Cheap Shelving - Metal Shelving - Shelving units - Slingsby

You have some goods and you need a shelf to put them on... but which is best?

There are many things to consider... How heavy are the goods?
The capacity of the shelf determines how much weight it can hold, but remember, this is for a Uniformly Distributed Load (UDL) and individual heavy objects may need a higher capacity shelf.

How large are the goods?

Most shelving is available in various widths and depths. Wide span shelving gives the greatest width shelf, but a handy tip is to put 2 shelving units back to back if you require a deeper shelf.

Where is the shelving to be used?

Steel shelving with chipboard decks are fine for indoor use in dry environments, but galvanised shelving protects against rust, making it suitable for outdoor use, or indoor use in damp places or to store liquids. Plastic shelving inserts allow removal for washing or steam cleaning, and are suitable for kitchen or laboratory use. Is appearance important? For office or retail use chrome wire shelving, or flat fronted shelving without `keyholes¿ in the uprights is a more attractive proposition.

Will you need to change the spacing of the shelves on a regular basis?

Changing the position of shelves within the unit is a laborious task using bolted shelving, and usually the unit will have to be emptied before the change takes place. Boltless shelving taps into the uprights and shelf levels can be altered quickly and easily. How long a run of shelving do you need? Some types of shelving are available as starter and add on bays, where an upright can have shelf levels attached at both sides, saving money on the number of uprights required.

Do you have a specialist need?

Units are available with containment shelves to control spills for oil cans or paint. Tyre racking for garages. Cantilever racking for long pipes or beams. Security cage shelving to give lockable storage of parts or parcels. Static dissipative racking for electronics Do you need to store pallet loads? Pallet racking has strong cross beams to support full pallet loads of merchandise, allowing a bay capacity of up to 9500kg. To make the racking more flexible in use, wire mesh or timber decks are available allowing non palletised loads to be stored on the same beams.

Is access required from both sides?

Some shelving needs cross bracing or cladding to give it torsional rigidity. If you need to get at items from both sides of an island unit, then choose shelving without cross bracing.

How high is your workspace?

A normal room height will allow 2m high units, but placing a 2m high unit in a space which is just over 2m high will render the top shelf unusable. 1.6m is generally considered to be the maximum height where items can be reached from the top shelf without some form of step. For higher warehousing spaces wide span or pallet racking, with its cross braced frames will allow greater heights.