Wood Storage

Rich Aldrich

Member
Messages
296
Location
Manistique, Michigan
I am in the process of finishing off the cold storage area of my shop and combining it with the original shop. The shop was 20 x 28 with 20 x 24 of cold storage. Now it is 20 x 52 - it is huge - I am still a bit in shock after I ripped out the partition wall. Good thing I have an outdoor wood boiler. I will be posting pictures of the shop tomorrow.

My issue is how to store plywood. I will have enough room to store it flat - I understand that this is the best way. The thought was to put a shelf for storing sheets about waist high. I like this idea because I can pull a sheet off the shelf easily alone onto a table. From there, I can break down the sheets with my EZ Smart. I plan to build a table like the EZ Smart table.

Lumber can be stored under the plywood shelf and shelves could be built above to store lumber or whatever (plastic tool storage boxes, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, etc.).

If I store it vertical on the 8 foot edge, it will take up a lot less room. It will be more difficult to get it on the table to break it down.

If you had the room, what would you do?
 
Don,

That is a great idea. My ceilings are 8' high so I will have to store it on the 8' side. I have help when I unload it and put it in storage. I can easily flip a sheet down alone when I need it. The issue is mainly 3/4" thick. I can store the thinner sheets the same way along another wall and easily choose and handle a sheet as needed.
 
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another plus on the horizontal storge from don is yu can still pull out andlay flat on table to break down and can store lumber underneath it easily.. mine is vertical and have seen where i wished i had ben horizontal.. but my space didnt allow for it..
 
Storage of plywood is tricky for me because unfortuantely we don't all have massive storage rooms/sheds like you do! Making me very jealous early in the morning I can tell you that! But I agree with the suggestions here. Just make sure that you take into account humidity and all that so that the beamsa and planks don't warp while they are in storage.
 
I don't like flat storage. Flat makes it hard to get to the bottom of the stack. It also makes it hard to store anything less than a full sheet. You may have strips - 1/2 sheets - 1/4 sheets in a variety of materials. I would have a vertical storage on the 4' edge, and make rack type storage above for lumber. I would tuck it onto a corner and plan to use floor space of 24" x 96" x 48 " high. Just make sure you have 10 feet or so to slide out a full sheet as you need to.

As to the size of your area. It may seem like a lot now - but I could EASILY envision using and even crowding in that entire area. So, I would still be conservative with the space.
 
I store mine in a pole barn we have. It's vertical on the 4' edge. I agree that flat storage is the best, but if you have a few different kinds, the one you need will always be on the bottom. As Leo indicated, that's a PITA. Before we moved here I put it in a shed we had, and that was vertical on the 8' edge. That was a little bit more of a fight to handle but still worked well. If you have several sheets stacked together it won't bow.
 
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