# Closet Maid shelving for canned food?



## RNprepper (Apr 5, 2014)

I need shelving for my canning jars and canned goods. The new house already has Closet Maid (Home Depot) shelving units in other storage areas, so I'd like to keep the same product for the sake of uniformity. The shelves will be 3 feet wide and 12 inches deep, with brackets at ends and in middle, screwed into the studs. each shelf will need to hold about 100 pounds, less than what the manufacturer states. BUT......... I value your experience more than the manufacturer's stated weight capacity. Has anyone used these units for canned goods or heavy items?


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

Yes, I've used similar shelving. I've found that the fronts of the shelves will sag and sometimes kink in the center under a load of canned goods or water. 

Brace across the fronts of the shelves from underneath with 1x1, screwed from the front and top with self tapping screws. Doesn't take long, and will really strengthen the units.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

We have a 2 free standing Closet Maid shelving units that are holding up multiple 5 gallon buckets of food and various items and they've been very sturdy and reliable. My personal favorite are the heavy duty black Rubbermaid shelving units, the don't sag and are rated for a higher load if memory serves. I suppose we have hundreds of canned and bottled goods on them and have for years without a failure.

Good luck!


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

Are we talking about these?
View attachment 12774

I added extra diagonal braces when I noticed the sagging.


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## Medic33 (Mar 29, 2015)

that's what I built for our pantry para I didn't know they had names
also built a smaller one by the front door for a shoe rack( Asian wife no shoes in house)


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

My mistake. I thought you meant these:


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## MI.oldguy (Apr 18, 2013)

sideKahr said:


> My mistake. I thought you meant these:
> 
> View attachment 12776


We have these in our basement,for our prep buckets,canning gear and for my ammo collection.funny,they don't support the 500 lbs that is advertised on the ones we bought or,the ammo collection weighs more than the sawdust board that came with it could handle,ended up cracking in two,replaced with 3/4 plywood.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

Like wise on the adjustable shelf units, in my "basement"


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

MI.oldguy said:


> We have these in our basement,for our prep buckets,canning gear and for my ammo collection.funny,they don't support the 500 lbs that is advertised on the ones we bought or,the ammo collection weighs more than the sawdust board that came with it could handle,ended up cracking in two,replaced with 3/4 plywood.


I have both the metal and board shelves, and the board-type is stronger. I haven't had to reinforce the boards.


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## Seneca (Nov 16, 2012)

I went with the heavier shelving that is adjustable metal frame with chip board shelves. I believe the brand is gorilla, anyway the basic 4 shelf unit set me back about 50 bucks. I have a couple of them and they work well and are modular so they can be set up a couple of different ways. I like them because they are sturdy and deep and am always on the look out for more. 

I also have a prefab shelving unit made from 1x4 and 1x2's, it can be disassembled if no longer needed. It too is pretty nice. They both (styles) have their place. It seems I never have enough shelving...hehehe


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## RNprepper (Apr 5, 2014)

http://homedepot.ugc.bazaarvoice.com/1999aa/593190/photo.jpg

Here's the kind I'm going with. Shelves will be 6 feet long, 10 inches apart, all the way up the wall. Should hold about 500 quart jars.


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

RNprepper said:


> http://homedepot.ugc.bazaarvoice.com/1999aa/593190/photo.jpg
> 
> Here's the kind I'm going with. Shelves will be 6 feet long, 10 inches apart, all the way up the wall. Should hold about 500 quart jars.


RN I had a lot of that kind of shelving in my old house. I really enjoyed it. You must make sure you use plenty of support! I overloaded (imagine that) a couple of them and they started to bow. My hubby put 1x1 pieces of wood in the front and back to stabilize them. He used screws and fender washers to attach the wood. He later said he should have used nuts, bolts and fender washers. I am not sure of the engineering reasoning behind this but it worked! I recently noticed that they are now selling some that is stiffer and can handle more weight. The only reason I didn't use this type of shelving in the new house is because we get all the free 2 x 4 pieces of wood we want, so that is what we use.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

I ended up going with these from Walmart. They are 48 x 24" and 6 feet tall
View attachment 12796

Because of tall ceilings, I cannibalized one to make two sets taller than normal and have 2 extra shelves per unit. But their empty weight makes them hard to handle and you must load the heavier stuff on the bottom. Since I have them against the wall, the 24 inch deep makes it harder to rotate foods. They also have narrower shelves


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## RNprepper (Apr 5, 2014)

As free standing shelves, I really like these:
Work Choice 5-Tier Commercial Wire Shelving Rack, Black - Walmart.com
They come in 4 shelf and 5 shelf units. Can hold 200 pounds per shelf, or 1,000 pounds total for the 5 shelf unit. I have found them to be very strong, stable, and easy to assemble.


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