Things to consider when buying a shelving system for your home or business

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On September 22, 2015

If you are in the market for a shelving system for your home or business, there are literally thousands of options to choose between. From local hardware stores to big box home improvement centers to specialty retailers who sell storage systems online, the range of shelving materials, style, size, and functionality for each unit can be intimidating, sometimes resulting in consumers buying a product ill-suited for their particular need.

At ShelvingMate, we have been the premier storage solutions company in the Greater Toronto Area for several years, and we can minimize those hassles by helping customers select the perfect shelving system for their home and business. Our highly trained and experienced designers and consultants work with each client individually to understand their needs, and customize a solution respective of goals, deadlines, and budgetary concerns.

When it comes to selecting the right shelving system, a number of factors need to be considered before a purchase decision has been made, among them: Safety Regulations, Assembly, Size and Mobility Issues, Custom Accessories, Weight Capacity, and Budget.

Safety Regulations

Whether you are buying a shelving system for home or office, it is important to keep in mind safety issues and how they can affect your purchasing decision. In Ontario, local safety regulations are modeled after the broader National Building Code of Canada and, to a lesser extent, by the Canadian Standards Association – Occupational Health and Safety Program. Laws and regulations are in place to ensure shelves are made with the right materials, built to government standards, and are appropriate for the type of storage requirements in question.
For instance, in a commercial or industrial setting, it is highly unlikely that wood, glass, or plastic-based shelves would pass fire regulations – whereas the type of lightweight, high-strength galvanized steel shelves designed and installed by ShelvingMate meet all provincial and federal building and safety codes. Each custom designed shelving system we sell is manufactured by Metalsistem, which uses only the best 3.1 certified high tensile steel coils that conform to the EN10204 standards for quality and durability.

Assembly

Many consumers, particularly homeowners, make quick decisions on the kind of storage system to buy without taking into consideration assembly issues. Certain kinds of shelves require a multitude of tools for assembly, but each shelving system from ShelvingMate is boltless in design – meaning the only tools needed for assembly are elbow grease and a sturdy, rubberized mallet or hammer. You will never need a screw driver or other hand tools to put together one of our storage systems.

Size and Mobility

When buying a shelving system, it is important to consider the overall dimensions of the unit and how much it weighs. This is especially critical if you have assembled shelves in one spot, and need to disassemble them or move the entire unit to someplace else in your home or business. If the shelves are assembled inside a small storage area or closet, for instance, will you be able to move them out of the doorway by yourself, or without taking them apart first?

Custom Accessories

If your needs are based on storing items of different sizes, like file boxes, books, compact disc cases, or small parts, the typical shelving system purchased at a member’s only style warehouse store could be woefully inadequate to meet your demands. In this case, the systems designed and installed by ShelvingMate are highly customizable not only in terms of spacing between individual shelves, but in configuration and the kinds of items they can easily accommodate.

Weight Capacity

For the average homeowner, shelving needs may be limited to storing boxes of seasonal clothing, small appliances, yard equipment, hand tools, toys, sports equipment – all the things that naturally accumulate in a busy household from year to year. As such, the weight capacity of the shelving system is not an issue. However, in a commercial, industrial, or retail setting, storage systems that can accommodate a wide range of items of different weights and dimensions are a better choice.
At ShelvingMate, our line-up of Metalsistem products includes those for light to medium duty applications (Super 1-2-3, Unirack, Super Inox) and heavy duty requirements (Super 4-5-6, Superbo, SuperBuild, UniBuild, and Unicant).
The Super 1-2-3 modular shelving system is a versatile solution perfect for light storage requirements that would meet the needs of most home shelving needs. Best of all, each system in the series is interchangeable and can be mixed to meet different needs based on the items being stored.
In a commercial or industrial setting requiring a shelving system capable of storing truly heavy items, the SuperBuild pallet racking system is the obvious choice. Pallet racking is a storage system where products are stored flat on pallets, most often in horizontal rows with multiple levels and normally accessed using a forklift truck. SuperBuild is near legendary for accommodating extreme weight capacities of up to 15 tons – perfect for storing machinery, tools, and heavy vehicle parts and accessories.

Budget

In order to find the ideal shelving system for home or business, consumers need to take into consideration not only what they are storing, how and how often the items will be accessed, size and weight, but also how much they can afford to spend or have budgeted.
Too many customers we have spoken with over the years have made a quick decision based on what they can afford, rather than spending more time looking for a configurable, affordable shelving system to meet all of their needs. At ShelvingMate, this is never an issue as our consultants design custom systems based on unique requirements, with each product line able to grow and accommodate future needs. Instead of buying a completely new system, our clients can customize existing systems and save money in the long run.

Let ShelvingMate find you the best shelving racks for your storage needs