Workshop Timber Rack
A practical storage rack for boards, offcuts and sheet material, helping small workshops keep timber organised, dry and easy to access.
What you'll need
Materials
- C24 studs or PAR softwood, plywood back optional, heavy-duty screws or lag bolts.
Tools
- Drill/driver, saw, level, stud finder if fixing to wall.
Material complexity: Low
Use offcuts for spacers, end stops and sacrificial strips. Buy one spare 2.4m 75×50mm length.
Main risk: Fixing only into plasterboard, or loading the top arms with sheet goods — the rack pulls out or collapses.
Cut list
Default 1800 × 2000 × 400mm wall rack, C24 carcassing from a normal UK merchant.
- Uprights ×275×50mm × 2000mm
- Arms ×12–16: 75×50mm × 400mm (6–8 pairs)
- End stops ×6–8: 21×44mm × 80mm offcuts, or screw-on blocks
- Optional ply back: 12mm × 1800 × 400mm if you cannot hit solid studs on both uprights
- Coach screws or M8 masonry anchors for the wall — not plasterboard plugs
- Exterior or zinc-plated 5.0×80mm screws, upright-to-arm, two per arm
Buy one spare 2.4m 75×50mm length. Arms come out of it with less waste.
Step-by-step
Decide what the rack must hold
Measure your longest regular board and the heaviest sheet you store. This default (1800×2000×400mm) is for short stock and offcuts on a domestic workshop wall. If you keep 3.6m lengths, plan a second rack or horizontal wall hooks. Mark the wall in pencil: two uprights, 1800mm apart, 2000mm tall.
Tip: Sort the pile first. The rack should match what you already own, not an imaginary yard.
Find solid fixings — or stop
Use a stud finder on a timber wall, or pick sound brick/block. Mark two fixing points on each upright line, high and low. If you only have plasterboard, screw a 12mm ply pad across several studs first. Do not use cavity plugs for a loaded rack.
Watch out: The wall is the structure. Pretty arms on weak plugs will come down with the timber.
Cut uprights and arms
Cut two 75×50mm uprights to 2000mm. Cut 12–16 arms at 400mm. Ease the room-end of each arm so it does not snag. Cut small end-stop blocks from offcuts.
Tip: Batch-cut the arms. A stop block on the saw keeps them the same length.
Fix the uprights plumb
Offer each upright to the wall, check plumb with a level, and fix through into the stud or masonry. Two fat fixings per upright minimum. Recheck plumb before you tighten the second one — a twisted upright makes every arm look drunk.
Fit the arms with a back-slope
Start at a comfortable lowest bay (keep sheet goods low). Screw each pair of arms to the uprights with two 5.0×80mm screws, sloping 5–10mm down toward the wall. Add an end stop on the room end. Space pairs 600–800mm apart. Leave a finger-gap between stored boards so air can move.
Tip: Load a couple of sacrificial offcuts and lean on the arm before you fill the rack. If the wall fixing moves, undo it and start again.
Watch out: Do not park a pack of 18mm ply on the top arms. Heavy and high is how racks fail.
Tips & traps
- Undersized fixings into plasterboard only. The wall, not the timber, is the weak point.
- No gap between boards — they stay damp and stain.
- Arms deeper than the aisle, so sheets jam when you try to slide them out.
- Heavy material stored high. Keep sheet goods low.
- Arms sloping toward the room. Boards walk off.
Planning & timber detail
Why build this?
A simple wall rack gets boards off the floor, stops them bowing, and makes you use offcuts instead of forgetting them. It is a one-day beginner build if you treat the wall fixings as the important part — not the timber joints.
Where it works best
Against a solid masonry wall, or on timber studs you can actually find. Leave aisle space for sheet goods. Unheated sheds are fine if the floor is dry and air can move behind the boards.
Planning notes
Sort what you actually keep before you cut. A rack for 2.4m boards is a different thing from an offcut rack. Label bays by length or species so you use the short stuff.
Leave a clear aisle. If a sheet cannot slide out without rotating, the rack is too deep for the room.
Typical sizes
Default wall rack: two uprights 2000mm apart on centres, 1800mm overall width, arms 400mm long with a slight slope back toward the wall so boards cannot walk off.
Arm spacing 600mm for planed boards, 800mm if you store waney or rough-sawn. Keep sheet goods (ply, MDF) on a low bay or on the floor — they are heavy and sail in a draught.
If your longest board is 3.6m, this rack is a short-stock and offcut rack, not a full-length rack. Build a second pair of uprights or store long lengths horizontally on wall hooks.
Default dimensions
Overall: 1800mm wide × 2000mm tall × 400mm deep.
Uprights: 75×50mm C24 × 2000mm, two off.
Arms: 75×50mm × 400mm, six to eight pairs (12–16 pieces).
End stops: 21×44mm offcuts, one per arm pair.
Design variants
Wall rack (this page) — two uprights fixed to masonry or timber studs. Best first build.
Freestanding A-frame — only if you can bolt it to the floor. Do not leave it free to rack.
Sheet bay — one low, deep slot for ply. Never hang a pack of 18mm sheets on high arms.
Suitable timber options
Fixing and finishing
Find the studs or use proper masonry anchors. Two fixings per upright, into solid material — typically M8 coach screws into timber studs, or M8 sleeve/through anchors into brick or block.
Arms: two 5.0×80mm screws per arm into the upright, pre-drilled. Slope each arm 5–10mm down toward the wall. Add a small end stop at the room end.
Plasterboard plugs are not a rack fixing. If you cannot hit a stud, screw a 12mm ply pad to several studs first and fix the uprights to the ply.
Slope arms slightly down toward wall so boards sit safely. End stops stop lengths sliding off.
Maintenance
Re-tighten fixings after loading. Keep floor end clear of standing water.
Rotate stock — oldest on top or front. Keep heavy sheet goods low.
Timber behaviour
Durability
Indoors in a heated workshop, dry C24 carcassing is fine. In a damp, unheated shed, use treated carcassing or give the rack real airflow and keep it off a wet floor.
This is not ground-contact work. You do not need UC4 (the grade for timber that sits in soil). You need a dry wall and fixings that can take the weight.
Movement
Not critical indoors at stable moisture — still leave gaps for airflow between boards.
Related guides
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Species
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Related yards
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