Greenhouse shelving... 12" closet shelving?

[Firefyter-emt]

Hey all, it's that time of the year when the greenhouse can sneak up into the 50's on sunny days and getting out there is nice. My glass and aluminum greenouse is 8.5' x 18.5 and I came across some of that wire shelving at Lowes this weekend. What is nice is that it's 12" deep and 20 feet long! These would be for seed flats and potted up plants in the spring time My glass panes are 20"-24" wide, and the frame work is well suited for bolting with 1/4-20 hardware.

The question is, while this seems perfect to run the length of the greenhouse on one 12" deep shelving.... and is rather inexpensive, will it hold up to the weight? I could also run some angle iron and/or those wall tracks they make for the shelving to shorten the gap. So, does anyone have words of wisdom for me? I REALLY do not want to come out to a collapsed wire shelf system with a good 150 plants on the floor!

[Doug9345]

If you are planning on supporting the shelf from just the ends then no it will sag too much. If you are talking about fastening it to the window frame work between every window then maybe. I think I would want a support in the front in two spots. I'm enough of a clutz that I can see me tripping over my feet, putting my hand on a twenty food shelf and launching all my plants on the floor with their marking tags separated from them. If I couldn't do it by my self I'm sure my dog could help me.

[Firefyter-emt]

Oh, it would have a support on every frame section between the glass... but it's about a two foot span, and I wonder if it would be strong enough to hold the weight.

[KarenO]

the problem with fixed shelving or benches is you may want to move it to make room for tall plants (tomatoes)! in large pots on the floor later on. My preference in my small home greenhouse is freestanding modular style shelving that i can adjust and configure to my needs (or remove altogether) as the season progresses. my two cents worth from Canada
Karen

[Doug9345]

I've seen it and I've may have picked a piece or two up to inventory it, but it didn't leave an impression on me one way or the other. If it's as storg as the wire on a bakers rack I'd have no problem laying quite a pile of tools and car parts on a shelf. So without finding real spec I'm going to say yes it is strong enough.

Take into consideration what Karen suggests.

Here's what I would do. I'd go into Lowes, go out into the garden section and get a big bag of potting soil. Wheel it over to the paint section and get two plastic pails. Take all this over to wire shelving section, put the two pails upside down on the floor 2 foot apart. There is usually a short piece of the shelving laying around. Put it on the pails and place the potting soil on that. You should be able to tell if it feels flimsy or not.

[Firefyter-emt]

The way my greenhouse is set, the "shelf wall" is in the shade most all summer. But it's great in the spring, just when it really gets hot from the sun, it starts getting shade. That side is perfect for seedlings, and the other wall is where the big pots go. Although, I have debated a raised bed along that whole wall, but grow some tomatoes there and want to rotate soil.

My floor is very crooked due to poorly laid out cement block pavers. I want to fix someday, but it's another reason to not go with a floor standing bench set up. One day I want to pull them all out and put in a nice bed of sand and lay the block pavers back down nice and level.

I will look into it a bit more, but I am thinking that it might just work if braced enough.

[Doug9345]

It seems to be a Rubbermaid product you could call or email them.

[casino]

April 25th greenhouse.JPGHi Firefyter: Congrats on your greenhouse. Its a structure that is always a work in progress. My greenhouse is almost identical to your yours in size, mine 8 1/2 x 17 feet.

You need something heavy duty and you need something disposable because you are still working on your greenhouse floor. There is a lot of weight in plants, pots, soil, water and all the fussing and moving stuff in and out while the plants are growing.

Without knowing what your greenhouse looks like, my first thought is, drive over to the industrial park and pick up some used wood palets. put them on the floor and where the floor is uneven slide a chunk of tile under the crate to level it off. Buy some 4x8 sheets of stryfoam insulation lay it on top of the crates (pop in a few roofing nails) and you have a nice solid foundation and a smooth solid surface to put your plants on.

If you dont want to put the wood crates on the floor and you want something more elevated, then get some milk crates, stretch some 2x12's and put the wood crates on top of the 2x12'3 and then the sheet of stryfoam on top for your solid work surface.

I have added some pictures to show how quickly things can pile up. You need a solid foundation to support your plants and strong enough to withstand the owner and guests from bumping into things.

[JamesL]

Originally Posted by Firefyter-emt

Hey all, it's that time of the year when the greenhouse can sneak up into the 50's on sunny days and getting out there is nice. My glass and aluminum greenouse is 8.5' x 18.5 and I came across some of that wire shelving at Lowes this weekend. What is nice is that it's 12" deep and 20 feet long! These would be for seed flats and potted up plants in the spring time My glass panes are 20"-24" wide, and the frame work is well suited for bolting with 1/4-20 hardware.

The question is, while this seems perfect to run the length of the greenhouse on one 12" deep shelving.... and is rather inexpensive, will it hold up to the weight? I could also run some angle iron and/or those wall tracks they make for the shelving to shorten the gap. So, does anyone have words of wisdom for me? I REALLY do not want to come out to a collapsed wire shelf system with a good 150 plants on the floor!

I have used this stuff. But not in a greenhouse. Go with the wall tracks and the brackets, presuming you can mount them to your aluminum framing. It will be strong enough as long as your greenhouse wall is strong enough. It will also be adjustable, and you could also add some shorter shelves with the track and brackets.
It would all be predicated on the strength of the framing wall.

[tam91]

I used them in a greenhouse - not that long of a span, but they were ok. Presuming you mean the ones with a bit of a lip on the front?

I actually supported mine in the middle back edge with a chain hung from the ceiling and S hooks - couldn't be easier.

If you keep that lip on the front, and fasten them in the back, they are pretty strong. If you were thinking of turning them around and using the lip to fasten them though, I think that would weaken them significantly - I wouldn't recommend that.

[Firefyter-emt]

I would keep the lip up front as it is made to. I might give it a shot with the adjustable tracks mounted to the wall and add some helper chains to the front up to the ceiling. The greenhouse is well built, so that will help. I will post up some photos when I am at my office, I am mobile right now and don't have any photos of the greenhouse itself.

I also need to build a nice potting bench on the back wall.

[Cole_Robbie]

It would be fine for a while. I would be concerned, though, about how UV rays affected the plastic that coats the wire. It is not supposed to be outside, so I doubt it has UV inhibitors. I'm guessing that over time, the plastic would crack and fall off, exposing bare metal, which would rust. But that would probably take a long time to happen.

Galvanized wire mesh nailed to a treated lumber frame is the most economical shelf. The cheaper mesh has bigger square openings, and it's still strong, but it gets annoying when your pots and trays won't slide across it or sit evenly. A more firm wire with thicker metal and smaller openings will solve that problem, but it does cost more.

[Firefyter-emt]

True, but at less than $40 for 20 feet, and the ease to switch it out... I would be fine replacing it every few years.



Here is a shot of the greenhouse by the way.