# Sheet goods storage



## OzarkJim (8 mo ago)

We have an 8×8 area of shop that we plan to build permanent sheet goods storage. Adjacent to that we plan to build a diy panel saw.

Anybody got pics of sheet good storage with sheets on edge?


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## Rick Dennington (Aug 27, 2009)

Jim,

I have a couple of pictures that show how I store my sheet goods. I built a "tray or trough" , or channel, nailed it to the wall to keep it from moving, and lay my plywood (s), laminate, etc. sideways. It will hold around 25-30 sheets of different sizes. I also made a "shorts bin" to set next to it for cut-offs. That way the plywood and cut-offs are up off of the floor. Hope this helps to give you some ideas.


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## JackDuren (Oct 10, 2015)

> We have an 8×8 area of shop that we plan to build permanent sheet goods storage. Adjacent to that we plan to build a diy panel saw.
> 
> Anybody got pics of sheet good storage with sheets on edge?
> 
> - W2Woodworks


Is this for a business or personal?


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## CommonJoe (May 8, 2021)

No pictures but I had one that my table saw butted up against.
Used the top platforms for storing misc laminates, lumber rack mounted to the side and the first few slots were dedicated to 4×10's


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## OzarkJim (8 mo ago)

Rick and Joe, Thanks for pictures! We have a steel roll around bin that I picked up from a factory that was going out of business. Using that for shorts but I like your idea better Rick. Joe's picture looks about what I want to build for the whole sheets (minus the lumber racks on side). We are going to put most of our full length lumber over the top of the paint room. Paint room is going to be 8' tall but our rafters are 10' so there will be a 2' gap. We will probably have a roll around cart for some lumber though.

We also have some industrial roll around carts I picked up at same factory. Thought about making carts we could take into Lowes and roll right into the enclosed trailer to bring home! The less us old farts have to handle heavy sheet goods the better LOL…

Jack, I have to admit it is starting to get annoying that people keep asking me if "this is for a business". We are NOT a commercial woodworking shop!! Just because someone worked hard all their lives and finally has enough resources to build a larger dedicated woodworking shop does NOT mean they are in business. Some of us just like to have nice tools and a well laid out shop. Sometimes dreams do come true if you work hard at it!!

Some guys collect cars. I collect tools!


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## JackDuren (Oct 10, 2015)

When you say "we" it's a bit confusing. Stop saying it and it won't be confusing.

You didn't specify either, do I asked.

You got issues…

How many times does someone come o here and say they want the best, only to say 10 posts later they have a budget.


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## OzarkJim (8 mo ago)

Responding to Jack on personal message.

It is we because I have a friend in the shop with me. So it is WE.

W2 is a reference to both of our last names starting with W. Also the name of our fishing team.


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## Knockonit (Nov 5, 2017)

well now, one should not worry about internet folks not liking or understanding the items at hand, or might be better to not post then with questions, problem is the internet is the yin and yang of the world, lol.

always a better idea, direction, information, and comments, thin skin allows one to wade thru it and not get frustrated with those that love to create stuff on websites ,lol, 
lotsa good info, to be had for sure and also a gaggle of nonsense, but hey thats just me, reason i don't post projects, was on one site and amazing the derogatory comments, lol,just decided reading not so good comments ,was not conducive to me enjoying being on site, so i just hang out here and a couple other friendlier sites for that tidbit of information i missed somewhere along the way learning about wood, and or a new idea.
best of luck with new shop, i'm just finalizing my joint, dust collector finally up and running today not too soon ,retirement from my biz starts in two weeks ,yeehaw, may the fun begin
rj in az


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## JackDuren (Oct 10, 2015)

> Responding to Jack on personal message.
> 
> It is we because I have a friend in the shop with me. So it is WE.
> 
> ...


Reason I asked to clear this up. Have a drink or two and chill out…


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## Knockonit (Nov 5, 2017)

and based on original post inquiry, i stood my sheets on end, easier for me (74) to move to table saw and or cart. built a stand up rack, covered outside with plywood and hung all my clamps on it, space in a shop, no matter the size seems to always be an issue, well at least for me, i tend to keep adding stuff, tools ect. i'm a gonna try and finger out how to post a picture and i'll show a couple things i did to accommodate my silliness
rj in az


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## JackDuren (Oct 10, 2015)

My personal shop doesn't have tge clearance so I turn sheet goods sideways in a rack and put trim, etc above it..


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## HowardAppel (Feb 3, 2010)

Does anyone have any concerns about storing hard wood boards vertically instead of horizontally. I don't want to store horizontally because then I would have to take boards off to look at other boards instead of just being able to tilt them forward to see what is behind. I am talking about storing several hundred board feet of several different species at the same time. Couple of points-this will be a hobby shop, but a very large and well equipped one; I have plenty of space to store however I want.

Thanks.


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

> i m just finalizing my joint, dust collector finally up and running today not too soon ,retirement from my biz starts in two weeks ,yeehaw, may the fun begin
> rj in az
> 
> - Knockonit


Wishing you the best in that rj. I never knew it would be as hectic, but I love it.


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

> i m just finalizing my joint, dust collector finally up and running today not too soon ,retirement from my biz starts in two weeks ,yeehaw, may the fun begin
> rj in az
> 
> - Knockonit


Wishing you the best in that rj. I never knew it would be as hectic, but I love it.

Mine plywood sheets are in a pile, stacked. It's a huge PIA if you want the sheet on the bottom, but I don't have any curvy sheets that way. The stuff that is in process to work, is leaning against a wall.


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

> Does anyone have any concerns about storing hard wood boards vertically instead of horizontally. I don t want to store horizontally because then I would have to take boards off to look at other boards instead of just being able to tilt them forward to see what is behind. I am talking about storing several hundred board feet of several different species at the same time. Couple of points-this will be a hobby shop, but a very large and well equipped one; I have plenty of space to store however I want.
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> - HowardAppel


Howard,
Dried lumber should have no impact from vertical storage as long as you keep it as vertical as practical.

Advantages are huge as you summarized, only reason many of us can't do that is much of the hardwoods purchased from a dealer are in 10', 12' and 16' lengths which make anyone with a 8' ceiling very sad 8^).
I have a 9'6" ceiling, but that would only allow for a few of my shorter boards.

Being able to flip through the stock would be a blessing, just have some safety chains across each bin to catch any that try to escape. Also handy to have the bins wide enough to allow you to shift the "rejects" over to the side as you peruse through since more than a few boards deep and it gets cumbersome.

Every "botique" exotic wood dealer I have visited uses vertical storage.


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## JackDuren (Oct 10, 2015)

If your going to use it quickly it's not bad, but if it's just going to stand there , I would want it flat.


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

Jack,

If you are married it's "we". If you divorce it's still ''we''. Asked any lawyer.


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## OzarkJim (8 mo ago)

> Jack,
> 
> If you are married it s "we". If you divorce it s still we . Asked any lawyer.
> 
> - AlaskaGuy


Ain't that the truth!! But just to be clear. In this case, the "we" is just a nod to the fact I have a partner in the shop.

In the south we tend to use the terms me and we interchangeably. But as I see it there is no reason to dwell on someone's poor grammar IF you can still understand what they intended to say. After all this isn't grade school and those doing so are not English teachers. Besides it's a bit rude. Hopefully, I have clarified my use of the term, and everyone is on the same page now.


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## JackDuren (Oct 10, 2015)

Why I asked a simple question #2.


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## mbchrapko (Mar 10, 2017)

In my 12×12 shed, I rebuilt the storage rack at 45 deg to the walls into a corner. Full width sheets are in the center, partials and misc are on the sides. The old design was parallel to the wall and the shed had to be pretty much emptied out to get at a sheet. Not sure if you're 8×8 space is in a corner, but I thought I'd share anyway!


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## EdDantes (Aug 24, 2018)

> We have an 8×8 area of shop that we plan to build permanent sheet goods storage. Adjacent to that we plan to build a diy panel saw.
> 
> Anybody got pics of sheet good storage with sheets on edge?
> 
> - W2Woodworks


I have a small garage shop and have been through a few iterations. Recently built this one from Wood magazine and it's been the best so far.

https://www.woodmagazine.com/woodworking-plans/shop-organization/roll-around-plywood-sheet-cart

The mobility helps since it has solved both transport and storage issues. But even aside from the mobility, the ability to store offcuts "inside" with sheets in front is nice. I did make the platform wider to get more storage.


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## OzarkJim (8 mo ago)

Our storage area will be in fact be in a corner.

The more I look at carts the more it occurs to me that we could build 4 or 5 carts and take them to the hardware store with us. That way we could load them once put them in our enclosed trailer and wheel them into place once at the shop!! Not sure if the big box stores will let you do that or not but we do biz with smaller stores that I know would allow it.


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## jwoodcraft (7 mo ago)

I have a vertical built in rack- 45" wide with one divider from 2x4s, & about 8 1/2' tall. It currently has just over 60 sheets in it. The trick is to make the base from waxed MDF over 2x material, so the sheets slide in & out readily. Sheets are carried horizontal, tipped up, & slid in, so the ceiling height in front of the rack has to be taller than the diagonal of a 4x8' panel.


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## OzarkJim (8 mo ago)

Guess I should update with a picture of what we did build. It's not quite complete as we need to add more square tubing dividers both on the bottom and on top too. About 80 3/4" sheet capacity on bottom. Smaller cut pieces above. Has Melamine bottom on 2x. We will be building a panel saw on wall to left in picture. Idea being we can slide stock from storage right onto the saw.


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## northwoodsman (Feb 22, 2008)

I found that having a large quantity of sheet goods on hand isn't wise investment of capital unless you are buying it at the bottom of the market and the prices are increasing, particularly in the current market. Sheet goods are often best stored horizontally so the weight keeps them flat, however if you have multiple species, qualities, or thicknesses it's makes it very inconvenient to sort through. I tried to never keep a full sheet of anything in stock unless I was in the middle of a project and had a specific need for it. But in your situation... In your latest photo what I would have done differently is left out the bottom 2 x 4 framing and flooring and utilized rolling racks and stored them in that area. You could roll the rack up to your truck to unload, roll the rack back into storage, roll the rack out to your cutting area (not everything will be cut on your panel saw), etc. As we get older sheet goods aren't getting any lighter. When I was in woodshop back in high school that is the system that we used and it worked very well.


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## OzarkJim (8 mo ago)

northwoodsman said:


> I found that having a large quantity of sheet goods on hand isn't wise investment of capital unless you are buying it at the bottom of the market and the prices are increasing, particularly in the current market. Sheet goods are often best stored horizontally so the weight keeps them flat, however if you have multiple species, qualities, or thicknesses it's makes it very inconvenient to sort through. I tried to never keep a full sheet of anything in stock unless I was in the middle of a project and had a specific need for it. But in your situation... In your latest photo what I would have done differently is left out the bottom 2 x 4 framing and flooring and utilized rolling racks and stored them in that area. You could roll the rack up to your truck to unload, roll the rack back into storage, roll the rack out to your cutting area (not everything will be cut on your panel saw), etc. As we get older sheet goods aren't getting any lighter. When I was in woodshop back in high school that is the system that we used and it worked very well.


I actually thought of the rolling racks and mentioned it in a previous post. But this rack was a quick build so we just went with it. We may never fill it up but then again there are times when we are buying 10-15 sheets at a time for various projects (not unusual for us to have multiple projects going at once). And sometimes we are able to get discounts on sheet stock as some of our suppliers are able to tap into surplus sales. 

Having said that I have no issue with letting the suppliers store our lumber till we are ready to buy LOL.


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## CommonJoe (May 8, 2021)

OzarkJim said:


> Guess I should update with a picture of what we did build. It's not quite complete as we need to add more square tubing dividers both on the bottom and on top too. About 80 3/4" sheet capacity on bottom. Smaller cut pieces above. Has Melamine bottom on 2x. We will be building a panel saw on wall to left in picture. Idea being we can slide stock from storage right onto the saw.
> View attachment 3855059


One thing I think you are going to find is that you are going to end up with a lot of drops, of a lot of different material types. How you handle them is obviously up to you, but what I did was to use the rack for full and half or bigger sheets only, and I used the space next to the rack to stand up the different drops in sections according to material type. This keeps your rack from turning into a cluster "trap".
I also made my dividers out of full sheets of 1/2" PB, and spaced them for about 10 sheets per section. I found this is a good division to keep the different types of wood separated.


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## northwoodsman (Feb 22, 2008)

OzarkJim said:


> I actually thought of the rolling racks and mentioned it in a previous post. But this rack was a quick build so we just went with it. We may never fill it up but then again there are times when we are buying 10-15 sheets at a time for various projects (not unusual for us to have multiple projects going at once). And sometimes we are able to get discounts on sheet stock as some of our suppliers are able to tap into surplus sales.
> 
> Having said that I have no issue with letting the suppliers store our lumber till we are ready to buy LOL.


Do you any chance of water EVER getting into that corner of the shop? Either from flooding or a roof leak? If you do you're going to want a way to move your supply quickly that's another reason why rolling racks would be beneficial. If I recall don't you have some metal working equipment also? I'd like to have some of the upright carts and the flat ones they have at Lowe's and HD.


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## OzarkJim (8 mo ago)

northwoodsman said:


> Do you any chance of water EVER getting into that corner of the shop? Either from flooding or a roof leak? If you do you're going to want a way to move your supply quickly that's another reason why rolling racks would be beneficial. If I recall don't you have some metal working equipment also? I'd like to have some of the upright carts and the flat ones they have at Lowe's and HD.


No chance of flooding as slab is 6" above grade on that side and 3' above grade on other (plenty of slope for drainage LOL). Brand new roof so I hope it won't leak!!!! Although we do have 1 place that leaks where there is missing screw but that is on other side of shop and will be fixed shortly. 

I do agree in some respects that carts are a good idea. And in fact we actually have some very fancy stainless steel carts that we picked up when a factory went out of business. But this rack will do for us at present.You might notice in picture that we have some low profile carts beside the rack that are used to ferry larger base cabinets around.


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## CommonJoe (May 8, 2021)

OzarkJim said:


> No chance of flooding as slab is 6" above grade on that side and 3' above grade on other (plenty of slope for drainage LOL). Brand new roof so I hope it won't leak!!!! Although we do have 1 place that leaks where there is missing screw but that is on other side of shop and will be fixed shortly.
> 
> I do agree in some respects that carts are a good idea. And in fact we actually have some very fancy stainless steel carts that we picked up when a factory went out of business. But this rack will do for us at present.You might notice in picture that we have some low profile carts beside the rack that are used to ferry larger base cabinets around.


Rolling carts take up too much space for sheet storage.


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## northwoodsman (Feb 22, 2008)

OzarkJim said:


> No chance of flooding as slab is 6" above grade on that side and 3' above grade on other (plenty of slope for drainage LOL). Brand new roof so I hope it won't leak!!!! Although we do have 1 place that leaks where there is missing screw but that is on other side of shop and will be fixed shortly.
> 
> I do agree in some respects that carts are a good idea. And in fact we actually have some very fancy stainless steel carts that we picked up when a factory went out of business. But this rack will do for us at present.You might notice in picture that we have some low profile carts beside the rack that are used to ferry larger base cabinets around.


I would say that you are safe. I did see those carts.


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## northwoodsman (Feb 22, 2008)

CommonJoe said:


> Rolling carts take up too much space for sheet storage.


But if you have the space they make it easy on your back. They also make it easy for cleaning or if you decide you want to change your flow or rearrange your shop (which never happens) .


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## CommonJoe (May 8, 2021)

northwoodsman said:


> But if you have the space they make it easy on your back. They also make it easy for cleaning or if you decide you want to change your flow or rearrange your shop (which never happens) .


I can't deny that. I bring sheets in off the truck and stack them on a sheet rock cart when I know I'll be using them right away. It is very nice to roll them around. I also have the home depot style lumber racks that the sheets lay flat on for longer storage.


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## northwoodsman (Feb 22, 2008)

CommonJoe said:


> I can't deny that. I bring sheets in off the truck and stack them on a sheet rock cart when I know I'll be using them right away. It is very nice to roll them around. I also have the home depot style lumber racks that the sheets lay flat on for longer storage.


I hope you repainted them from the bright orange. Haha.


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## OzarkJim (8 mo ago)

northwoodsman said:


> I hope you repainted them from the bright orange. Haha.


Actually the carts we picked up were stainless steel and not painted. I know odd when OSHA is around eh. They look like something you could put a Jet Ski on to wheel it around a shop. No idea what they used them for. Also picked up two carts for 55 gallon drums. Since I have two 55 gallon drums on the dust collection system that worked out nicely....... Great thing it was all for free!!!


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## CommonJoe (May 8, 2021)

OzarkJim said:


> Guess I should update with a picture of what we did build. It's not quite complete as we need to add more square tubing dividers both on the bottom and on top too. About 80 3/4" sheet capacity on bottom. Smaller cut pieces above. Has Melamine bottom on 2x. We will be building a panel saw on wall to left in picture. Idea being we can slide stock from storage right onto the saw.
> View attachment 3855059





CommonJoe said:


> One thing I think you are going to find is that you are going to end up with a lot of drops, of a lot of different material types. How you handle them is obviously up to you, but what I did was to use the rack for full and half or bigger sheets only, and I used the space next to the rack to stand up the different drops in sections according to material type. This keeps your rack from turning into a cluster "trap".
> I also made my dividers out of full sheets of 1/2" PB, and spaced them for about 10 sheets per section. I found this is a good division to keep the different types of wood separated.












You will see after a while that you will accommodate a lot of different materials and sizes of drops. It has always been a challenge to keep them separated. I use the wall space around my saw to store them. This also gives me a quick visual of what I have for "gravy" stock.


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## northwoodsman (Feb 22, 2008)

CommonJoe said:


> You will see after a while that you will accommodate a lot of different materials and sizes of drops. It has always been a challenge to keep them separated. I use the wall space around my saw to store them. This also gives me a quick visual of what I have for "gravy" stock.


I had a much smaller selection of stock stored similar to this then one of my water heaters sprung a leak. It sure doesn't take much water coming in contact with MDF, particle board, or materials containing these materials to get destroyed, they soak it up like a sponge. After this incident I placed small sections of square tubing that I had underneath to raise it off the floor. My water heaters were probably 14' away but water runs downhill and this spot was probably 1/16" lower as luck would have it. I sure do envy you guys with these big dedicated shops!


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## CommonJoe (May 8, 2021)

northwoodsman said:


> I sure do envy you guys with these big dedicated shops!


You shouldn't, it's very costly when you're paying for a lease.
My last shop I hade angled platforms with wall dividers about every 2 feet, but it always messed with material that didn't fit in between the dividers, so now I just wing it across the wall. Keeping it off the floor is a good thing.


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## OzarkJim (8 mo ago)

northwoodsman said:


> I had a much smaller selection of stock stored similar to this then one of my water heaters sprung a leak. It sure doesn't take much water coming in contact with MDF, particle board, or materials containing these materials to get destroyed, they soak it up like a sponge. After this incident I placed small sections of square tubing that I had underneath to raise it off the floor. My water heaters were probably 14' away but water runs downhill and this spot was probably 1/16" lower as luck would have it. I sure do envy you guys with these big dedicated shops!


Not sure if you can tell but our rack is about 4” off the floor so no issue with water even if a leak.
I used melamine under stock both first level and second.
I welded up square tubing for dividers and will be adding more. So one every foot (you can store 10 3/4” sheets per ft. That allows for division of stock. Will probably do same on upper level to increase storage and make it easier to inventory and put cut stock.
You are right though that water and MDF/particle board don’t mix

Keep in mind that our soon tone built panel saw goes next to this rack. That was dreamed up before the build started


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## OzarkJim (8 mo ago)

. I sure do envy you guys with these big dedicated shops!
[/QUOTE]
You don't have to be. It took me 63 years to get this dream shop!!! There were a lot of years before that with no shop at all or a very small one! Last two years of my career in the oilfield, while living in Carlsbad, NM. I was working out of a 8x10 storage building! 

I originally planned to build this shop 50x100 with 16' walls so I could park the RV in it. Looking at heating and cooling I opted to go smaller and will build a roof over for the RV instead. 

Lucky for me I have 20 acres to build on so and no issues with urban code/permits (or taxes and rent)!! The estate and everything that sits on it are fully paid for!! 

I have been accused of being a bragger and it is somewhat true. But who wouldn't be proud to own a nice ship right? I'll throw this out there on top of the rest: this isn't the only shop on the property. I have the old shop that is 30x30 with an 8x30 lean too. Plus a double garage with an attic. The old shop will now be more dedicated to landscaping (kubota tractor and zero turn) and welding. Bottom of the garage is big boy toys and the attic is the holiday decorations mostly. 

I'm not ashamed that I worked hard all my life and it finally paid off. I think most folks can appreciate and respect that. FYI, my first job in the oilfield was minimum wage!!


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## OzarkJim (8 mo ago)

The old shop, Needs some paint LOL








The garage or as we call it the toy bin LOL


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## CommonJoe (May 8, 2021)

OzarkJim said:


> The old shop, Needs some paint LOL
> View attachment 3855328
> 
> The garage or as we call it the toy bin LOL
> View attachment 3855324


I like the toy bin. very cool.


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## Sark (May 31, 2017)

Sheet goods stored vertically. Right now using simple plywood dividers approximately 10” deep and 48” high to keep the sheet goods from falling over. Dividers are about 4-5” apart. Easy to slide in and slide out. The floor is commerical vinyl tile so the plywood can slide easily into place.

This system can store a lot of plywood, full sheets and cutoffs. But you need to have full 8’ high ceiling.


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## OzarkJim (8 mo ago)

Sark said:


> Sheet goods stored vertically. Right now using simple plywood dividers approximately 10” deep and 48” high to keep the sheet goods from falling over. Dividers are about 4-5” apart. Easy to slide in and slide out. The floor is commerical vinyl tile so the plywood can slide easily into place.
> 
> This system can store a lot of plywood, full sheets and cutoffs. But you need to have full 8’ high ceiling.


Show us pictures please.


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## OzarkJim (8 mo ago)

We went with 10' ceilings just for this reason. You actually need more than 8' if you tip an 8' sheet over.


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