I am looking for advice on metal racking for long-term storage of OWC’s. I am setting up a conditioned space in my basement for case storage, with a separate room for double-deep bottle racking. The case storage area will be for OWC’s and cardboard boxes, mostly wine that needs a lot of time, e.g. red bordeaux and barolo. The space is roughly 80 square feet, with a nine foot ceiling. So figure it can hold somewhere in the range of 120-150 cases. I’m thinking metal shelving on the perimeter of the space, single-case deep. And then perhaps there will be leftover space in the middle of the room for either additional shelving or just to stack cases on the floor. Am I best off with shelving that permits two-case stacks of 12 bottle OWC’s, or do I want three-case stacks for efficiency? Or, taking cost out of the equation, do I want a shelf for each case to make it easier to pull single cases? If anyone has done this before, and has advice on preferred shelving vendors, please chime in.
Paul, what’s the focus? Functional, visually appealing?
If functional - you may find the best densities with wire shelving a la Metro shelving (though non brand are available for much less $$) - but those wire shelves can hold up to 500# / shelf properly distributed.
Or, look at a restaurant supply store and consider dunnage racks to get them off the floor and simply stack on top of each other to a height you’re comfortable with.
I just made a stainless steel upright rack for myself. It holds 180 bottles in OWCs. 12 @ 12 + 6 @ 6. A second one is under construction.
Each case slides on its own shelf so very easy to pull any bottle. I’ll post a picture shortly.
That looks phenomenal. Did you weld that? Or are those shelves held by pins or screws?
If you’re willing to forego aesthetics, you can buy metal shelving at Lowe’s, Home Depot or Walmart that is cheap and functional. These units are rated for 350 pounds per shelf. The 48"W x 72"H shelves run about $60, and you can buy extra shelves if you don’t want to stack boxes (see at left in first photo).
The 48" wide units are more efficient; two cases per shelf on the 36" units wastes wall space (see second photo). I’m happy to have a little space around the boxes on the 48" units, as that makes it easier to pull out cases. I may buy some more shelves to avoid stacking boxes on top of each other. (If you can get 6-bottle flat boxes, that makes it much easier to stack and to use the wall space most efficiently.)
I’ve put some open boxes (with the front edge raised with shims) on the top shelves so I don’t have to lift full cases from an eye-level, which seems like an accident waiting to happen. I can stack empty cartons on top of those.
Not a thing of beauty, but it works.
(This will get neater. I’m still waiting to transfer another 30+ cases from storage, so I haven’t arranged things as they will be in the end.)
Looks terrific. But how do you pull out the cases?
I generally put function over form and would simply get the “metro” type shelving which is reasonably priced and easily found. It is very sturdy, will not rust and can even have casters/wheels if desired. I’m sure a custom solution can be found for many times the price but I long since stopped making my cellar look spiffy and opted for function.
All welded construction.
with my fingers
Dimensions of my rack: 30.5" wide, 20" deep, 66" high. Another couple cases could go on top but I don’t like storing heavy objects that high up.
If cost is not a factor…