How to Assemble Longspan Shelving

Assembling long span shelving is easy and doesn't require any tools.

You can do it on your own or grab a friend to speed things up. Just follow these simple steps.

 

Unpack and Sort Your Components

Your shelving will come as bundles of orange beams, blue uprights and white decks or shelves (see image below).



Remove all the packaging from your bundles and sort the uprights, beams and decks into separate groups.



If you've purchased multiple units, then you may want to further separate out the components needed for your first unit, so it is ready for assembly. The formula for one, standard “stand alone” unit of shelving is:

• 2 blue uprights
• 8 orange beams
• 8 white decks (N.B. 1m wide units only require 4 white decks)
• 16 locking pins

Addon units will have a similar formula, but only require one blue upright

 

Assembly

Lean a blue upright against a wall (if you are by yourself) or get your helper to hold the upright in a vertical position.

Start with the lowest row of orange beams. Holding an orange beam in one hand, use your other hand to tilt the blue upright into a vertical position (see image below).

Line up the teeth on the inside of the orange beams with the "butterfly" openings on the outside of the blue uprights. Slide the teeth into the groove and apply pressure to secure it in place

Balance the upright and beam so that the upright will stand by itself (you can use the wall for extra support if required).

Now take another blue upright and attach it to the other end of the orange beam

Add the bottom orange beam on the other side in the same way. Your job should now look like the image below.



Take a white deck, place it into the grooves on the inside of the orange beams and slide the outside edge into place against the blue upright. Don't worry about seating it properly at this stage.

Do the same with a second deck on the other side.

Now lift the decks in the centre to form a triangle and then lower the centre sections and seat the decks securely in place.

The unit should stand independently now and you can go ahead and build all the other levels.

After all the levels have been built, insert the locking pins

 

Tips

• It’s good to have an idea of what levels you want before you start, but sometimes it’s a process of trial and error to fit everything in.
• Count the slots between each beam to ensure the beams are level.
• If you are creating narrow gaps between shelves, then complete shelves from the bottom up.

 

Connecting Multiple Units in a Row

If you have multiple units that you wish to form into a connected row, then just attach your beams to the outside of an existing unit as shown in the diagram below.

 

 

Securing the Units to the Floor

For extra stability you can secure the unit to the floor or the wall – see our blog advice, here.