This post originally ran in December of 2008. I’ve taken some time to update the post, add additional thoughts and make the instructions easier to understand. I hope you find it helpful!
I finally built those basement shelves. My step-dad and I spent about 5 hours one morning constructing and setting up the shelves and they look amazing! We also tweaked the design and got the total cost way down from the original plan. Read on for some thoughts about purchasing shelves and how I made my own.
Purchasing Basement Shelves
If you’re not interested in constructing your own basement shelves, there are plenty of good options to choose. Here are some important features to consider before making your purchase.
Materials Building your own shelves probably means wood construction but purchased shelves can be a variety of materials that provide inherent benefits. Industrial-grade plastic or stainless steel shelving won’t degrade with moisture or rust and will resist mold.
Adjustable An important feature to consider is how you can customize your shelves. Many options let you set the individual shelf height ensuring that large bins and objects will always fit.
Max Weight Purchased shelves will indicate a max weight per shelf. If you shop around, you’ll see some shelves that can accommodate over 100 lbs!
Suggested Shelf
After doing some digging around, I found some shelves that fit the bill. These plastic shelves are made for heavy-duty use and hold up to 200 lbs per shelf. You can even interlock multiple shelving units. They are available from Amazon for $69.87 with free shipping. Here’s the link:
- Heavy-duty basement shelves
How to Construct Cheap Storage Shelves
The final design was much simpler than before. Basically, we built 4 ladder supports with OSB shelves in between. The total dimensions are 12′ wide x 7′ tall x 2′ deep. Here are the required materials and costs. Everything was purchased from Lowes.
Materials and Cost to Build Shelves
- 2″x3″x8′ Pine, dimensional lumber @ 1.38 x 15ea. = $20.70
- 5/8″ OSB, 4×8 sheets @ 5.94 x 3ea. = $17.82
- 3″ screws to secure ladder supports to joists @ 5.94 x 1 box = $5.94
- 1 1/4″ screws to secure OSB shelves in place @ 5.94 x 1 box = $5.94
- Nails to build ladder frames
- 4 spare bricks
The total cost to build these shelves was about $42 dollars (after Lowes coupon).
Building the Shelves
We started by building the ladder supports (second picture). Take two, parallel 2×3’s and space them two feet apart. Nail the “ladder rungs” in between them, spaced 18″ on center (OC). Notice in the picture that we’ve place ladder rungs on both sides. That is because we will have shelves on both sides of this support (compared to an end-support that will have shelves on only one side). Use a speed-square to ensure that everything is square.
We made two of these inside supports with ladder rungs on both sides and two more end-supports with ladder rungs only on one side. You can make more or less depending on the total width of your shelves. For instance, my shelves will be 12′ wide and I have 4 supports. I wouldn’t suggest stretching that out further.
Next, we anchored these supports to the floor joists above. We used 3″ screws to attach more 2×3 to the joists, and then our supports. Below, they sit on brick to keep them off the floor. Take care to keep everything level.
Lastly, we cut the OSB into 2′x4′ sections. The OSB is the shelf and spans the distance between adjacent ladder supports. It sits on top of the ladder rungs and is secured with 1 1/4″ screws.
OSB Concerns
Alan brought up some valid points that I wanted to address. Specifically, he was concerned about strength and moisture problems with OSB. He’s right that the OSB shelves will sag especially under heavy weight. It’s important to know that following these plan result in a medium-duty shelf but adding a lengthwise 2×3 support really improves what they can hold (and would be really easy).
OSB will expand with moisture and if this is a problem for your basement, plywood is a better alternative. Keep in mind that water / moisture should be avoided regardless. Alan recommends 5/8” CDX (preferably 5 ply)- a fine choice. With that said, my basement is fairly dry and the OSB is still in great shape.
Tips for Building Shelves
- Purchase good, straight boards.
- Keep the support structures square.
- Put block underneath to keep them off the floor. This is especially helpful if your basement floods
Final Thoughts
These shelves were easy to make. It’s a lot of the same cuts over and over. There are no difficult calculations and they go together quick. They can even be deconstructed (and moved) in a short amount of time. Best of all, these shelves are easy on the wallet. It would be tough to find better shelves for the price.
What do you think? What tips can you add?
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