I would like some expertise on this.
We have this pantry in our kitchen which SWMBO wants reorganized/re-shelved to make it more useful - right now (and for the last 18 years), it has had fixed particleboard shelving of various depths.
The pantry space is 24 (deep) x 30 (wide) x 96 (high) and a 24 inch door for access.
I am thinking of buying (1) - 16x96 drilled melamine sheet and (1)
12 x 96 drilled melamine sheet - each of which I would crosscut to give (2) 48 inch sheets of each width. The 16 would rest on the floor on either side of the pantry while the 12 would rest on the 16's - all screwed to studs. Then I would use standard 3/4 melamine for the adjustable shelves - some 16's & some 12's.I would support the adjustable melamine shelving with metal shelf pins (1/4 inch) - and no back support (gulp!?)
Would such a shelf support a double high, triple deep of my Campbells Chicken Noodle (i.e. say, 50-75 pounds each if needed?)
I DAGS (see link at end) and came up with this interesting chart.
If I understand this correctly, a 30 inch span of 12 inch melamine will support 350 pounds before deflecting 1/4 inch. They don't mention 16 inch x 30, but from the chart, it looks like it would hold even more weight before deflection.
Any thoughts - besides the fact that I am over-thinking this?
Thanks!
Lou
Here's the chart:
-------------------- Shelf Deflection of 1/4" by Estimated Total Distributed Load in Pounds
This table shows loads that cause various 3/4" unfixed 8"- and 12"-wide boards to sag 1/4" when spanning 30", 36" and 42". Loads required to cause sagging less than 1/4" may be estimated by direct proportion. For example, the load required to cause a 1/8" sag is one-half that of the values in the table.
-------------------------------- Material Span
30" 36" 42" Material Width 8" 12" 8" 12" 8" 12"-------------------------------- Red Oak
356 534 209 313 133 206-------------------------------- Medium Density Fiberboard (raw or covered with melamine)
100 150 58 87 36 54-------------------------------- Birch faced plywood, veneer core
145 218 86 129 54 81-------------------------------- Birch faced plywood, particleboard of medium density
125 188 72 109 46 68-------------------------------- Particleboard of medium density covered two sides and one edge with nominal
0.050" high pressure decorative laminate 234 350 137 205 86 129-------------------------------- Information provided by the Department of Wood Science, Division of Forestry, at West Virginia University for the Architectural Woodwork Institute.
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Check it out at (watch the wrap):