How long can a shelf be without sagging?

1/32″ (0.03″) per running foot, or 3/32″ (0.09″) for a 3′ wide bookshelf or table, is typically visible. And over many years, the sag of a shelf tends to increase by as much as 50% as it is stressed repeatedly in the same direction. So a good target for initial allowable sag is 0.02″ per foot or less.

branchingoutwood.com - How to Avoid Sagging Shelving - Branching Out Wood

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How Much Sag is Too Much

You will probably notice deflection far before it gets to the sorry state of that coffee table! 1/32″ (0.03″) per running foot, or 3/32″ (0.09″) for a 3′ wide bookshelf or table, is typically visible. And over many years, the sag of a shelf tends to increase by as much as 50% as it is stressed repeatedly in the same direction. So a good target for initial allowable sag is 0.02″ per foot or less.

Don’t Worry About Small Shelves

Many cabinet designs call for the flexibility of adjustable shelves. Unfortunately, however, adjustable shelves are more prone to sagging than fixed shelves, as anyone who has loaded a cheap Ikea bookshelf with all of their college textbooks can attest. This is a consequence of many factors in that $50 hand-me-down bookcase. But with a bit more planning and design consideration (and better materials), sagging can be wholly avoided. However, for “small” shelves, sag is not really a problem and one can just ignore considerations of sag for typical loads. What’s “small”? The most frequently used quality materials for custom-built wood shelves are 3/4” thick plywood, poplar, or pine; definitely avoid the melamine-laminated composite shelving and MDF. And a typical shelf load to plan for is 20-40# per foot - libraries often plan for 35#. A 30” wide adjustable shelf that is 10” deep, made of any of these three (plywood, poplar, pine) materials, will have an acceptable sag for a load of up to 35# per foot, or about 90# for the entire shelf. Make it of poplar - the stiffest of those three materials - and you can make a narrower adjustable shelf, down to about 8”, still without any problems. Deeper or shorter shelves? Or anticipating less weight? Sag definitely won’t be a problem for those small adjustable shelves. Narrower shelves aren’t as strong, however. But fortunately, as you get narrower, it’s less likely that you’ll get to 35# per foot. A 6” deep adjustable shelf will probably not get loaded more than about 20# per foot - made of any of those materials, a 30” span would still be fine. Of course, if you’re loading your shelves like that coffee table above, all bets are off!

The Sagulator

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Is Edsal shelving Made in USA?

We maintain manufacturing operations throughout the United States, employing over 1,400 people right here in the USA. Our primary product offering includes industrial and consumer riveted and welded shelving units. These products are available with particleboard, laminate, or wire shelf decks.

edsal.com - About Edsal

About Edsal

Who We Are

Edsal is North America’s leading designer, manufacturer, and distributor of high-quality steel shelving and cabinets for garage, basement, storage, and commercial storage applications. Our clients include home improvement retail centers (Home Depot, Lowe’s, Menards, etc.), mass merchandisers (Walmart, etc.), club stores (Sam’s and Costco), e-commerce companies (Amazon, Wayfair, etc.), industrial distributors (Grainger, Global Equipment, Fastenal, MSC Direct, etc.), office products, and educational supply distributors (School Specialty, School Outfitters, etc.). Our company was founded and operated as a family-owned-and-operated business on Chicago’s South Side for over 65 years. We acquired Sandusky Lee Cabinets in 2002, expanding our product portfolio and markets served to include cabinets and bookshelves for the educational and office products market. In 2018, Edsal was acquired by Monomoy Capital Partners. We continue to maintain operating sites throughout the United States, including Chicago, IL; Gary, IN; Littlestown, PA; and Arvin, CA.

What We Do

Through the years, Edsal has been a leader and innovator of the modern consumer and industrial storage systems sold primarily to big-box and brick-and-mortar retail stores. We maintain manufacturing operations throughout the United States, employing over 1,400 people right here in the USA. Our primary product offering includes industrial and consumer riveted and welded shelving units. These products are available with particleboard, laminate, or wire shelf decks. We have units with 50- to 4,000-pound shelf capacity and everything in between.

Sandusky’s History

Since 1933, Sandusky Lee Corporation (Sandusky) has been a premier manufacturer and supplier of industrial cabinets, bookcases, and shelving units, both stationary and fully mobile. Sandusky maintains manufacturing facilities in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and California, with most of the products made here in the USA.