for all the suggestions.

Sam, my HD only has the 18 inch deep wire shelves although they have ones with solid shelves that are deeper. The people there say they don't have a way to special order them so I can't look it up in a catalog to see if they have something different.

Ceresone, I checked meeks online and couldn't find any wire shelf units that were 24 inches deep, only 18 inches.

Freefour, your idea is appealing but I will have trouble with anything wider than 48 inches although the plastic is certainly cheap and would be rust resistant if I ever put it in my hoophouse.

Bob B
maineman
19 years ago
Bob,

"The link to Northern that MM supplied is really what I'm looking for and it's cheaper than the Global shelves. But when I add $50 for shipping I have to decide if I really want to spend the money."

I guess it's moot if you now have 18-inch shelves, but the shipping is free at Northern for orders of $150 or more. And they have free shipping offers on lesser items from time to time. I have bought repeatedly from Northern and always managed to avoid paying any shipping. I recently ordered (and received) another set of the 24-inch 4-foot shelves at $129.99 and brought the order up to the free shipping level by purchasing another item that I needed. Since it cost considerably less than $50 it was, in effect, "free", because the total order cost less than if I hadn't bought it. Actually, they were paying me to take the item. (grin)

MM
bobb_2002
Original Author
19 years ago
MM,
Thanks for the info about the Northern shipping. I bought the Costco 18 by 48 unit this week but I might be interested in expanding next year (but I have to clean out my garage first).

Bob B

Need cheap chrome wire shelves 24 x 48

Comments (14)

jkirk3279

maineman

Related Discussions

sonnypippo

gbrendemuehl

rokal

gawdly

rokal

bobb_2002
Original Author

gawdly

ceresone

freefour

bobb_2002
Original Author

maineman

bobb_2002
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Need cheap chrome wire shelves 24 x 48

Comments (14)

Related Discussions

bobb_2002Original Author

bobb_2002Original Author

bobb_2002Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

bobb_2002
Original Author

bobb_2002
Original Author

bobb_2002
Original Author