Had a day off yesterday and being a fine day decided to use it to
finally clear out and sort out the garage (well, I use the term loosely
- 'general storage building' might be more appropriate.

Several years ago I acquired a large quantity of that 'Spur' style
shelving (www.spurshelving.co.uk) free when a big refurb took place at
my office - was quite pleased, as that stuff is very expensive; and I
thought it would be ideal for the garage. So finally the tuit got
rounded, and yesterday I bit the bullet.

First, I checked that all the supports I had actually fitted the
brackets... I'm well aware that there are numerous versions of this
stuff around, and it ain't compatible. Imagine how stupid I'd feel if I
put up all the brackets and then found the supports didn't fit - Hah! -
not me, no sir (well OK, BTDTGTTS...)

I screwed brackets to the wall right down the length of the garage,
floor to ceiling; and given that (a) there would likely be some
substantial weight going in them and (b) I had an effectively unlimited
supply, I put them up on 15" centres: in other words - a fair amount of
work was involved.

Feeking very pleased with myself for having finally put these things up,
I started the final step; clipping in the brackets. But wait - what's
this? they don't fit properly!

?????!!!!????

Turns out that the brackets and supports are indeed of different brands.
My supports need brackets just slightly deeper than the ones I have,
to permit the lugs on the supports to engage and rotate into position
(they worked fine when not screwed to the wall, of course, and I didn't
spot the potential problem.

Not insurmountable, but my options are either to attach the supports to
the brackets and *then* screw to the wall (rendering them
non-adjustable) or to take an angle-grinder to the back of all 60-odd
supports, so they will fit and 'rotate' properly. Either way a PITA,
especially as I didn't get the job finished as a result and had to throw
everything back in the garage to be removed again at the weekend (when
it will be raining no doubt...) :-(

David

"Lobster" wrote

Not insurmountable, but my options are either to attach the supports to
the brackets and *then* screw to the wall (rendering them non-adjustable)
or to take an angle-grinder to the back of all 60-odd supports, so they
will fit and 'rotate' properly. Either way a PITA, especially as I didn't
get the job finished as a result and had to throw everything back in the
garage to be removed again at the weekend (when it will be raining no
doubt...) :-(

Option 3

Remove the brackets and put some packers/washers behind (at the fixing
points) to space them off the wall enough to allow supports to engage and
rotate.

Phil

Tim Streater wrote:
In article Vb1Sn.66343$D81.16541@hurricane,
Lobster wrote:

Turns out that the brackets and supports are indeed of different brands.
My supports need brackets just slightly deeper than the ones I have,
to permit the lugs on the supports to engage and rotate into position
(they worked fine when not screwed to the wall, of course, and I didn't
spot the potential problem.

Can the brackets be offset from the wall perhaps? Longer screws with a
fat thingy like a pile of pennies with a hole drilled through them?

Hmm, that's a good thought - a penny washer beneath the bracket at each
screw point would generate enough clearance. (Wonder if it would
compromise strength a bit not having the brackets firmly held against
the wall along their length?)

Errm, what's the adjustability about? (sorry, I can't picture this).

Just meant the losing ability to alter the support positions after I've
screwed te brackets to the wall - sod's law says that after I've
finished the job and have loaded up the shelves that it turns out tha
shelf separation is 5mm too narrow to store XYZ widget and needs moving

(when it will be raining no doubt...) :-(

Beeb weather indicates a high around until at least the w/e = no rain.

Thanks, but I can assure you that the probability of rain will be
entirely dependent on whether I empty my garage or not...

David

"Lobster" wrote in message
news:Vb1Sn.66343$D81.16541@hurricane...
Had a day off yesterday and being a fine day decided to use it to
finally clear out and sort out the garage (well, I use the term loosely
- 'general storage building' might be more appropriate.

Several years ago I acquired a large quantity of that 'Spur' style
shelving (www.spurshelving.co.uk) free when a big refurb took place at
my office - was quite pleased, as that stuff is very expensive; and I
thought it would be ideal for the garage. So finally the tuit got
rounded, and yesterday I bit the bullet.

First, I checked that all the supports I had actually fitted the
brackets... I'm well aware that there are numerous versions of this
stuff around, and it ain't compatible. Imagine how stupid I'd feel if I
put up all the brackets and then found the supports didn't fit - Hah! -
not me, no sir (well OK, BTDTGTTS...)

I screwed brackets to the wall right down the length of the garage,
floor to ceiling; and given that (a) there would likely be some
substantial weight going in them and (b) I had an effectively unlimited
supply, I put them up on 15" centres: in other words - a fair amount of
work was involved.

Feeking very pleased with myself for having finally put these things up,
I started the final step; clipping in the brackets. But wait - what's
this? they don't fit properly!

?????!!!!????

Turns out that the brackets and supports are indeed of different brands.
My supports need brackets just slightly deeper than the ones I have,
to permit the lugs on the supports to engage and rotate into position
(they worked fine when not screwed to the wall, of course, and I didn't
spot the potential problem.

Not insurmountable, but my options are either to attach the supports to
the brackets and *then* screw to the wall (rendering them
non-adjustable) or to take an angle-grinder to the back of all 60-odd
supports, so they will fit and 'rotate' properly. Either way a PITA,
especially as I didn't get the job finished as a result and had to throw
everything back in the garage to be removed again at the weekend (when
it will be raining no doubt...) :-(

David


If both the uprights and brackets are from the same source, then they
must have fitted together originally, and without too much messing around.

I've mix and matched a number of different makes and got all of them
to fit o.k. eventually. Its often a selling point with the "cheaper" brands
that they're all compatible with Spur, the brand leader.

Try wriggling them about a bit more as there's sometimes a knack in
getting different brands to fit together. Some of them need a bit of
forcing as the angle in the bracket is a bit tight. Once in place
its getting them out again that can be a problem.



michael adams

....

"TheScullster" wrote in message
. uk...

"Lobster" wrote

Not insurmountable, but my options are either to attach the supports to
the brackets and *then* screw to the wall (rendering them non-adjustable)
or to take an angle-grinder to the back of all 60-odd supports, so they
will fit and 'rotate' properly. Either way a PITA, especially as I didn't
get the job finished as a result and had to throw everything back in the
garage to be removed again at the weekend (when it will be raining no
doubt...) :-(

Option 3

Remove the brackets and put some packers/washers behind (at the fixing
points) to space them off the wall enough to allow supports to engage and
rotate.

Phil



That would probably be unwise. Spur and similar shelving works on a
cantilever principle where the weight on the shelves is transferred
to the uprights and thus to the wall which are in close contact with
the wall throughout their whole length - allowing for imperfections
in the wall anyway. In effect the uprights are pressing against the wall.
If the whole load is instead taken by the screws at the fixing points then
there'd probably a danger of collapse.


michael adams

....

In article Vb1Sn.66343$D81.16541@hurricane, "Lobster" wrote:

Turns out that the brackets and supports are indeed of different brands.
My supports need brackets just slightly deeper than the ones I have,
to permit the lugs on the supports to engage and rotate into position
(they worked fine when not screwed to the wall, of course, and I didn't
spot the potential problem.

Not insurmountable, but my options are either to attach the supports to
the brackets and *then* screw to the wall (rendering them
non-adjustable) or to take an angle-grinder to the back of all 60-odd
supports, so they will fit and 'rotate' properly. Either way a PITA,
especially as I didn't get the job finished as a result and had to throw
everything back in the garage to be removed again at the weekend (when
it will be raining no doubt...) :-(

I've also reused some of these Spur shelving fixings (Steel-lok - the
aluminium ones don't take much load and are harder to re-use) and I
don't understand your "rotate" fixing. My shelf brackets hook on using
the top two fixings into the upright's slots at the shelf bottom height,
then, if necessary, tap downwards, engaging the hook, until the bottom
two lugs go into suitable slots lower down the upright. If you're
reusing the uprights, then they might have been screwed in too tightly,
causing the "U" shape to flatten resulting in insufficient room for the
hook to go down the back. The solution is to slacken the wall screws
near the bracket, fit the bracket in the desired place then tighten the
screws. If you need to move the shelf later, you need to slacken the
screw before trying to get the bracket off (lift the bracket upwards to
disengage the lower lugs before tapping the fitting hooks off.

If the fittings have been subject to heavy load, then the hooks may be
distorted, making the fixing problem worse.

Alternatively, pack out the uprights so there is room behind the "U"
fixing to accommodate the bracket hooks. Mine are on plaster, so any
problem fixing was addressed by pushing the fitting into the soft
plaster behind the uprights

--
John W
I you want to mail me, replace the obvious with co.uk twice

Lobster wrote:
Had a day off yesterday and being a fine day decided to use it to
finally clear out and sort out the garage (well, I use the term
loosely - 'general storage building' might be more appropriate.

Several years ago I acquired a large quantity of that 'Spur' style
shelving (www.spurshelving.co.uk) free when a big refurb took place at
my office - was quite pleased, as that stuff is very expensive; and I
thought it would be ideal for the garage. So finally the tuit got
rounded, and yesterday I bit the bullet.

First, I checked that all the supports I had actually fitted the
brackets... I'm well aware that there are numerous versions of this
stuff around, and it ain't compatible. Imagine how stupid I'd feel if
I put up all the brackets and then found the supports didn't fit -
Hah! - not me, no sir (well OK, BTDTGTTS...)

I screwed brackets to the wall right down the length of the garage,
floor to ceiling; and given that (a) there would likely be some
substantial weight going in them and (b) I had an effectively
unlimited supply, I put them up on 15" centres: in other words - a
fair amount of work was involved.

Feeking very pleased with myself for having finally put these things
up, I started the final step; clipping in the brackets. But wait -
what's this? they don't fit properly!

?????!!!!????

Turns out that the brackets and supports are indeed of different
brands. My supports need brackets just slightly deeper than the ones
I have, to permit the lugs on the supports to engage and rotate into
position
(they worked fine when not screwed to the wall, of course, and I
didn't spot the potential problem.

They're supposed to be like this, the uprights need packing of the wall, my
advice would bee to affix battens horizontally at 18in centres, then affix
the uprights to these, drilling through wood and brick using a masonary bit


Not insurmountable, but my options are either to attach the supports
to the brackets and *then* screw to the wall (rendering them
non-adjustable) or to take an angle-grinder to the back of all 60-odd
supports, so they will fit and 'rotate' properly. Either way a PITA,
especially as I didn't get the job finished as a result and had to
throw everything back in the garage to be removed again at the
weekend (when it will be raining no doubt...) :-(

David



--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008

Phil L wrote:
Lobster wrote:
Had a day off yesterday and being a fine day decided to use it to
finally clear out and sort out the garage (well, I use the term
loosely - 'general storage building' might be more appropriate.

Several years ago I acquired a large quantity of that 'Spur' style
shelving (www.spurshelving.co.uk) free when a big refurb took place at
my office - was quite pleased, as that stuff is very expensive; and I
thought it would be ideal for the garage. So finally the tuit got
rounded, and yesterday I bit the bullet.

First, I checked that all the supports I had actually fitted the
brackets... I'm well aware that there are numerous versions of this
stuff around, and it ain't compatible. Imagine how stupid I'd feel if
I put up all the brackets and then found the supports didn't fit -
Hah! - not me, no sir (well OK, BTDTGTTS...)

I screwed brackets to the wall right down the length of the garage,
floor to ceiling; and given that (a) there would likely be some
substantial weight going in them and (b) I had an effectively
unlimited supply, I put them up on 15" centres: in other words - a
fair amount of work was involved.

Feeking very pleased with myself for having finally put these things
up, I started the final step; clipping in the brackets. But wait -
what's this? they don't fit properly!

?????!!!!????

Turns out that the brackets and supports are indeed of different
brands. My supports need brackets just slightly deeper than the ones
I have, to permit the lugs on the supports to engage and rotate into
position
(they worked fine when not screwed to the wall, of course, and I
didn't spot the potential problem.

They're supposed to be like this, the uprights need packing of the wall, my
advice would bee to affix battens horizontally at 18in centres, then affix
the uprights to these, drilling through wood and brick using a masonary bit


Not insurmountable, but my options are either to attach the supports
to the brackets and *then* screw to the wall (rendering them
non-adjustable) or to take an angle-grinder to the back of all 60-odd
supports, so they will fit and 'rotate' properly. Either way a PITA,
especially as I didn't get the job finished as a result and had to
throw everything back in the garage to be removed again at the
weekend (when it will be raining no doubt...) :-(

David



You could pack it off the wall with a vertical batten with a shallow
slot sawn or routed along its length.

On Jun 16, 12:04*pm, Lobster wrote:
Tim Streater wrote:
In article Vb1Sn.66343$D81.16541@hurricane,
*Lobster wrote:

Turns out that the brackets and supports are indeed of different brands.
* My supports need brackets just slightly deeper than the ones I have,
to permit the lugs on the supports to engage and rotate into position
(they worked fine when not screwed to the wall, of course, and I didn't
spot the potential problem.

Can the brackets be offset from the wall perhaps? Longer screws with a
fat thingy like a pile of pennies with a hole drilled through them?

Hmm, that's a good thought - a penny washer beneath the bracket at each
screw point would generate enough clearance. (Wonder if it would
compromise strength a bit not having the brackets firmly held against
the wall along their length?)

Errm, what's the adjustability about? (sorry, I can't picture this).

Just meant the losing ability to alter the support positions after I've
screwed te brackets to the wall - sod's law says that after I've
finished the job and have loaded up the shelves that it turns out tha
shelf separation is 5mm too narrow to store XYZ widget and needs moving

(when it will be raining no doubt...) * :-(

Beeb weather indicates a high around until at least the w/e = no rain..

Thanks, but I can assure you that the probability of rain will be
entirely dependent on whether I empty my garage or not...

Just unscrew them about 1/8th which is all you need to grind off the
top corner of the brackets to get them in and out at will.

Slacken the uprights fit the brackets. Check the shelves are going to
be wide enough then do the whole lot.

It's only a problem if you have fixed them on plasterboard with those
snail shell fixings. But you should never fix shelving to
plasterboard. The ideal in such situations is the use of a backing
board between the studding under the plasterboard.

If you do have such a situation as might arise with a modern build:

You might try firing blobs of adhesive into the area that you will be
inserting screws using an old mastic tube if that has happened. It's a
major catastrophe that dot and dbbing can be done by NE or A Handiman
if they just happen to be on site at the time.

But the way things are going, now the east Europeans have gone home,
is that almost all tradesment these days will be poorly trained.

On Jun 16, 12:33 pm, "michael adams" wrote:
"TheScullster" wrote in message

. uk...





"Lobster" wrote

Not insurmountable, but my options are either to attach the supports to
the brackets and *then* screw to the wall (rendering them non-adjustable)
or to take an angle-grinder to the back of all 60-odd supports, so they
will fit and 'rotate' properly. Either way a PITA, especially as I didn't
get the job finished as a result and had to throw everything back in the
garage to be removed again at the weekend (when it will be raining no
doubt...) :-(

Option 3

Remove the brackets and put some packers/washers behind (at the fixing
points) to space them off the wall enough to allow supports to engage and
rotate.

Phil

That would probably be unwise. Spur and similar shelving works on a
cantilever principle where the weight on the shelves is transferred
to the uprights and thus to the wall which are in close contact with
the wall throughout their whole length - allowing for imperfections
in the wall anyway. In effect the uprights are pressing against the wall.
If the whole load is instead taken by the screws at the fixing points then
there'd probably a danger of collapse.

I agree - IME the failure mode of this when normally fixed is in the
brackets where they enter and lock into the uprights - grossly
overloaded shelf but (late one night) the ends that slotted into the
uprights "tore" and actually made a dent in the upright as the end of
the bracket came up and out and over and down - closely following the
contents onto the floor..luckilly twas the bottom shelf....

if there were gaps behind the uprights then presumably they would be
able to bend and flex before/during failure - tho the OP has them
every 15" it's difficult to imagine what he'd have to put on the
shelves to get them all to fail....

Cheers
Jim K