ca_soap
Well-Known Member
This is still a work in progress but I believe you will get the idea. As I continue to expand and have more people wanting my soaps I have to continue to find new ways to make better use of my space. It is a good problem to have but can also be frustrating. I wanted to share my current solution in the event anyone else is facing the same challenges.
I started with a shelving unit from my local Lowe's store. It is metal framed and rated for 1000 lbs, it cost me well under $100. It has five shelves and is 48" wide by 24" deep and stands 72" tall. Of course there was a lot of dead space per shelf so this is what I did. I purchased some added shelves which are 1" birch plywood. You can buy it in a 4' x 8' sheet or if you don't want to cut it Lowe's sells it in quarter sheets that measure 24" x 48". Yep perfect fit. I then took 8' 1x6 and cut it into 24" pieces then cut them down to a width of 4 1/2 inches. They fit in the ends between the metal frames perfectly. I simply put them in on end and placed a sheet of birch on top of them then repeated which gave me 3 perfectly spaced shelves on each shelf. I added another piece in the center for support to prevent sagging and put some screws in it to hold it together. The metal frame of the shelving unit provides all of the rest of the stability needed.
The majority of my soaps are poured in wood molds and I pour 19" loaves. I then cut them in 1" bars and that gives me 19 bars per loaf. I then place the bars on a sheet of 3 9/16" x 5/16" x 24" wood which allows me to put a nice space between the bars for curing and gives me a nice tray for moving my soaps. You can get a package of 6 of these boards at lowes for around $10, cut to 24" length that gives me 24 trays for $10. The trays slide perfectly into the slots on the shelves. I can now get 36 loaves per shelf and can use all 5 shelves if need be which will allow me to store 180 loaves of soap for curing at a time if need be. In the mean time the unconverted shelves hold my cutter and other misc equipment until such a time that I fill up my space again and have to start looking for new solutions.
I started with a shelving unit from my local Lowe's store. It is metal framed and rated for 1000 lbs, it cost me well under $100. It has five shelves and is 48" wide by 24" deep and stands 72" tall. Of course there was a lot of dead space per shelf so this is what I did. I purchased some added shelves which are 1" birch plywood. You can buy it in a 4' x 8' sheet or if you don't want to cut it Lowe's sells it in quarter sheets that measure 24" x 48". Yep perfect fit. I then took 8' 1x6 and cut it into 24" pieces then cut them down to a width of 4 1/2 inches. They fit in the ends between the metal frames perfectly. I simply put them in on end and placed a sheet of birch on top of them then repeated which gave me 3 perfectly spaced shelves on each shelf. I added another piece in the center for support to prevent sagging and put some screws in it to hold it together. The metal frame of the shelving unit provides all of the rest of the stability needed.
The majority of my soaps are poured in wood molds and I pour 19" loaves. I then cut them in 1" bars and that gives me 19 bars per loaf. I then place the bars on a sheet of 3 9/16" x 5/16" x 24" wood which allows me to put a nice space between the bars for curing and gives me a nice tray for moving my soaps. You can get a package of 6 of these boards at lowes for around $10, cut to 24" length that gives me 24 trays for $10. The trays slide perfectly into the slots on the shelves. I can now get 36 loaves per shelf and can use all 5 shelves if need be which will allow me to store 180 loaves of soap for curing at a time if need be. In the mean time the unconverted shelves hold my cutter and other misc equipment until such a time that I fill up my space again and have to start looking for new solutions.
