Seeking suggestions for long freestanding pantry shelves

[sansbury]

I’d like to build some shelves for our kitchen party that’s a bit oddly-shaped. I could do baker’s racks but with custom I can use the space a little better and help justify my tool expenditures with my wife

The one thing that I’m less than 100% sure how to solve for is that it’s about 7’ wide and ideally I’d like to have the shelves be full-length without any dividers or uprights in the middle. We tend to keep everything in storage bins due to the mice and I’d like to be able to easily slide them in and out anywhere along the shelf.

My thought was to build a 3-sided box and use 3/4” birch for the shelves. I’d prefer to use pocket hole screws in case I ever want to remove it without a chainsaw, but I can glue it up in place if that’s needed for strength. I could probably also live with some triangular gussets to split the difference.

Or, I guess I could fully frame each shelf to make a half or full torsion box, but that kind of doubles or triples the complexity so I don’t want to go there if I don’t have to.

If none of these are good ideas, I could build a 4’ and 3’ unit, and that would fill the space well too. I’m curious what others have done.

Also, the house this is going in is 200 years old so building off the walls in any way is a non-starter.

 

[Packard]

Check the Sagulator for load carrying: https://woodbin.com/calcs/sagulator/

Assuming 11” deep shelf, and 72” between supports, and a total load of 30 pounds, then 3/4” plywood would not be sufficient. But gluing up two layers of 3/4” ply would be.

So there are answers. And 30 pounds is not much load. A front edge support will add load carrying. In the end, it is all about numbers. Figure how much load per shelf. The distance between supports. The depth of the shelves. Then adjust the thickness of the shelf to accommodate. Or add a front and rear structural edge material.

But first establish the required load carrying capacity. Then configure to achieve that load.

Numbers. It is all about numbers.

 

[PaulMarcel]

If you are using bins, they are likely all the same size or of very few differing sizes. Seems like you could calculate where a middle post could go and not really affect placement of the bins for strength. Pantry shelves tend to be pretty high density with stacks of canned goods, oil bottles, etc. A selling point for Packard's suggestion of doubling the ply is you could more easily embed LED light strips. While 3/4" is thick enough to do that, it takes some strength out.

 

[Steve1]

When I really want something stiff, there is no replacement for steel.

Look at some steel angle for under the shelf.

My entrance closet is 9 feet long and I needed to build a shelf that could support a long closet rod (so it's going to have a lot of weight with a bunch of coats hanging off it, plus whatever is on top). Could only support it at the ends, not at the rear (double doors on both sides).
I built a shelf with a 2.5" x 2.5" x 3/16" piece of steel angle buried in it.
Shelf weighed a ton, but solid as a rock. You can stand on top and jump up and down --- might rip it out of the side mounts, but not going to bend it.

 

[sansbury]

Check the Sagulator for load carrying: https://woodbin.com/calcs/sagulator/

That's a bookmark added.

Seems like you could calculate where a middle post could go and not really affect placement of the bins for strength.

Yeah - the consideration here is that the pantry is shaped like an L, so there's a tradeoff between shelf depth and front access. A long and unobstructed shelf gives you the ability to slide bins along it which is sometimes convenient.

Look at some steel angle for under the shelf.

Yeah, I guess that is the "nuke the site from orbit, it's the only way to be sure" answer - I'm not scared of metal work when it's the best solution.

In any case, after some follow-up questions with the wife, she decided that she wants baker's racks because of the mice. She thinks they'll be harder for the mice to climb and easier to clean and I'm not going to argue the point. But I did get some good ideas for other future builds!