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How high can you stack white boxes.

Started by shadroch,

20 posts in this topic

shadroch

shadroch

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I am beginning to move my many,many boxes from various places to a climate controlled warehouse. In honor of the move I have bought all new white storage boxes.When I started to stack them upon each other, it seemed anything over four boxes high becomes unstable.Does anyone have any experiance/ thoughts on this. Books will most likely sit undisturbed for a good while.

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Darthdiesel

Darthdiesel

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4 is the limit for a solitary stack..also no dividers or mylars inside - prevent boxes from stacking flat. No matter what the bottom of the box above will sink a bit into the bottom box. If you have more columns adjacent, you can probably stack as high as 8 without crushing the bottom boxes?

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Darthdiesel

Darthdiesel

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you'd need 9 boxes for a 3 column stack each way. The key is that the boxes are the same size but no matter what you'll have some space left over at every other level because 3 boxes wide is not quite the length of on box.

 

I've never sone it this way due to making the back box on the 2nd tier inaccessible, without removing 5 other boxes to get to it...

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Perry-migration

Perry-migration

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Charlie M (my satannic hampster) told me that this is a good idea and it will work.

 

The first floor is four boxes wide (or three, dependent on exact size), the second floor is four boxes (or three, also) across that first floor, and so forth. Should be able to get six to eight floors high in this criss-cross manner if the boxes are of sturdy heavy-duty design.

 

May also be a good idea to rotate them in the opposite manner (top floor becomes the first floor, etc.) after awhile.

 

Charlie M. has many long boxes of books stored away in that fashion.

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Crackandpresstoan11

Crackandpresstoan11

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I was stacking them about 6-8 boxes high, and noticed the books in the bottom box were bent slightly (after being stacked for at least 10 yrs. ) I bought some heavy duty racks at Home Depot for $50 each. Holds 10 long boxes and I don't have to stack the boxes on each other.

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lighthouse

lighthouse

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I run stacks seven high without incident, always alternating levels in sets of three... Three boxes North-South, then three East-West and so on...

 

I wouldn't recommend going seven high, since you're probably not as tall as I am... tongue.gif I can get the stack up to ten high, but getting them back down is an adventure. smile.gif

 

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE make sure that you put the first row of boxes on some sort of non-porous riser at least three inches off the ground. A wooden pallet will do in a pinch, but preferably nothing that will wick moisture.

 

And if you really don't plan to touch the boxes for quite a while, it's not a bad idea to take some precautions to protect from insect and rodent damage. At my storage unit in SoCal, I have the boxes shrink-wrapped together in the stacks to provide an extra layer of protection from things that eat paper...

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awe4one

awe4one

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I've been able to go 5 boxes high using the crisscross method. Make sure that the comics in the bottom two box rows are individually boarded to provide added stability. Never had a problem....yet....

 

 

Jim

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shadroch

shadroch

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  • Author
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I run stacks seven high without incident, always alternating levels in sets of three... Three boxes North-South, then three East-West and so on...

 

I wouldn't recommend going seven high, since you're probably not as tall as I am... tongue.gif I can get the stack up to ten high, but getting them back down is an adventure. smile.gif

 

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE make sure that you put the first row of boxes on some sort of non-porous riser at least three inches off the ground. A wooden pallet will do in a pinch, but preferably nothing that will wick moisture.

 

And if you really don't plan to touch the boxes for quite a while, it's not a bad idea to take some precautions to protect from insect and rodent damage. At my storage unit in SoCal, I have the boxes shrink-wrapped together in the stacks to provide an extra layer of protection from things that eat paper...

 

I'm thinking of shrink-wrapping the bottom level, but that would preclude rotating them in the future. warehouse provides insurance against water damage and pests, so long as nothing is on the ground. I have some coke trays I am using.

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thecomicsheet

thecomicsheet

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Bed bath and beyond sells great racks that hold 12 magazine boxes.

 

 

Are these like wire racks? Do you know how expensive they are? I'm trying to find something for maybe 25 dollars that can hold 9 - 12 short boxes.

 

If you have really full long boxes, I don't recommend more than 3 high. I've had boxes stacked as long as 20 years that way without collapsing. If you go really high, all it takes is for 1 box on the bottom to sag and you can damage hundreds of books.

 

I bought some cardboard dividers a long time ago that fit level with the top of a long box. When I put several of these in a box (maybe half a dozen) it provides some protection from sagging in the middle.

 

Short boxes are better for high stacks. Less chance of sagging.

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ecfanman

ecfanman

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I bit the bullet and built shelves using two by fours. They aren't beautiful, but they do the job. They are six shelves high and they support 5 long boxes wide. Makes getting to the books a lot easier than having a bunch of boxes to get to the stuff on the bottom row.

 

ECFANMAN

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garthgantu

garthgantu

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I'm with Blazing Bob - no more than 4 boxes (short boxes) high, usually only 2 or 3. Yes this will take up a lot of real estate in your house, but the peace of mind is worth it - especially if you live in California and have ridden out a few serious earthquakes laugh.gif

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davidpg

davidpg

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Here is part of my setup (this is about one third of my collection):

 

storage.jpg

 

These are the cheapest shelves available at Ikea (~$25 CAN. each), but I have the doubled up...two shelving units, one in front of another.

 

This way, they are the perfect long box length and PLENTY strong...not to mention affordable. They work great.

 

10 points for each item you can identify. As well, please excuse the mess... blush.gifgrin.gif

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davidpg

davidpg

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I see a tire. Hey, would you sell that ladder?
\

 

Naw...it my Mom's (I borrowed it).

 

BTW, that wheel is a very rare in North America original equipment Volkswagen 15" Lecastellet wheel (it came on a limited edition car here in Canada only).

 

They go for ~$600 USD per set when polished...

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