Gorilla Rack shelving units are awesome

We've been decluttering our garage and Carla ordered a few Gorilla Rack shelving units from Amazon. They are awesome. I've assembled shelving units before, and they required either nuts and bolts or little brackets, but the Gorilla Rack units have parts that fit together without extra hardware. I built the first shelving unit in about 30 minutes. The second one took me 15 minutes, and the third one was done in 10 minutes. The pieces fit together without any fussing and the unit is free of sharp edges. It's very sturdy, too. I think I'll buy the workbench next.

Gorilla Rack Shelving Unit

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

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Anonymous

Sam’s Club had them, for a while, for under $50. Sadly, not anymore, at least where I am (New England).
- Anonymous
  
  They’re still available at my local Sams Club in Colorado, I saw them yesterday while picking up some other parts for the man cave.
  
  Gorilla shelves are pretty good. I’ve got a real mix of shelves in the garage, filled with things like Cadillac cylinder heads and differentials. Some of the Gorillas are set up so that you can either set them up as two solid tables side by side or stack ‘em up. I keep changing mine back and forth.
slamorte

Ug, every time I use one of these bent sheet-metal shelving systems I get disappointed all over again. True, I have not used this brand. But I will swear by (and climb on!) my Metro shelving instead. Welding wire and steel tube for the win! Plus Metro racks have wheels. And particleboard sucks.
ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive

When I was packed into a one bedroom apartment with thousands of books, records and videos, Gorilla Racks were a Godsend. I had every available bit of wall space covered with them packed to the gills. It’s amazing that the floor didn’t give way!
sirkowski

My roommate bought one and it was a bitch to assemble. The pegs kept falling off when you hammered other pegs.
Anonymous

Mark, try A&A Boltless in South El Monte CA if you want more of this kind of thing. Lots of used stuff from lightweight to heavy duty. Staff helped me assemble everything I needed out of used bits in the yard– way cheaper.
Anonymous

I don’t know this exact brand but I am really surprised that you got these put together. Also have you tried to put more than 1 paint can on these? I mistakenly put a monitor on one of these shelves and it bent the beams in two…
jahknow

I’ve got two. But for in-home, at similar cost, I prefer http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11312799
Lucifer

I use Metro style shelving units and I find them remarkably easy to put together (and dissassemble for compact storage), sturdy, and cheap. The open wire shelving is great because it gives you the option of a solid surface shelf or keeping it open-air as needed.
Anonymous

I’m just surprised you ordered them from Amazon. You can get them at just about any major hardware store (Home Depot, Lowes, etc). They’re heavy too, shipping couldn’t be cheap?
Anonymous

Have you tried the iRack?
jasongnc

I have these in my garage and at work. They hold up under crazy loads. The particle board is supported by steel, and is easy to replace with anything if you wanted to, plywood, sheet steel. However All of my shelves have the original particle board shelves. They are sturdy enough for me to climb on, and have spent lots of time on top of them working on lighting on the ceiling. I’m no small guy either, 320+ lbs.
falnfenix

we have three of four left in the basement…one has managed to crumple and destroy everything we had sitting on it.

the others, thankfully, seem better stabilized.
- dculberson
  
  Highly doubt it’s a Gorilla brand shelf, unless you had it loaded up with depleted uranium.
  - falnfenix
    
    definitely Gorilla brand.
PathogenAntifreeze

A few people mentioned Metro shelves, which are a brand of wire shelves. I am a huge fan of wire shelving, and the nice thing about them, is that they’re all compatible, generics and various brands; they all have high weight ratings… 200lb – 800lb, they’re lovely in a high-tech way (often seen in the background in sci-fi shows), and you can customize the hell out of them… make L shaped shelves; put a bridge shelf over a doorway, etc… And due to the simplicity, the generics are often only inferior to brands in the lower weight ratings they hold (i.e. 200-300lbs per shelf), otherwise, cheap generics work great too. Also, they make excellent aquarium stands.
Anonymous

I’ve owned the workbench for a few years now, traveled from Cali to NJ and it’s great. Study as day one and easy to take down and set up.

Good stuff.
evilpeacock

I can’t comment on these but I have bought the inexpensive Gracious Living plastic resin fiber shelves that come in 100 or 200 pound versions.

These take about 5-10 minutes to assemble and are perfect for a garage or any other expendable application. They’re also modular and more attractive than most similar products (IMO)

Just under $50 for the 100 lb 5-shelf version.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015S9KPM/ref=ox_ya_oh_product
Tony Moore

they’re pretty damned great. i’ve got some in my studio, and they’re great for loading with shortboxes, especially Drawer Boxes. keeps all those heavy loads of comics organized, up off the ground, and easily accessible. Couldn’t live without ‘em.
ZoeRochelle

2 tips: Use WD-40 to lubricate the “pegs” when assembling and use a metal hammer and block of wood to bang them together. They go together much easier. I have 2 of these (have for 8 years) and have assembled and unassembled them through 3 moves. They are the best.
- Anonymous
  
  a rubber mallet works even better
dculberson

To those asking, no, the generics are nothing like the name brand Gorilla racks. I have both, and the generic stuff is total crap. The Gorilla Rack brand is sturdy, easy to assemble, and holds up to tons of abuse.

@slamorte: I love Metro racking and have a ton of it. But it’s over 2x as expensive for the name brand Metro compared to Gorilla. It’s also inconvenient to have wire shelves versus wooden shelves for certain things. The Metro will last you the rest of your life and then some, though! I have some that’s over 30 years old and it still looks great despite years spent in an industrial refrigerator. But heaven help you if you need to order parts! (A few sets of replacement wall clips set me back $150!)
Anonymous

Use a few strong magnets and a length of felt to create a very nice slidable (slide the magnets) curtain to hide what’s on the shelf and create a clean look in the garage.
- tamgoddess
  
  It’s the garage, not the kitchen!
shiva7663

The racks came from Amazon? So, I guess this means that people have given up on the idea of punishing them for AmazonFail?
Anonymous

CostCo has the same style of racks. Very nice quality, for $56. I have two from CostCo, and one from HomeDepot ($76). The Home Depot one, while deeper, is of much poorer quality.
garfield1979

I have 8 of them in my garage. they are sturdy enough for one of them to be filled with nothing but boxes of tiles. hold up very well.. I got them at Sams. The first one is hard to put together, but after that it goes smoothly.

I would highly recommend them.
Anonymous

I installed 4 Ikea Hyllis shelves (CDN$14.99 each) in my garage a couple of weeks ago. Total cost: $60+tax for shelves + about $10 in hardware to build out some studs from the wall to anchor them to. They’re now loaded with boxes full of books and my wife’s school materials (she’s a teacher) and they haven’t shown any signs of strain so far.
ShastaMcNasty

This is one of those deals where if your thought is of the flavor “I don’t know about this particular brand, but…” then you should really check out the specific product! The whole point of Gorilla racks is that they are actually a usable product in a segment that is swarming with junk.
Anonymous

Tip: Since particle board does sag with time, flip the shelves over before they begin to sag too badly.

IMHO the bent steel two segment Gorrilla Racks (which I believe are shown in the picture above) are not well engineered because the stacked verticals do not lock together effectively. The shelves depend on the ends of the verticals to be perfectly aligned. If one is twisted or begins to slide by the lower vertical it will slide away from the pegs which are intended to lock it in place. This is very bad– especially when the shelves are under load. I would recommend this variety only for use as half-height shelves (stack them side-by-side). The welded variety are okay.
gypkap

Costco and Sams Club carry Gorilla Racks now and then. I used to own some, but they stayed with the house when we sold it, and moved to an apartment. I have cheap shelves now.

TNH: just replace the Gorilla particle board shelves with plywood from a hardware store. That said, I never had problems with particle board shelves.

Off topic–I’m one of the “Darkfriends” from the Internet. I’m reading “The Gathering Storm” right now.
Anonymous

Still looking for a rustproof version.
Daemon

There are lots of shelving units like this that don’t require any special tools. Mine are made of plastic, and probably just as strong.
Anonymous

If you use particle board in a musty basement or garage, it will rot and/or warp under load and over time.

I prefer all steel welded construction.
Anonymous

I have a bunch of these in the basement and I have one serious complaint. The thin particle board shelves are useless. I have mine stacked with file boxes full of my wife’s research materials, and over the course of two years the shelves started sagging so much in the center that I was worried they would collapse onto the shelf below. I eventually bought some plywood sheets and replaced the particle board on some of the more heavily laden shelves. the frames are indeed wonderful, but the shelves that are included suck.
Teresa Nielsen Hayden

I have a bunch of these, and I agree that the particle board shelves are a significant design flaw. I wish they offered standard plywood shelf boards as an option.
Anonymous

we buys these at sams club all the time.. I run a retail website and I’ve got tons of these holding inventory. Super easy to setup, even for the non-mechanically inclined, and completely reliable. All we use is a rubber hammer and they are set up in minutes.
gchpaco

My chief problem with these is that the slats have a tendency to work themselves out over time, which means when you’re cleaning up it tries to kill you. They’re great temporary storage but I’m leery about using them without making damn sure someone goes around once a year or so and bangs all the side rails back into place.
Anonymous

A nice dead blow hammer is even better than a rubber mallet or hammer with wood block when it comes to assembling the shelving units. .
MichaelR

If you live in the Pacific Northwest these are always available from BiMart for $50 and go on sale every couple of months for $40.

My basement is so much better off with them…
jowlsey

I will buy one, and I will assemble it in 5 minutes. The gauntlet has been thrown.
jheiss

I likewise have 5 or 6 in my garage, purchased from Costco. I just threw away/recycled a non-Gorilla brand unit that had be rusting disassembled in the corner because it was junk. Most of mine are assembled full height, but I have one set assembled half-height for use as a workbench. I use a rubber mallet for assembly. It takes a little practice to not knock the other end out when putting them together, but you get the hang of it. I can’t imagine ordering them from Amazon unless you have Amazon Prime, and even then they’re much cheaper at Costco.
dainel

I’m using a cheap generic all metal version. Not all generics are crap. I’m 70kg, and regularly climb on them to reach the top shelf. Doesn’t even shake. I never tried it, but I get the feeling that if I removed the top two shelves and start jumping on the middle one, it’s not going to bend or even dent.

You shouldn’t need a hammer to force it in. Just bang a little with your hand. Didn’t need any WD40. If it doesn’t go in, its because they’re not aligned. Put all the shelves in before you try to “tighten” them. Of course it’s possible your generic is crap, and the holes does not align properly …
Anonymous

I’m looking for something as good as Gorilla, but rustproof, at the same or lower price.

The 19th century industrial site where I live is… moist. People who live in old mills know all about fighting mold and mildew.

The plastic stuff I’ve tried so far is insufficiently sturdy. As a point of reference, all wristwatches and all cell phones are also insufficiently sturdy for my lifestyle. I need something I can casually throw engine blocks and anvils at.

Anybody know of any uberplastic or cheap stainless shelving?
Doug Nelson

Gorilla Racks are great shelves for the money. I bought 6 of them at Sams. The only downside is they can’t be assembled by one person (at least not this one person). Very delicate and fiddly until they start to come together.

Costco has them in black crinkle with covered peg holes, looking very sharp. But I just got them as pictured above.
madsci

They look a lot like the Whalen z-beam shelves I’ve bought several of at Costco. They’ve worked just fine for the most part. I’d suggest hearing protection while you’re banging on them with a hammer, though. I had my head up close to the beam I was hammering on and my ears were ringing for hours.

As for not being able to assemble them yourself – you’re just not trying hard enough. I recently put together one of these myself:

http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/storage/pallet-rack/double-slotted/husky-double-slotted-pallet-rack-starter-96x42x144

Not recommended, but it can be done!
monkey

i have had the real gorilla racks for over a decade in my garage loaded up with all kinds of stuff. they have withstood two leaks in the roof, dragging around and reconfiguring and a brief stint exposed to the elements in my garden. they are great and worth the cost.I wish my roof was as sturdy.
William08

We’ve had these shelves and the workbench for years. They went up easily and have been solid as rock for over 5 years. Nothing like the wobbly sheet metal shelving units you find in so many workshops. I can’t recommend these highly enough.
pinehead

Hey Mark,
The shelves, of course, are awesome. If I needed heavy-duty shelving in my workshop, those are what I’d want to get.

But you mentioned the workbench. I don’t know what kind of work you typically do in your shop, but if you’re making much sawdust in there, you can expect it to get inside the drawers on that bench.

I have a workbench that’s nearly identical to the Gorilla one, except mine is just one long drawer instead of two smaller ones. But the gap between the drawer and bench top is the same on both models; I know because I’ve looked them both over in person.

But to be fair, the openness of the drawers and the factory-included MDF paneling are my only beefs with that workbench (or mine). And again, to be fair, the MDF may not be a problem for you if your workshop is in a low-humidity environment. Mine is bone dry, but I did have to store my bench for a couple of months. In that time, the MDF paneling became one big planter for mold.

So you should either seal the MDF or replace it altogether with a comparable plywood or OSB, depending on the look you want.
Bevatron Repairman

Amazing you — of all folks — hadn’t used them before. I’ve been using these so long I forget that Gorilla Rack isn’t a generic.
hacky

Absolutely the best. Just make sure to use WD40 on the joints so they seat well.
Anonymous

I went to Home Depot and looked at the $80 version with the particleboard. It looked like junk. There’s no way it could hold up to years of use.

Reading these comments from people who have been using certain models of Gorilla Racks for years to hold heavy things like books, it sounds like there’s much confusion about the different grades of Gorilla Racks.

So, if you are a prospective buyer of metal shelving for heavy things, be aware.
Anonymous

Oh hell yeah. We have two of these ourselves and they’re amazing. I LITERALLY ran my car into one every day for 3 years (it was the bumper at the end of the garage) and it has nothing more than a small dent.

If you think building them is fun, wait until you have to take one apart. Here’s a tip: turn it sideways and kick the crap out of it (from the bottom up). Soon enough the whole thing will just be clumps of 2-3 parts still attached together. Grab those parts and bang them on the ground until they come apart (always keep them upside down and bang them on the ground in a directly downward motion, so the notches come loose).

It’s great fun and a great stress reliever if you are pissed that you’re moving.
Anonymous

How many gorillas does it hold, and how to you keep them on the shelves?
snorpheus

Has anyone else stacked another half height of shelves on top of the regular height? I’ve had them up for about a month and so far everything is stable. I’ve attached the 3rd and 2nd sections to the garage studs with screws.

I completely agree that the particle board shelves are crap. I plan on cutting some plywood to switch out this summer
Shasta McNasty

I have a bunch of these in my garage and basement, including a workbench. They are astoundingly strong, easy to assemble, and easy to reconfigure. Much better than the flimsy ones that buckle under the weight of a couple paint cans or a marine battery. A+++ would buy again.
Anonymous

We have two in our basement, which I bought at our local hardware store. The “instructions” are crappy. They say little about the order in which you must assemble the parts for the unit to stand. They do not mention you need a hammer. The veredict: 90 minutes for the first timer is more like it, if you find an assistant and a hammer. After that, each unit takes about 30 minutes. Using WD40 is a very good idea.
Anonymous

Love your book Mark and love gorilla shelves. Am organizing my basement and am decorating/getting organized at the same time with colorful and meaningful boxes gleaned from the box bins at Sams and Costco. See Brian Wilson/Van Dyke Parks “Orange Crate Art”.
Anonymous

We built a queen sized loft bed with gorilla shelving (the wider kind) as the legs and a plywood floor on top.
Anonymous

The work bench is a factory job, here it is on the CanadianTire website. I bought two of them, for less than half the listed price ($199 down to $89.99)

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/6/Tools/WorkTablesVises/WorkTablesBenches/PRD~0570113P/Mastercraft%252BWorkbench.jsp

I’m not saying don’t buy it. Just don’t buy it for $209.99 USD.
Stefan Jones

I got a set for free, when the computer lab at the office went to a different system.

I have all of my power tools on it.

Another set of “heavy duty” plastic shelving I salvaged is splitting in places. The shelves are reinforced by wooden slats cabled-tied to the shelves.

I can’t picture the Gorilla shelves falling apart in that way.