Plastic Fixtures to Connect Two Facing Storage Shelves?
In the web hosting business, when you connect two facing vertical racks of equipment, you connect these racks to each other by using a metal "ladder rack" (aka "cable runway"). These look like a tall ladder with rungs, and they are secured by metal hooks on either side. The photo below gives some rough idea of how these are used. These racks do much more than just give you a way to run cables. They add structural stability to the installation, by tying each piece of infrastructure together and making it hard for any one vertical rack to fall over.
I have a side yard used for storage. Since most of what I need to store are things like rocks, garden soil materials, etc, I do not need an enclosure for most of it. I could get by with plastic shelves like shown here. I have a permanent paver installation on either side of the side yard, so I have a firm level base on which I can set the shelves. But I need to secure the shelves to some solid structure otherwise they could fall over with a large load on them.
I am not keen on attaching a temporary storage shelf to the sidewall of the home, so I had the idea to use something analogous to a ladder rack. The two storage shelves would face each other, on either side of the walking path on the side yard. I would need some kind of spacer to attach to the top of each shelf and give the rack extra height. Then I would need a plastic equivalent of the metal ladder rack that I could tie into the spacers and then stretch across the walkway. The rack would be above the walkway, spanning from the sidewall of the home to the fence. Does anyone make structural plastic equipment that could be used for the spacer and ladder rack in this case?
Each shelf on the storage rack is rated to 150 pounds, and each rack is rated to 750 pounds. If I could find a way to just tie these storage shelves into each other while facing each other, the plastic "ladder rack" would not be load bearing and would ensure that the storage shelf on one side is supported on its backside by the fence and on the other side by the sidewall of the home.
I guess another alternative would be to create a kind of pergola in the side yard and attach the storage shelves to the side beams of the pergola. That's an extra expense I would rather avoid if there is a cheap and structurally sound solution to this issue.
Comments (11)
PROMark Bischak, Architect
3 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked Mark Bischak, Architectwestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years agoRelated Discussions
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Comments (20)I had a similar dilemma, and ended up choosing two of the "Narrow Combo Niches" from the Noble Company. They're not installed yet, so I don't have any pictures. I wanted my storage to be as unobtrusive as possible, but had previously been unimpressed with too-small niches that had potential moisture issues. When I found these, I was very excited since they make a watertight installation very straightforward and the two levels neatly accomodate soap, razors, etc. The niches were 56.75 each online, so it is less than some options but not as cheap as the Bed Bath & Beyond caddy. I'm also going to re-bottle my shampoos, facewash, etc. into plain, narrow plastic bottles. You can fit 2-3 of these bottles in the space of one normal shampoo bottle, and they look much nicer. For my brush and pouf, I plan use a natural sponge and a cute wooden brush that can hang on little suction cup hooks. Hopefully, this will look spa-like and not junky. I'll have to replace the natural sponges more often but I think they're nicer on my skin and more attractive than the plastic ones. Here is a link that might be useful: Noble Niches...See MoreNeed kitchen storage for the OTHER side of the room (pics)
Comments (14)I'd put an old wooden table to the left of the fridge with a big basket under it for kitchen laundry or recycling. I'd also put a back on the kitchen side of the open shelves on the wall to the left of the Hoosier, and use it to be seen from the hall side, which would allow you to use all of the space on the kitchen side. Then I'd buy or build two fairly shallow cabinets on either side of the Hoosier...one as a food pantry, and the other for your kitchen dishes & silverware, and all those cooking and serving things you use less than once a week. You've got plenty of room for generous ones side to side, and if you keep them shallow, you can get at everything in them. I would take them almost all the way up, with closed doors. You can keep your clean kitchen linens there, and all the cookbooks you have too many of and don't use all the time...and you can keep one shelf empty. (My grandmother used to call that the "parson's crypt." You're sitting at your kitchen table with a nice bourbon and water and the newspaper and a lot of other mess around, and suddenly you see the parson coming up the walk.) My daughter calls it the mother-in-law shelf. Same idea....See MoreDining Room to Play room - non-kidsy temporary toy storage
Comments (54)We did go with Ikea, the expedit. I LOVE them! I keep bugging DH to go back and get a couple more for our basement. I think they are great storage. I did think about using some of my DR furniture for storage and keeping it, but I just didn't think it would work for me. There are doors they make for the Expedits and some people paint them. There are amazing pics all over pinterest. I saved some to my playroom board and have it linked below, but there are so many good ideas. Here is a link that might be useful: Playroom pics...See Morebakery storage in wall cabinet
Comments (9)Errant-- You made me laugh. You sound EXACTLY like me when I discover a good toy too late. I can't remember what dimensions you chose in your pantry. But the Sistema bakery series is modular. You can stack them to nearly any height. Might still work. And if you have 8" deep shelves, they will fit perfectly front to back with no waste space. Below is a link to the best helper shelf that I found. I love their look, their expandability, and their sturdiness. I also like the fact that, unlike wood shelves, these are transparent and you can see what is below them. I use a LOT of these in my pantry on the fixed shelves. It is so much more efficient to stack only like items so one never has to unstack bowls and saucers to get to a plate, for instance. Also had them in my upper cabs until I had enough sense to just make some extra shelves myself. Here is a link that might be useful: Best helper shelf I have found. This post was edited by Bellsmom on Sun, Aug 3, 14 at 16:27...See Morewestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years agolast modified: 3 years ago
Mrs. S
3 years ago
westes Zone 9b California SF BayOriginal Author