Plywood Thickness For Garage Shelves

Garage storage and shelving solutions are abundant but the prices can be shocking.

Plywood thickness for garage shelves.

The many types of plywood can differ in materials number of layers rating and grade. Even then the height is not the issue it s the lenth of the shelf and the weight of the material you plan to store. Plywood for shelves should be 3 4 inch thick or thicker. This guide will explain the different uses of plywood as well as popular plywood sheet sizes and its rating and grade system so that you can choose the best plywood for your project.

There are a few plywood grading systems out there but most of them follow an a d classification with a being the best. I m building a bunch of shelving in our garage using stud mounted metal tracks brackets with plywood shelves. My shelves were about 21 inches deep so i was able to get two 8 foot long pieces out of each sheet. It also results in extra dimensional stability plywood doesn t swell or crack like solid sawed lumber.

3 4 feet long is probably the maximum length for normal household storage shelves. Use it to carry very heavy loads. If you plan to run plywood up a wall and attach brackets and shelves to it then 3 4 for sure and be certain it is well anchored to the wall. I d like to get 4 foot spans with 20 24 depths but i want the shelves to be sturdy enough to carry 200 300lb loads evenly distributed.

Also side note this tutorial is for floating shelves that are attached to the wall on three sides. You can build your own garage shelves from scrap 2 x 4s and plywood ones that will hold all of your tool cases. The type of plywood you choose will depend on economics how much exposure to the elements the wood will get and whether looks are important to you. It s available in panels wider than natural boards and in thicknesses ranging from 1 8 to 11 4 inches in 1 8 inch increments.

This type of shelf is based on the engineering principles of a torsion box. I also used inch thick plywood for the shelving surface with the smoother side of the plywood facing up. Plywood is a necessity in many diy and construction projects but not every type of plywood works for every project. Plywood is also classified as exterior exposure 1 exposure 2 and interior.

Another way to add thickness to a shelf without using expensive thick lumber is to make a hollow shelf 1 to 1 1 2 in. Plywood also has another big advantage. Lowes will rip cut the 8 4 ft sheets of plywood for you to save you some time. It s light in weight but very strong.

This cross banded construction gives plywood great strength in all directions. They are made from plywood so the thickness is fake they are actually hollow in the middle. Thick from thin plywood and strips of solid wood fig. Thinner sheets of plywood can be glued together laminated to make a thicker panel for cutting sturdier shelves.