Building Shelving

Storage has always been a massive problem for me. There is never a time where the amount of things I have decreases, why would I be throwing away projects, tool and equipment if they all still work fine? The lab addresses this issue as it is large enough to provide ample workshop space as well as plenty of storage space. However, it was very important that I utilize the space well. To do this, I designed and built multiple shelving units to accommodate everything I had to store. 

The problem of storage is not simply fixed by packing as many shelves as you can into the space available. Many of the things I have to store are too big for small shelves, but conversely making all shelves too big would waste space where my smaller items are being stored. To add another variable to the mix, I have to also take into account my future projects and equipment and think about how much space I will need to allocate for them.

I thought about this for a while until I was happy with the amount of shelving available, what sized objects could be stored and if there was enough space for future acquisitions. Here is what I designed and built:

The lab was so full of stuff over Christmas (as the shelving was being made), I had to cut the long beams of wood outside which was particularly difficult with snow on the ground. I had to wait until most of it had melted which unfortunately delayed progress.

Here is what the lab looked like towards the start of January 2018, the shelving was populated and the lab interior was really taking shape.

Overall I'm very happy with how the shelving turned out. They are very strong and sturdy, they can hold my weight and don't wobble about in any way, a near perfect solution to my storage situation. But as you can see from the pictures, the shelves are full so more will need to be made in due time.