What is the ideal spacing for the support arms on a lumber rack?

[ryan.s]

I recently picked up the triton woodrack and the instructions suggest that the two support uprights be spaced between 4 - 6 feet apart. For some reason this didn't sit too well with me so I ended up picking up another pair of uprights. The space I'm planning to install it is 6 feet wide since most boards I will store will be a max of 6 feet. I figure with 4 uprights evenly spaced at 16 inches should provide better support and minimize any sagging. The only draw back I see is that I would need to spend a little more time during the install to make sure all the support arms are perfectly level and bear the same amount of weight. This wouldn't be an issue if only two are used. Would 4 uprights be overkill and not worth the effort? 2 just doesn't seem like it would be enough. Would love to hear your opinions. Thanks!

[LJR]

Support members for a lumber rack should be about two feet apart with a maximum of three feet between supports. That's taken from the instructions of a "triton" competitor. Seems reasonable to me. That also sounds to me like they would leave about a foot of the board hanging past the last support, thus you could support your six foot long boards with three vertical supports.

[radhak]

I built my lumber rack with regular 'storage brackets' from HD because I calculated that I'd rather have more number of arms and closer, and all that added up in $ with Triton.

As it stands, I have five sets of arms spanning 6 feet across the wall, so the space between them is around 18 inches. So allowing a foot of overhang at either ends, I have 8 ft long 2x4 too on that rack. Frankly, I am glad about the lesser gap - i don't have to worry about the sag.

If you have three sets, you could put them at a distance of 20 or so inches, but 6 ft long boards might not be easy. I'd say 4 sets are better in the long run, and this is one thing you don't want to re-do.

As for alignment while installing : I took the easy way out : Installed the outermost brackets first, then put the straightest 2x4 I had on it's edge on those brackets, and used it as a reference point to put up the rest of the brackets in between.

Of course, if you have a laser-level, might make it easier.

[MikeMcCoy]

I went to mostly vertical wood storage but I still have the Triton racks on one wall with about 300BF spaced 24 inches apart. I was more concerned about sag than I was with their ability to hold the lumber.

[Uncle Cracker]

I have 6 supports spaced 2 feet apart. Works well for me...

[LarryG]

I wouldn't exceed 24" OC, but the spacing will also be governed by the wall to which you're attaching the racks. If the wall is masonry, the racks can go anywhere. But if the wall is gypsum board on wood studs at 16" OC, then you'll need to put the rack standards at 16" OC so they'll be screwed into the studs.

[LCHIEN]

I'm thinking that my next rack will have four supports, for 6-8 ft lumber and long goods. Thus, the outer ones need to be a touch under 6 ft allowing ~1 inch overhang for 6' goods and 1 ft overhang for 8' goods.
Then that will make the three spans just under 24 inches.

[SARGE..g-47]

I have a 8' wide rack I often store 14' foot stock on which means 3' over-hang. There is no problem IMO. But.. I have my vertical supports spaced about 16" apart. I would not exceed 24".

I will somtime have 300-400 linear feet on the rack is the reason I space 16". With that volume of oak, etc., you are talking major weight. If I stored under 200 linear, I might have opted for 24" spacing.

I think your common sense over-rode the manufacturers claim of what is sufficient. The manufacturer doesn't have to retrieve the heavy 10/4 piece that is always on the bottom of a shelf stack. That requires a major battle in some cases which can create some torque on those supports "THEY" said were sufficient. SUFFICIENT means what THEY have to do as required to meet liability issues in case YOU have a little accident and London Bridge comes tumbling down.

[Black wallnut]

I think it is reasonable to have 24" as a maximum span between centers, however you do need to keep in mind the wall structure and also you want your shortest board to go over at least two supports. So if you have 2' spacing and a three foot board it is better to have 6" overhang rather than only centered above one support. JMHO

[MilDoc]

Interesting. I have the Triton supports, spaced 48" apart, and have some lumber on them stored for 3 years. No sag noticed. Boards are as straight as when I bought them. I just used two boards and had no problems. The lumber was dry when put up. Maybe that makes a difference?

[cabinetman]

If you are mounting to a block wall, the verticals can be placed just about anywhere to accommodate your spacing. If it is a stud wall you might be limited by the 16" O/C. In that case you could run horizontal 2x4's to set up your vertical spacing.
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