Plywood Thickness For Garage Shelves

Another way to add thickness to a shelf without using expensive thick lumber is to make a hollow shelf 1 to 1 1 2 in.

Plywood thickness for garage shelves.

Plywood is also classified as exterior exposure 1 exposure 2 and interior. Plywood for shelves should be 3 4 inch thick or thicker. My shelves were about 21 inches deep so i was able to get two 8 foot long pieces out of each sheet. Garage storage and shelving solutions are abundant but the prices can be shocking.

It s light in weight but very strong. Even then the height is not the issue it s the lenth of the shelf and the weight of the material you plan to store. Standard sheets of plywood come in 1 4 inch 3 8 inch 1 2 inch 5 8 inch and 3 4 inch thicknesses. Thick from thin plywood and strips of solid wood fig.

I d like to get 4 foot spans with 20 24 depths but i want the shelves to be sturdy enough to carry 200 300lb loads evenly distributed. They are made from plywood so the thickness is fake they are actually hollow in the middle. 3 4 feet long is probably the maximum length for normal household storage shelves. Plywood is a necessity in many diy and construction projects but not every type of plywood works for every project.

The thickness is my favorite part they look like they cost a lot of time and or money even though that isn t the case. Use it to carry very heavy loads. I also used inch thick plywood for the shelving surface with the smoother side of the plywood facing up. It also results in extra dimensional stability plywood doesn t swell or crack like solid sawed lumber.

You can build your own garage shelves from scrap 2 x 4s and plywood ones that will hold all of your tool cases. The many types of plywood can differ in materials number of layers rating and grade. If you plan to run plywood up a wall and attach brackets and shelves to it then 3 4 for sure and be certain it is well anchored to the wall. There are a few plywood grading systems out there but most of them follow an a d classification with a being the best.

Also side note this tutorial is for floating shelves that are attached to the wall on three sides. Lowes will rip cut the 8 4 ft sheets of plywood for you to save you some time. It s available in panels wider than natural boards and in thicknesses ranging from 1 8 to 11 4 inches in 1 8 inch increments. Plywood panels over 3 4 inch in thickness are usually special order products.

Thinner sheets of plywood can be glued together laminated to make a thicker panel for cutting sturdier shelves. I m building a bunch of shelving in our garage using stud mounted metal tracks brackets with plywood shelves. This cross banded construction gives plywood great strength in all directions. This guide will explain the different uses of plywood as well as popular plywood sheet sizes and its rating and grade system so that you can choose the best plywood for your project.