# I need help with shelving.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-with-shelving/160001
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [March 9, 2003, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-with-shelving/160001 "2003-03-09T01:07:39Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2003, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-with-shelving/160001/1 "2003-03-09T01:07:39Z")
I just moved to NYC and have this dinky, poorly designed master closet. I had a company come in to “optimize” it and they’ve done a stellar job with those wire rack systems (don’t yell, it’s a rental, I’m not sinking a fortune in wood into a place I don’t own), _except_ for the shoe situation. They were going to give me one of those wire things that has the upside down U to hang each shoe on but my husband has shoe trees in all of his shoes so that was unworkable. Plus, we have more than 22 pairs of shoes.
So they bring (and install) these racks that have two bars, not level so the shoe kinda hangs by the heel, which is okay for my shoes but not so much for my husbands…again, it’s a size problem. He has big shoes that have big blocks of cedar in them with no heels. Sigh.
So here is what I’m left with: a wall wounted rack that’s usless for most shoes, a bunch of shoes on the floor of an already dinky closet and a 30"w x 7’h span of wall.
I’ve been doing a lot of searching on line and what I think I want is shelves, a bunch of shelves. Screw the cubbyhole systems, I’ll have the same problem with size. And putting up a ton of those ClosetMaid metal shelves won’t really work because of the big lip on them.
I’m thinking of those shelves (here’s another problem, I don’t know what they’re called!) where you have metal tracks that you screw into the wall, brackets that you put in at any height you want and shelves that sit on top of those. Like [these](http://www.rakks.com/pages/shelv.htm), only not so nice…it IS a closet after all.
So, to recap:
What are those types of shelves called?
Where can I get them online (please gawd, because Home Depot requires a trip into New Jersey)?
Do you have any better ideas?
Thanks in advance, I’m really at my wits end on this one.
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### Author:  [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2003, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-with-shelving/160001/2 "2003-03-09T01:22:34Z")
[Shelving units](http://www.shelvingsource.com/?source=overture)
[More shelving units](http://www.smartfurniture.com/indexgoogle.html)
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### Author:  [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2003, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-with-shelving/160001/3 "2003-03-09T01:27:25Z")
[This looks like a good place, too](http://www.thestoragestore.com/)
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### Author:  [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-with-shelving/160001/4 "2003-03-09T01:30:40Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by NoClueBoy \*
> [Shelving units](http://www.shelvingsource.com/?source=overture)
What, specifically, on this site is what I’m looking for? Because I can’t find it.
> [@](#):
>
> [More shelving units](http://www.smartfurniture.com/indexgoogle.html)
Nope. I saw that site and you have to stack them in three foot sections, leaving the big spaces you see in the picture on the front page. Cool stuff though, I might actually think about it for a bookcase.
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### Author:  [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2003, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-with-shelving/160001/5 "2003-03-09T01:50:20Z")
What, specifically, on this site is what I’m looking for? Because I can’t find it.
Look at wal systems. May be too big, it’s an industrial site, for the most part.
But, “shelving units” should be the proper phrase for continued searching. I used [Dogpile.com](http://Dogpile.com) to get these.
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### Author:  [@Forbin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Forbin)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2003, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-with-shelving/160001/6 "2003-03-09T02:19:54Z")
I found a site that sells some hardware that will work for you.
Here’s the lingo you’ll need to know.
Shelf Standards are: “metal tracks that you screw into the wall”
Brackets are, well, brackets.
[This](http://www.cornerhardware.com/hardware/Hardware/Shelving_Storage/Shelf_Standards-841.html) page has standards and wood shelving.
[This one](http://www.cornerhardware.com/hardware/Hardware/Shelving_Storage/Sterling_Brackets_Standards-1298.html) has standards and brackets.
Good luck.
I still remember the dopefest at your house in Willow Glen.
I had fun.
Ciao
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### Author:  [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2003, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-help-with-shelving/160001/7 "2003-03-09T17:02:50Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Forbin \*
> I found a site that sells some hardware that will work for you.
>
> Here’s the lingo you’ll need to know.
> Shelf Standards are: “metal tracks that you screw into the wall”
> Brackets are, well, brackets.
>
> I still remember the dopefest at your house in Willow Glen.
> I had fun.
> Ciao
That is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you, thank you!
I’m glad you had fun at my house, I don’t think I’m going to be able to host a Dopefest of that size ever again. It was fun though.