Heavy-Duty Utility Shelves
Store-bought shelving units are either hard to assemble and flimsy, or awfully expensive. Here’s a better solution. These shelves are strong and easy to build and cost about $70 in materials. We sized this sturdy shelf unit to hold standard records storage boxes ($4 each). If you want deeper storage, build the shelves 24 inches deep and buy 24-inch-deep boxes. If you prefer to use plastic storage bins, measure the size of the containers and modify the shelf and upright spacing to fit.
Refer to the dimensions shown to mark the location of the horizontal 2×2 on the back of four 2x4s. Also mark the position of the 2×4 uprights on the 2x2s. Then simply line up the marks and screw the 2x2s to the 2x4s with pairs of 2-1/2-inch wood screws. Be sure to keep the 2x2s and 2x4s at right angles. Rip a 4 x 8-foot sheet of 1/2-inch MDF, plywood or OSB into 16-inch-wide strips and screw it to the 2x2s to connect the two frames and form the shelving unit.
If you choose plastic bins rather than cardboard boxes, label the plastic with a wet-erase marker. When it’s time to relabel the
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