Restacking a jumble of lumber in my barn?

[plowhog]

In the corner of the barn, there is a jumble of lumber, ranging from 2x4 to 2x12. Some pieces are short, others medium or long. And some odd things like a pair of cutout 2x12 that could be used for stairs, and some sheeting.

If I stack some of the lumber overhead, sitting on cross beams, how much span is allowable before the boards would bend and warp? And if I just pull it all out and then re-stack it in the same place with better organization, what is a good way to support it underneath? Right now everything is just sitting in dirt and the area is slightly sloping.

When I need a piece, I want to walk up and get what I need. I can't do that now since its all in a jumble.

 

[EddieWalker]

Good question. The challenge is real!!!

I'm currently building shelving out of 2x4 without the shelves to store lumber and pipes. My main posts are 8 feet apart, but I have cross pieces at 4 feet. Each shelf is 2 feet up. This is inside a metal shipping container that is 40 feet long. The shelves are on either side of the door and I slide the lumber and pipes into the shelves from the outside of the container. Then on the floor, I keep rebar and other pieces of metal. The shelves are 20 feet long because I have quite a bit of PVC in different sizes that length. Same thing with rebar and metal. I like that I can look at the end of the shelf and know what size lumber I have, and need. Same with pipe or metal. At two feet of height, I never have so much in there that I can't get it out, or figure out what I have.

I'm still working on the rest of the shelves. They have OSB on them and that's where I put things like ice chests, dog crates and whatever else we need to find, but don't want taking up room in the garage. Eventually it will be a great storage area.

Since I'm not done with this, I still store lumber stacked up on it's end next to my garage, so it's standing vertically. It doesn't warp too badly like this, and it's not too bad to figure out what I have, but it's also kind of messy, and something that I'm hoping to do away with as quickly as possible.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

IF you really want it to stay straight, I wouldn't want it to span more than 4 feet...

SR

 

[oosik]

That was exactly my thoughts, Sawyer Rob. I wouldn't go beyond four feet with support. I should talk - all my lumber is in a sort of jumble, on the floor, under my work bench.

 

[CobyRupert]

Doesn't matter how you stack it: That perfectly sized piece you need will always be on the bottom.

 

[cat fever]

Doesn't matter how you stack it: That perfectly sized piece you need will always be on the bottom.

That is usually my experience. Glad I'm not the only one.:laughing:

 

[dstig1]

2 sections of pallet racking spaced ~4' apart. The racking is 42" deep, IIRC and 10' long beams. It's much more full now than when this picture was taken. And yes, it does not matter how you stack it, the ones you need are on the bottom... Pallet racking is typically rated for 4 tons or more per upright pair, so you can pack them as full as you want.

 

[astrohip]

I had the same problem, you can see the jumble in one of the photos I've attached. I ended up building a rack to hold lumber. 4x4 posts for corners, plywood shelving, 2x4 and 2x6 for cross-braces and supports. My part of Texas if *very* humid, and I wanted to support the lumber with a solid shelf.

I did debate using pallet racks, I have several of them in my barn. In the end, I decided I wanted to build something, partly because I like making things.

My next project is a plywood rack. Right now it's all laying on a rack of the pallet racks, and yes, the one you want is ALWAYS at the bottom. I'm thinking about an A-Frame type upright wood rack.