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DETERMINING THE
NUMBER AND HORIZONTAL SPACING
OF VERTICAL SUPPORTS
1. DETERMINING THE NUMBER OF VERTICAL SUPPORTS NEEDED
The primary consideration for determining the number of vertical supports needed is the length of the shelves.
The number of walls to which the shelves are attached is another important consideration. For each side wall to which the shelves are attached, the number of vertical supports required is reduced by one.
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To determine the maximum number of vertical supports needed for a shelving unit, divide the length of the shelf by 28 and round off to the nearest whole number.
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To determine the minimum number of vertical supports needed, divide the length of the shelf by 42", and then round off to the nearest whole number.
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Based on the two numbers obtained by the rounding off process, select the number of vertical supports for your shelving unit.
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For example, let's consider a single wall layout in which the shelf length is 92". By following the process outlined above, the number of vertical supports needed is determined as shown below:
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Divide 92" by 42" equals the minimum number of vertical supports = 2.19, which is rounded off to 2.
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Divide 92" by 28" = maximum number of vertical supports = 3.28, which is rounded off to 3.
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By rounding off the numbers, the number of vertical supports needed would be either 2 or 3.
2. DETERMINING THE HORIZONTAL SPACING OF VERTICAL SUPPORTS
To determine the horizontal spacing of vertical supports along the length of the shelves:
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Divide the length of the shelves by the number of vertical supports selected. The resulting number is the distance between the vertical supports.
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To determine the distance from the shelf ends to the closest vertical support, divide the distance between the vertical supports by 2.
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To illustrate the process, let's go back to the example used above with a shelf length of 92" and we will assume that the customer chose to have three vertical supports. By following the process outlined above, the horizontal spacing is determined as follows:
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By dividing 92" by 3 (number of vertical supports), the distance between the vertical supports is determined to be 30.7".
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To determine the distance from the ends of the shelves to the closest vertical support, divide the distance between vertical supports (30.7") by 2. The distance from the end of the shelf to the closest vertical support is determined to be 15.3".
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If the customer had selected two vertical supports, instead of three, the spacing would be determined as follows:
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By dividing the length (92") by the number of vertical supports (2), the result is the distance between the vertical supports (46").
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By dividing the distance between vertical supports (46") by 2, the result is the distance from the ends of the shelves to the closest vertical support (23").
3. OTHER FACTORS TO CONSIDER
To maximize the amount of storage space on very short shelves, the vertical supports can be placed as close as 3"-6" if the shelf end angles are 90-degrees (rectangular). If, however, the shelf ends are angled at 45-degrees (beveled), the distance from the end of the shelf to the center of the vertical support should be no closer than the depth of the shelf plus one inch. The reason for this spacing is to position the vertical supports in the area of the full depth of the shelf. Within one inch of that location, the depth of the shelf begins decreasing one inch for every inch toward the shelf end. If the vertical support is placed in the area that is tapered, the shelf end is not visually pleasing.
Situations encountered that can make it difficult to determine proper spacing is when inside corner units, outside corner units, or bower units have short shelves (less than 36") on one side and long shelves (more than 70") on the other side. Problems arise if the same number of supports is requested for each side. The easiest solution is to add an additional support to the long side.
Remember that the methods presented here for determining the number of vertical supports and the spacing between them are only suggestions. Ultimately, the customer must decide what their shelving unit will look like.
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