I got a call from a buddy I've helped build several engines for that wanted to tell me about a recent problem he had that resulted in an accident that almost got him killed!
so I figured it might be a good idea to pass on the problems source and some experience I've had from an engineering view point.
too make a longer story short my friend has a concrete block garage /shop similar to my garage, If you don,t remember what my shop construction looks like heres a couple pictures
keep in mind my areas rural and most homes are on 5-15 acre plots
large garages and horse pole barns are very common.
and keep in mind I purchase the land when I was 19 too retire on for $23K
50 years ago......yeah I try to plan ahead!
I could never afford to purchase it now yearly taxes alone exceed $6K
now his shop is a bit larger at 36 ft deep 12 ft tall and 100 ft long
but similar in the way it was constructed.
anyway he decided to buy some shelving, very similar to what I've used
but he decided to use just two anchors for each set of shelving, that he used, to secure it to the shop wall, in the top rear vertical support against the concrete wall. HE FIGURED ALL THE LOAD WAS STRAIT DOWN SO THERE WAS NO CHANCE OF THE SHELVING TIPPING OVER.
WE BOTH PURCHASE COMMERCIAL WAREHOUSE INDUSTRIAL QUALITY SHELVING, RATED AT 1500 LBS PER SHELF THAT LOOKS SIMILAR TO THIS
and then fastened it too the wall with a couple pitifully undersized toggle bolts
now you generally don,t need to even support this type of shelving if you don,t over load it but he decided to do that when he placed several layers of 3/4" plywood on the top surface and screw those layers together to form a 2.25 inch (three layer thick plywood top shelf) to store a good many spare engines on, so they would be up out of the way and these were just sitting on the top vertical support rails.
well he placed one too many engine blocks on the top shelf a couple days ago and it collapsed
and a couple of the shelfs tipped over , the vertical supports did not give under the load it was simply that he had placed too much weight on the outer edge, and the fasteners snapped and the shelving tipped,
he lost a couple blocks and transmissions but luckily no one was hurt!
now everyone I know that has done something similar in the past has added 4 vertical 6 x 6 pressure treated timbers along side the existing vertical shelving supports , and bolted them in 4-6 placed with 3" lag screws and washers to the shelving supports and
used (4) 8.5"-10" long concrete anchors per vertical support placed against the block wall, and they make a point of locating the supports in line with the solid pour
columns in the block walls, and then they place similar horizontal beams on the verticals before they place the three layer plywood shelf if they intend to place heave parts above eye level, this is not cheap as it will take about $160-$220 PER 2 FOOT WIDE AND 8 FT LONG SHELF UPPER SURFACE
(NOT COUNTING THE EXISTING COMMERCIAL SHELVING )
BUT adding the much stronger and securely fastened additional timbers is MUCH SAFER, THAN TRUSTING THE FAIRLY WEAK METAL SHELVING ALONE EVEN IF ITS RATED AT 1500 LBS PER SHELF
https://www.concretefasteners.com/1...dndv7BhiWcUwO1cIfUZmAD6hjD8yN0VMB0aApP88P8HAQ
http://www.homedepot.com/p/WeatherS...ft-2-Pressure-Treated-Timber-260691/100071059
PERSONALLY I PLACE ENGINES AND TRANSMISSION'S NO HIGHER THAN 3 FEET OFF THE FLOOR, BUT SEVERAL OF THE GUYS i KNOW THINK THAT PLACING THEM HIGHER TENDS TO HELP AIR FLOW AND HEAT KEEP THE PARTS RUST FREE MUCH LONGER....I JUST PLACE PARTS IN MULTI LAYER PLASTIC BAGS AFTER COATING WITH PROPER RUST PREVENTATIVE WAX/GREASE
KEEP IN MIND THERES SEVERAL VERSIONS OF WD40 SPECIALIST
YOU WANT THE LONG TERM CORROSION INHIBITOR
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...torring-spare-cylinder-heads.5314/#post-15789
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/storing-an-engine-block.12262/#post-60147
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/storing-cams.571/#post-19423
so I figured it might be a good idea to pass on the problems source and some experience I've had from an engineering view point.
too make a longer story short my friend has a concrete block garage /shop similar to my garage, If you don,t remember what my shop construction looks like heres a couple pictures
keep in mind my areas rural and most homes are on 5-15 acre plots
large garages and horse pole barns are very common.
and keep in mind I purchase the land when I was 19 too retire on for $23K
50 years ago......yeah I try to plan ahead!
I could never afford to purchase it now yearly taxes alone exceed $6K
now his shop is a bit larger at 36 ft deep 12 ft tall and 100 ft long
but similar in the way it was constructed.
anyway he decided to buy some shelving, very similar to what I've used
but he decided to use just two anchors for each set of shelving, that he used, to secure it to the shop wall, in the top rear vertical support against the concrete wall. HE FIGURED ALL THE LOAD WAS STRAIT DOWN SO THERE WAS NO CHANCE OF THE SHELVING TIPPING OVER.
WE BOTH PURCHASE COMMERCIAL WAREHOUSE INDUSTRIAL QUALITY SHELVING, RATED AT 1500 LBS PER SHELF THAT LOOKS SIMILAR TO THIS
and then fastened it too the wall with a couple pitifully undersized toggle bolts
now you generally don,t need to even support this type of shelving if you don,t over load it but he decided to do that when he placed several layers of 3/4" plywood on the top surface and screw those layers together to form a 2.25 inch (three layer thick plywood top shelf) to store a good many spare engines on, so they would be up out of the way and these were just sitting on the top vertical support rails.
well he placed one too many engine blocks on the top shelf a couple days ago and it collapsed
and a couple of the shelfs tipped over , the vertical supports did not give under the load it was simply that he had placed too much weight on the outer edge, and the fasteners snapped and the shelving tipped,
he lost a couple blocks and transmissions but luckily no one was hurt!
now everyone I know that has done something similar in the past has added 4 vertical 6 x 6 pressure treated timbers along side the existing vertical shelving supports , and bolted them in 4-6 placed with 3" lag screws and washers to the shelving supports and
used (4) 8.5"-10" long concrete anchors per vertical support placed against the block wall, and they make a point of locating the supports in line with the solid pour
columns in the block walls, and then they place similar horizontal beams on the verticals before they place the three layer plywood shelf if they intend to place heave parts above eye level, this is not cheap as it will take about $160-$220 PER 2 FOOT WIDE AND 8 FT LONG SHELF UPPER SURFACE
(NOT COUNTING THE EXISTING COMMERCIAL SHELVING )
BUT adding the much stronger and securely fastened additional timbers is MUCH SAFER, THAN TRUSTING THE FAIRLY WEAK METAL SHELVING ALONE EVEN IF ITS RATED AT 1500 LBS PER SHELF
https://www.concretefasteners.com/1...dndv7BhiWcUwO1cIfUZmAD6hjD8yN0VMB0aApP88P8HAQ
http://www.homedepot.com/p/WeatherS...ft-2-Pressure-Treated-Timber-260691/100071059
PERSONALLY I PLACE ENGINES AND TRANSMISSION'S NO HIGHER THAN 3 FEET OFF THE FLOOR, BUT SEVERAL OF THE GUYS i KNOW THINK THAT PLACING THEM HIGHER TENDS TO HELP AIR FLOW AND HEAT KEEP THE PARTS RUST FREE MUCH LONGER....I JUST PLACE PARTS IN MULTI LAYER PLASTIC BAGS AFTER COATING WITH PROPER RUST PREVENTATIVE WAX/GREASE
KEEP IN MIND THERES SEVERAL VERSIONS OF WD40 SPECIALIST
YOU WANT THE LONG TERM CORROSION INHIBITOR
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...torring-spare-cylinder-heads.5314/#post-15789
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/storing-an-engine-block.12262/#post-60147
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/storing-cams.571/#post-19423
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