Lumber Storage Rack
2009.02.15
I needed a proper place to store wood for projects, so I looked around on the internet at what other people had built or bought for their shops, and using that as a base, came up with a design for a rack. My basement has about seven feet of clear headroom to the bottom of the joists, so it won’t be very tall; not that I could reach any higher than that anyway. One unusual aspect to this basement is that, along one side, the foundation wall comes down about three or four feet, then shifts over about four feet before continuing down to the basement floor. (It’s awkward to describe in text, but should be clear in some of the photos below.) Since this is not particularly usable space, I decided to build the rack up and over this bump-out. Hopefully the design will also help stabilize the rack, as it will not be mechanically attached to the basement in any way.
Yesterday I went to Home Depot and bought some 2x6’s for the project. Today I got started by building the base. I used pressure-treated where the wood would come in direct contact with the concrete.
The floor slopes almost two inches in eight feet where I will be locating the rack (there is a floor drain off to the left). In order to correct for the slope and have a level base, I decided I would attach a tapered 2x6 along the front.
To cut the taper, I used my Eurekazone guide rail system and circular saw.
I went to Lowes to get more wood. I put twelve 2x6x8’s in my Civic, and I think I could fit fourteen or even sixteen if I really tried. I almost went back in to get a couple more, because I needed fourteen for the uprights.
I went back to Lowes again for more 2x6’s. Should have all I will need.
The next step was cutting the arms to length and then tapering them. I tapered the first two and then used the cutoffs, along with some other scraps, to make a jig to work with my circular saw guide rail. I just slid each new piece in until it hit the guide pieces, then ran the saw. This sped up the process… once I got it all set up.
I attached the first row before calling it a day. I’m almost out of screws so I’ll have to get some more before I continue.
2009.02.21
I bought some more screws and continued working on the lumber rack. After another row of short arms, I cut and tapered the long arms for the top row. I still had the tapering jig set up from last weekend, although I had to make some adjustments to get the longer boards in there.
Well, there it is, the completed lumber storage rack.
Now to load it up with some wood. The old 2x4’s I bought to build a workbench have been piled up on the floor for about a month now. It’s great to have a proper place to store them.
