The Ultimate Guide to Boltless Shelving
The Ultimate
Guide To
Boltless Shelving
Boltless shelving is a popular storage option for any warehouse, factory, or shop because of its versatility and industrial strength. Also known as rivet shelving, boltless shelving is assembled by sliding the riveted ends of the horizontal beams into keyhole-shaped slots on the vertical posts to create interlocking units in nearly any configuration. There is no need for loose fasteners, and there’s essentially no need for complicated tools—all you might need is a rubber mallet! Tool-less assembly also means that you can easily adjust individual shelf height by simply moving the beams up or down to the next slot. The versatility and customizability of boltless shelving units don’t require a compromise on strength, though. These units are made of industrial strength cold rolled steel in a variety of thicknesses, making for durable and heavy duty metal shelving that you can rely on, all while allowing access from all sides.
With all the advantages of using boltless shelving units, it’s easy to see why they are a great storage solution for any space. However, with so much versatility comes a common dilemma: what type of boltless shelving do you need? It can be easy to get lost in a catalog comparing rivet shelving without really knowing the differences between them. To make your search a little easier, here are the main types of boltless shelving and their features.
Boltless Shelving Types
Standard
The standard boltless shelving unit has vertical angle posts at each corner with keyhole slots every 1.5 inches. All horizontal beams run both front-to-back and left-to-right on the unit to hold up decking material (usually particle board, steel, or wire), creating a shelf. The horizontal beams at the top and bottom of the unit are double rivet angle beams, attaching at two points of each post, while the intermediate shelves use L-shaped single rivet angle beams that attach to the posts at one point on each side. The low profile of single-rivet beams allows for a maximum clear opening between shelves. Because these beams have a thinner width, however, they have a lower weight capacity, usually ranging from 250 to 350 pounds per shelf. As with all boltless shelving types, there are no crossbars on the sides, so you have access to your materials from all sides.
Heavy Duty and Bulk Shelving
If you’re looking to store a heavier load, you may want to consider a heavy duty boltless shelving unit, sometimes called bulk shelving. Like a standard unit, they are composed of vertical angle posts and horizontal beams. Unlike a standard unit, however, all horizontal beams on a heavy duty unit have double-rivet ends, which are both wider and feature an extra point of contact with the vertical posts for added sturdiness. Double rivet beams come in two varieties: L-shaped angle beams and C-shaped channel beams. Double rivet channel beams’ design provides maximum shelf capacity and stability and can be used left-to-right on all levels except for the bottom. In addition to stronger beams, heavy duty boltless shelving units have center supports that run front-to-back along the middle of the shelf. While they do need to be bolted into place, center supports are a great reinforcement for any decking material, helping your shelves stand up to immense weight. Between the double rivet beams and center supports, bulk boltless shelving units can hold hundreds of pounds more than their standard counterparts.
Specialty Shelving
Many heavy duty boltless shelving units are designed with specific needs in mind. If your aim is to keep all your old records and files in one place, for example, document storage shelving is measured out to fit record boxes 12 inches wide by 15 inches deep by 10 inches high.
Heavy duty garage shelving for automotive is also a common specialty design. Muffler storage units allow for uniform storage for various sizes and shapes of mufflers and can bear significant amounts of weight, while boltless tailpipe racks are specifically designed with beams along the top from which to hang automotive and light truck tailpipes—no decking required. Boltless tire storage racks also have specially designed horizontal beams with 30-degree angle flanges that cradle standard automotive and light truck tires and keep them from rolling away. That way you can stack your tires without compromising on their organization and accessibility!
BUILDING YOUR PERFECT BOLTLESS SHELVING SET
Once you’ve decided which type of rivet shelving is right for your needs, you’ll need to make sure to buy the right units to bring your perfect shelving set to life. Because all of the pieces are interlocking, metal storage shelving comes in separate components for maximum customizability.
Starters
The first unit you’ll need is a starter, which is your basic shelving unit. It has one vertical angle post for each of the four corners and two front-to-back length angle beams and two left-to-right length angle or channel beams per shelf (the bottom level always has angle beams). If you are using bulk shelving units, you will also receive a front-to-back length center support for each shelving level. Every row of shelving you create will need one starter unit at the beginning.
Adders
Adders, as their name suggests, add on to starters to create a longer row. In order to connect the units together, each adder unit has two vertical tee posts. Attach the adder to the end of your row with a tee post, moving the existing vertical angle posts to the new end. All horizontal beams are the same as a starter: two front-to-back length angle beams, two left-to-right angle or channel beams, and the one center support (for heavy duty units) per shelving level. You can connect as many adders together as you need to reach your desired row length.
Decking
Once you’ve gotten all the starters and adders that you need, you’ll need to make plans for decking. This is the material that drops into place to form the actual platform of the shelf and comes in a variety of different materials: usually particle board, steel, and wire. Because of its cost efficiency and smooth finish, 5/8-inch industrial grade particle board decking is the most popular option for any type of boltless shelving. For a stylish and fire-resistant option, you may also want to consider steel decking, which is composed of galvanized steel formed into 6-inch-deep C-shaped channel planks. Because any steel decking with a width of 48 inches or more requires center supports to prevent bending and breakage, it works best for heavy duty double rivet shelving. Wire decking, on the other hand, is a perfect choice for additional ventilation for your boltless shelving. Made of heavy gauge welded wire in a grid, it allows airflow through your shelves without compromising strength. Whatever decking you decide to use, make sure that you buy one piece for each shelf. This can often be purchased alongside the rest of your shelving units, or you may be able to save some shipping costs by buying decking locally. Particle board in particular is not very difficult to source.
CUSTOM BUILDS
Not seeing the exact size or setup that you want? Not a problem! Creating your own custom boltless shelving unit is easy! Instead of buying your shelving by unit, you can get individual parts for a shelving set as unique as your needs are. Each row will need four vertical angle posts for the corners, two tee posts to for each unit you want to connect together, and two left-to-right length angle beams and two front-to-back length angle beams per unit for the bottom. Then each individual shelf will need two front-to-back length angle beams and two left-to-right length horizontal beams, which can be single rivet angle beams, double rivet angle beams, double rivet channel beams, or even tire rack beams. This is where you can really make your units your own, selecting the heavy duty versions of either the single rivet or double rivet angle beams, which are made from a heavier gauge steel to increase shelf capacity. You can also add front-to-back length center supports to any of any of the shelves with double rivet beams for even greater shelf capacity.
Buying boltless shelving parts individually is also a great way to get custom dimensions for your shelving. For taller units, you can use post splices to connect vertical posts together—one per angle post and two per tee post. Adjust the width of the row by making one or more of your adder units (with two left-to-right beams and one front-to-back beam) shorter or longer than the others.
ACCESSORY PIECES
Whether you buy existing starters and adders or use individual parts to build your boltless shelving from scratch, there are lots of extra parts that can help you stabilize your units. Add foot plates and wall ties to anchor your units to the floor and wall respectively, keeping them safer from toppling after anything from a bump to an earthquake. You can also connect units back-to-back to form a double unit using a double row and top tie, or connect previously separated rows at the angle post using a tie plate.
However you customize and arrange your units, boltless rivet shelving is an excellent way to make storage simple and sturdy. With high shelf capacity and easy assembly, they are a great option for your garage, business, or anywhere else you might need to stash things!
