Stronger Shelves for the Pantry

by Peter Bales | 20th July 2010

I spent part of the day replacing some plastic coated wire shelves that were sagging due to having rows of canned goods stacked above.  It was time to install some serious shelves.

I know that pantry shelf systems are not exactly complicated.  However, I’ve  seen numerous closets & pantries where wire shelving was installed (mainly new construction) and it later fell down because they were simply not strong enough to hold the heavier items that end up there.  The homeowners called me in before they had jars of tomato sauce broken on the floor…

They wanted me to install something heavy duty.  So, my first thought, of course, was to nail a few 2x4s together and cover it with plywood.  Not exactly pretty, I suppose, so I decided that a better solution was an adjustable track system.  I mixed the Rubbermaid Fast Track uprights that I found at Lowe’s with some double-slotted shelf supports that would hold 16″ wide Melamine shelves.  All of it would be coated white and easy to clean.

A horizontal bracket goes in first.  It’s important to make sure that this is level and that most of your screws actually hit studs.  The vertical supports sort of hang from this and get several screws each, most of which will likely require heavy duty drywall anchors.  Once the tracks are in, you put the supports wherever you want and lay the shelves across.  I added some screws to attach the brackets to the shelves as well.

Shelving systems, even a simple one like this, are not cheap.  However, you’ll not only enjoy being more organized, but also knowing that your shelves aren’t going to give out on you.

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