Cantilever Racks for Storing Lumber, Plywood & Drywall Sheets
DESCRIPTION: Sample cantilever rack quote is for 1 run of 3 -16′ single sided upright towers with stackable base and 3 arms each for a total of 4 levels. Arm length is 48″. Utilizing 6′ wide brace sets. This rack will store loads that are 20′ long at 3,000 LBS per level. Consists of the following bill of material:
(3)- 16′ H. Single Sided Structural Cantilever Upright Tower. New. Includes 48″ stackable base.
*ALSO AVAILABLE IN DOUBLE SIDED: 12′ H. Double Sided Structural Cantilever Upright Tower. New. Includes 48″ stackable base.
(9)- 48″ L. Structural Cantilever Arm. New. Straight. 2000 lbs. Capacity.
(2) – 72″ wide Center-to-Center Brace Panel Assembly. New. (Joins towers together in a unit or run)
(1) – Hardware Kit (Anchors, Plates, Nut and Bolts)
Option: 4″ Pipe Stop. New. (Fits in pipe sockets on the end of Cantilever Arms).
NOTES: Available in a variety of different sizes. Est. Lead Time: 3-6-8-10 weeks (depending on manufacturer). FOB: Chicago, IL, North East, PA, Dallas, TX, Omaha, NE and San Diego, CA.
If you’ve walked through the lumber department in your local big box home center you’ve probably noticed the unique lumber and plywood sheet storage rack system they use to store their dimensional lumber, plywood, and drywall. It looks like a tree with arms that stick out. The correct name for this rack is cantilever rack or as some may call it “Lumber Rack”.
Let’s give you a brief run down of cantilever racks styles, features and benefits. Starting with styles, there are two prominent styles of cantilever rack, roll formed and structural. Both are very good styles of cantilever lumber storage racks that can be designed to handle the same amount of weight and are similar in cost. The difference is that roll formed cantilever has towers and arms made of tubular steel and structural cantilever has towers and arms made of structural steel – structural I-Beams to be specific.
Roll formed cantilever rack may be a little less expensive then structural cantilever. Roll form cantilever is certainly easier to install. Structural cantilever rack has nut and bolt connections and therefore has lots of nuts and bolts required for assembly. The cantilever lumber storage racks most commonly found in big box retailers like Lowes and Home Depot is structural-style cantilever (shown in pictures on this page).
All forms of cantilever rack consist of 3 basic components: 1. Tower with stackable base (either single sided or double sided. Single sided is used along a wall, double sided is used away from a wall and accessed from both sides. Common tower heights include 8′, 12′ and 16′). 2. Arms (available in different lengths and capacities that range from 24″, 36″, 42″, 48″ up to 60″ and capacities from 800 LBS, 1000 LBS, 1500 LBS and up to 2,000 LBS per arm). 3. Brace Panel (The X-Brace that joints towers together in a unit or row, available in 36″, 48″, 60″, 72″ widths. The X-Brace width determines the spacing of towers and arms from one another).
The advantages to cantilever rack and what makes it so popular for storing lumber, plywood and drywall is that it allows unobstructed frontal access to stored goods which allows for a tremendous amount of flexibility. You can store lumber, plywood and drywall in varying lengths easily and all on the same rack. The full usage from side to side of each level of these lumber and plywood storage shelves increases storage density and handling efficiency.
