Keeping my shelves straight...

[Bobby]

I’m going to invest in better garage storage... am planning free standing shelve units, probably metal with wooden shelves.  Free standing gives me some flexibility if I decide to squeeze a car inside over winter I can play with the layout (it’s a double garage, the other side is all bikes 😂)

The previous occupiers tiled the floor, very nice except all round the edges the tiles kick up, so if you stand a shelving unit there it leans like crazy away from the wall .  The floor probably kicks up 20mm over the last two 6” tiles 

I could
1) fit wall mounted shelves
2) cut the back legs to be shorter (restricts reuse anywhere else)
3) dig up the last two tile rows & try to do a better job.  I assume the slab is also like it & they have just put tiles on best they can...

Thoughts on the best way to approach this?

[pcolbeck]

Put levelling feet on the shelves ?

There are load of variations but most work on the same principle, feet on a screw thread and you locate them with a nut and washer each side of a hole in whatever you are levelling or epoxy / weld a nut to whatever needs levelling.

[rafletcher]

I fitted (well, made) shelves from fencing gravel board# I had. Used metal brackets that just clip into vertically mounted “rails” with slots every 20mm or so, so loads of vertical adjustment in seconds if required.

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Products/Painting+Decorating/Shelving+Storage/Shelving/Up-Rights+Brackets/c/1000576

[orienteer]

Put spacers under the front feet?

[Brucey]

timber spacers (cut to size) under the feet where required is nice and simple. 

Also I would always vote for free-standing shelves being securely tethered to the wall where possible too.

cheers

[Diver300]

Also I would always vote for free-standing shelves being securely tethered to the wall where possible too.

This. It only needs to be one fastener, so it can be removed and the shelves moved when empty.

[Bobby]

Thanks for the ideas, I'm going to look at weight limits on wall mounted 'rail' type shelves, that sounds appealing as they'd be easy to change & move as needed.

I could do some cut timber for feet, but like the idea of adjustable ones - going to also do some research into that

& agreed - I will tether them to the wall, my youngest has already proven this is essential by climbing up one of the tall kitchen cupboards... 

[rafletcher]

With the rail type, just use more to increase load capacity for a given length.

[ElyDave]

Also I would always vote for free-standing shelves being securely tethered to the wall where possible too.

This. It only needs to be one fastener, so it can be removed and the shelves moved when empty.

+1 to this if storing heavy stuff

I've got a mix of 20 year old freestanding metal shelves scrwewd to the wall for toolboxes etc and a bunch of the Spur type things for lighter stuff like flowerpots, bird feed etc

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

If you have 2 six inch tiles raised 20mm all round then just increase the depth of that border to match the depth of the shelf units.

Although I dislike free-standing units. I lined my walls with timber Cladding to which I can fix shelves very easily.

[T42]

Also I would always vote for free-standing shelves being securely tethered to the wall where possible too.

This. It only needs to be one fastener, so it can be removed and the shelves moved when empty.

+1 to this if storing heavy stuff

+1 again.  And being cautious to the point of paranoia, I make sure that the shelves lean very slightly back towards the wall, so that there's little or no force on the tether.