In need some some affordable basement storage, I recently purchased the AmazonBasics 5-Shelf Adjustable Heavy Duty Storage shelving unit. Here is my review of this cheap take on wire shelvings.
What Is Wire Shelving?
Wire shelvings is the open, metal shelving that you would commonly find in a basement, storage closet, or garage. It’s built of wires that are bent and welded together. The shelving is modular and built of many of the same parts: legs, shelves, feet, and shelf holders.
Wire shelving is lightweight, easy to take up and collapse, affordable, and strong. Most wire shelving can hold at least 300 pounds per shelf and well over 1000 pounds in total. Typical widths are 3 to 6 feet.
This type of shelving is sometimes called “wire rack shelving.”
AmazonBasics Wire Shelving Details
Here is what you need to know about Amazon’s wire shelving. It’s sold in the following styles…
- 5-Shelf Adjustable
- Price: $65.00
- Size: 36″ x 14″
- Height: 72″
- Finish: Black or Chrome
- Capacity: 350 pounds per shelf, 1750 pounds total
- Casters optional (reduces capacity)
- 4-shelf Adjustable
- Price: $58.00
- Size: 36″ x 14″
- Height: 54″
- Finish: Black or Chrome
- Capacity: 350 pounds per shelf, 1400 pounds total
- Casters optional (reduces capacity)
- 3-Shelf Adjustable
- Price: $58.00
- Size: 23.3″ x 13.4″
- Height: 30″
- Finish: Black or Chrome
- Capacity: 250 pounds per shelf, 750 pounds total
- Casters optional (reduces capacity)
I’m currently using the 5-shelf Adjustable model as I like the height and think the additional $10 was well worth it for the extra shelf.
Building The Wire Shelves
Building the AmazonBasics wire shelves can be a a little confusing because the directions are quite poor. But here is what you need to do…
- Get the four lower legs and install the feet. You will know they are the lower legs because they will have a thick metal collar at the bottom and visible female threading.
- Get two of the black plastic collars and put them around the first metal leg at the height where you want the bottom shelf to go. The two plastic pieces snap together around the leg and the the shelf slides over it. Note each plastic piece will have an arrow pointing to the top.
- Repeat step two for the other three legs. Make sure the height is consistent.
- Lower a metal shelf onto the four legs. When it gets to the black plastic fittings, push down firmly on each corner.
- Repeat steps 2-4 for the next shelf.
- Screw the upper halves of the four legs into the lower legs.
- Repeat steps 2-4 for the next 2 shelves
- Use the include wall restrain to anchor the shelf into the wall. Use one of the top shelves as the anchor point for maximum effectiveness.
AmazonBasics Wire Shelf Thoughts
Having used the AmazonBasics Adjustable Wire Shelving for some time I can say that I’m happy with the purchase. I purchased the 5-shelf unit in chrome for about $65, delivered to my door, which seems like a very fair price. I needed a lot of storage and I don’t need casters (you know, wheels) so the 5-shelf heavy duty unit was the right one for me.
I want a lot of basement storage, so 5 shelves at 3.5 square foot per shelf (36×14 inches) gets me 17.5 square feet of storage in total. That’s a lot of extra space in my basement.
I found the shelf construction to be easy and quick, taking about 15 minutes in total. The shelf build quality was good overall. I had no problems with the leveling of the shelves, no cracked or broken parts, and nothing missing. While doing the construction I did get one metal splinter in my hand from a burr, but it was easily removed.
Overall they are good shelves for a fair price.
Problems
My biggest problem with these shelves is their instability. They have a lot of height (72 inches) and a small base (just 14 inches deep) so unless you really stack things on the bottom shelf they can be a bit unstable if you were to push or pull them. I put mine against a wall and set the front feet higher than the back so they will not be inclined to fall forward. Still, this is a problem if you have children around.
Amazon includes a wall restrain, but it’s light duty and not ready for concrete mounting. You’ll need to take matters into your own hands if you want to properly tie this to a wall or column for full safety.
Availability
These shelves are only sold through Amazon.com. The price will fluctuate as Amazon dynamically adjusts the price for you, but you can expect to see it floating around $65-$69.