# Plywood storage / shelving unit combo



## Krooser

Hello everyone, new member here. (Just posted my intro.)

Like a lot of people, I have limited space in my garage to work with. One of my biggest needs right now is a way to store my extra plywood, so I was playing around with designs for a simple vertical rack bolted to the wall that I could slide plywood into from one end.

Problem is, due to built-ins like circuit breakers, water heater, etc... There's really only one wall I have that will accomodate the rack.

I also wanted to build some permanent shelving onto that wall though, so I'm faced with a decision. I thought, "why not both?" so I built a combo unit in sketchup and I'm fairly happy with the design.

It's going to take a good deal of time and materials to build however, so I thought I should run it by some far more experienced people and see if y'all see any obvious design issues or alternate solutions. I've attached a few screenshots with dimensions and would appreciate any feedback or suggestions. Thanks!


----------



## TimPa

lumber storage is probably one of the biggest shop problems i have. i had wall racks welded up to accommodate the longer materials, and mount them higher then machine tool height so as not to take up floor (wall adjacent) space. i place my sheet goods on edge behind my jointer.


----------



## phinds

Haven't relly looked at the joinery details, but the basic plan seems like a good one except that I'd leave slightly more access via the front for shorter planks so that only the longest ones have to be put in from the side. Maybe one central support instead of the two you have, and I'd add a support at the read of the top so it's good for more long planks.


----------



## georgewoodie

I am lucky to have several woodworker friends, one of whom gave me the idea for storing lumber.

A bracket made of scrap 1/4 inch plywood [or any other material] glued to a piece of 2 x 2. The 2 x 2 is screwed to a wall stud to form the shelf bracket. All made of scrap material.

The first two pictures are the bracket face and side views.

The third picture shows three brackets on one piece of 2 x 2 and the last picture shows lumber stored on the shelving.

These brackets were cut so that the outer tip is about 2º slope up. I did this so that possible vibration by passing heavy vehicles like a garbage truck, would not vibrate the stock off of the shelf and down onto my wife's car. Good idea eh? My wife likes the idea of my doing woodwork and I want to keep it that way.

I used a long level to locate and install the last bracket set and the ones between.

With the shelf system open on one long edge, it is easy to install and remove the material. Also, I can pencil wood identification such as type and size.

For plywood storage, I simply made a narrow shelf that sits about 4 inches off the floor and I lean the plywood to the wall on that shelf. Off the floor to keep it dry.

Woodie


----------



## RLHERRON

Design looks good. The only concern (which was a problem I had) was the sheets bowing. It could happen if the sheets were not positioned straight up and kept in place.. I solved my problem by leaning them to the wall with support down the 8 ft lenghth.

May or may not be and issue to consider.
Like the racks built above.

RLH :thumbsup:


----------



## Krooser

Hey, thanks for the input everyone. Based on some other setups that I've seen, I think I'm going to just try and keep this simple. I like the idea of leaning the plywood against the wall with some supports, and that way I'm not limiting myself if I need to store more sheet goods in the future than I anticipate. Right now I can't see a need to store more than 5 or 6 sheets of 3/4"

So, I'll build the shelves seperately and keep the plywood storage as simple as possible.


----------

