Pallet Rack Builder

The builder above works out the parts. This page explains the numbers behind it — how rack capacity is actually rated, what our frames and beams carry, how wire decks are sized, and how to work out how much floor space a run of racking will take.

How pallet rack capacity actually works

There is no single “capacity” for a pallet rack. There are two separate ratings and they fail in different ways, so both have to be checked.

Beam capacity is per pair, per level

A beam rating covers two beams working together to hold one shelf level. If a pair is rated at 5,200 lbs, that is the total load for everything sitting on that level, spread evenly across both beams. Two pallets at 2,600 lbs each is fine. One 5,000 lb pallet parked in the middle of the span is not, because a point load in the centre bends a beam far harder than the same weight spread across it.

Beam capacity drops sharply as the beam gets longer. The same steel profile spanning 12 feet carries a fraction of what it carries at 4 feet. That is why the chart below has to be read across the row, not down the column.

Frame capacity is the whole column, all levels added together

An upright frame rating is the total weight the pair of columns will carry from the floor up. Add every level together. A 120″ frame rated at 17,000 lbs with five loaded levels averaging 3,400 lbs per level is at its limit, even though no single beam pair is anywhere near its own rating.

Frame capacity also depends on beam spacing. The rating assumes the levels are reasonably evenly spread. Move all the beams to the top and leave a tall unbraced section at the bottom and the column becomes easier to buckle. If you are planning unusually wide gaps, tell us the spacing when you send your layout.

Upright frame capacity

Our standard roll-formed teardrop frames, capacity per frame, all levels combined:

Ratings assume the frame is anchored to the slab and beams are evenly spaced. Taller frames use heavier column steel, which is why the 144″ and 192″ ratings are higher rather than lower.

Choosing frame depth

Depth is set by the pallet, not by preference. A standard 48″ x 40″ GMA pallet loaded with the 40″ side facing the aisle sits on a 42″ deep frame with a small overhang front and back, which is normal and correct — the pallet is meant to rest on the beams, not on the frame. Going to 48″ deep for a 40″ pallet buys nothing and costs aisle space.

• 24″ deep — cartons, totes, hand-stacked product, no pallets
• 36″ deep — smaller or half pallets, drum storage
• 42″ deep — the standard for 48″ x 40″ GMA pallets, and what most warehouses need
• 48″ deep — oversized, square, or double-stacked loads, and drive-in style applications

Choosing frame height

Work down from the roof, not up from the floor. Take your clear ceiling height, subtract sprinkler clearance (typically 18″ below the deflector, but confirm with your fire marshal), subtract the height of the load on the top level, and subtract a few inches of lift clearance. What is left is your maximum frame height. Then check it against your forklift — a 192″ frame is no use if your lift tops out at 150″.

Beam capacity chart

Capacity per pair of beams, one shelf level, evenly distributed load:

Read across the row. The 96″ beam in a 3″ face carries 2,000 lbs per pair; the same length in a 4.5″ face carries 5,200 lbs. Face height, not length, is what you increase when you need more capacity at the same span.

Why a 144″ 3″ beam only carries 880 lbs

Because a beam’s stiffness comes overwhelmingly from its depth, and its span works against it hard. Stretch a shallow 3″ beam across 12 feet and it deflects long before the steel is anywhere near failing. The rating protects against that deflection, not against the beam snapping.

The practical rule: if you want three pallets on a level, budget for a 6″ face. If you want a light 3″ beam, keep the span at 8 feet or less. A 12-foot bay with 3″ beams looks like a saving on the quote and is not usable racking for pallet loads.

Standard pallet rack sizes

Racking is built from a small set of standard dimensions. Almost every warehouse in the country runs some combination of these:

Beam length is the clear span between two uprights, not the overall bay width. A run of racking is wider than the beams suggest, because each upright adds its own column width. The builder above works this out as you add bays and shows the total run in feet and inches — useful before you chalk anything on the floor.

Wire decking

Wire decks sit on the beams and give you a solid surface. We recommend them on every level. Without decking, a pallet with a broken bottom board can drop straight through the gap between two beams, and small items cannot be stored on the rack at all.

How deck size is worked out

Deck depth matches your frame depth. Deck width does not match beam length — decks come in fixed widths and several sit side by side across a bay:

A four-bay run at three levels with 96″ beams therefore needs 24 decks, not 12. The builder counts this for you.

Waterfall or flush

Standard channel waterfall decks fold over the front and back beam, which stops the deck lifting when a forklift tine catches it. That is the default and what we ship unless you ask otherwise. Flared channel decks sit inside the beams and are used where the deck must be flush with the beam face.

Anchors, column guards and safety

These are not optional extras. Anchoring in particular is the single most common thing missing on racking we are asked to inspect.

Anchors — four per frame

Every upright gets anchored to the slab. An unanchored rack relies entirely on its own weight and the load sitting on it, and an empty or lightly loaded bay can be walked out of position by a single forklift knock. Anchoring is also what turns a rack from a stack of steel into a structure that behaves predictably when something hits it.

Column guards — one per frame

Bolt-on guards take the hit at the base of the upright, which is where nearly all forklift damage lands. Replacing a guard is quick. Replacing a bent upright means unloading the bay, which is why a damaged column tends to stay in service far longer than it should.

Row spacers

Back-to-back rows get tied together with row spacers. They hold the two rows at a fixed distance, stop pallets being pushed through from one side into the other, and brace the pair against each other.

Load capacity labels

Post your ratings where operators can see them. Nobody can respect a limit they have never been told, and rack capacity plaques are one of the first things an inspector looks for.

Working out how much floor space you need

The run of racking is wider than the sum of the beams. Each bay adds its beam length plus one upright column width, and the row has one extra upright at the end.

The builder shows this figure as you go — add bays and watch the overall dimension update. As a sanity check before you commit to a layout, remember that the aisle matters as much as the rack. A counterbalance forklift generally needs 12 to 13 feet of aisle, a reach truck around 8 to 9. Deep-narrow layouts store more per square foot but need equipment that can work in them.

Already have racking? Identify it first

If you are adding to an existing run rather than starting fresh, the connection style has to match. Teardrop, Keystone/Republic, structural and Ridg-U-Rak all use different upright punchings, and beams from one will not lock into another. Send us a photo of the upright column showing the hole pattern and we will tell you what you have. Our pallet rack identification guide shows the hole patterns side by side.

Delivery and installation

We ship from Monroe, Michigan, and serve customers nationwide. We are close enough to Detroit, Toledo, Ann Arbor and the Ohio and Indiana lines to deliver to most of the region directly.

We also install. If you would rather not put it up yourself, send your layout through the builder and ask for an installed price — teardown and relocation of existing racking as well as new installs.

Common questions