Rolling shelves for boxes of vinyl records?

August 8, 2014 12:52 PM

So, I have boxes of vinyl records sitting in the bottom shelf of a built-in without much headroom. This means that every time i want to find a record, I have to pull the (heavy) boxes out onto the floor, select the record and then pull it back up onto the shelf. I would like to figure out a better way, ideally by installing a roll-out shelf (or set of shelves) for the boxes to sit on.

The opening is a little under 4 feet wide and around 19 inches of usable depth. Pictures here.

I estimate I have about 150-200 LPs which puts the total weight at around 90-100 pounds.

I'm really not sure how to go about this, as all the sliding shelves i've seen around are either not rated for anything near that high or are very narrow.

I have not been able to find off-the-shelf shelving (heh) that is both this wide and can accomodate this much weight. I am not averse to installing several smaller ones, too (the boxes are 13" wide)

I'm in a rental, so I'm looking for a minimum of construction (though i could probably screw something into the baseboard if i remove it.

Any help is much appreciated.

posted by softlord to Home & Garden (12 answers total)

Why not just get rid of the boxes and put the records directly on the shelf? You're going to be hard pressed to find a pull out shelf strong enough and low profile enough.
posted by mollymayhem at 1:02 PM on August 8, 2014 [3 favorites]

Here is a strong low-profile option that holds up to 50 pounds per shelf with no installation required (though you might need a ramp). If you could break your collection into three boxes on three side by side "carts" it may just work.
posted by Buttons Bellbottom at 1:06 PM on August 8, 2014

Alternatively, build your own moving dolly or creeper dolly with low profile wheels and 2x4s.

again, moving that much weight will need you to have a little ramp or just a fake floor to put at the same height as the floor of the cabinet so you aren't pulling it all down on you (as it will roll out instead of slide and retract as some kind of permanent stud-anchored sliding system would do - negated by the renter aspect).
posted by Buttons Bellbottom at 1:11 PM on August 8, 2014

Yeah, good luck finding a tracked rolling shelf that can support that weight without taco-ing on the first try.

Your setup actually looks close to ideal given the built-in. I have three suggestions for improvement though:

1. Slick strips on the bottoms of the boxes. Put two near the edges of the bottom that are perpendicular to the sides with the handles, and they'll act like rails.

2. Never pull the boxes all the way out onto the floor. Just tip them out, front bottom edge resting on the floor, browse, then tip them back up into the cabinet.

3. Get a 3rd box to help distribute the weight.
posted by carsonb at 1:12 PM on August 8, 2014 [1 favorite]

It's tough to tell from the photo how square your bins are, but LPs are square, so couldn't you just change the orientation of the bins so that the open space of the bin (currently the "top") becomes the front (so you would see all your LPs by title when you open your cabinets and can just pull out the LP horizontally instead of vertically)? I have my LPs in wooden crates set up this way and it works well for me.
posted by Jego at 1:29 PM on August 8, 2014

It would be nice if you could mount the boxes on the insides of the doors. But for that you'd need some seriously heavy-duty hinges on the doors, unless you could find some way to support the weight of the boxes as they swing free of the shelf.
posted by pipeski at 1:30 PM on August 8, 2014

Since you already have those boxes that hold the records, you could install some interior walls in the cabinet, and attach drawer slides directly to those and to the boxes.
posted by aubilenon at 1:39 PM on August 8, 2014

Anything here that might work for you? Some of them say they hold up to 100 pounds and there are custom sizes available.
posted by biscuits at 2:01 PM on August 8, 2014

I've seen roll-out drawers that have a little hinged stand on the bottom. So you pull out the drawer, and the little lever on the bottom extends down to the ground to support the drawer. With the way it's hinged, just pushing it back into the cabinet makes the little stand fold back against the bottom of the drawer. I cannot figure out what this thing is called, but maybe someone here has seen it?

Alternately, get a cute little record stand for your most-frequently played records. I've seen this 4040 Locust Rustic Metal Console (warning: Urban Outfitters) and it was surprisingly great for a little record stand. They have other low profile stands too.
posted by barnone at 4:16 PM on August 8, 2014

There's also the Kitchenaid Stand Mixer shelf attachment - Rev-A-Shelf Heavy Duty Mixer Lift. It says the maximum weight is 60lbs, so you could have one on each side.
posted by barnone at 4:21 PM on August 8, 2014

Response by poster: Buttons: Yeah those are great ideas, except that sadly the floor of the built-in is not flush with the floor of the house (its several inches up), which makes this all obnoxiously just a bit more complicated.

Jego: I had them like this but a lot of the spines are not in very good shape, plus what can I say, i like flipping through them record store style.

Pipeski: Yeah, I guess i shouldve mentioned that those boxes are about 16 inches deep. There are a bunch of records in them. heh.

I'm thinking maybe about some of these Undermount Sliders and some plywood, though its pricier than I was hoping...
posted by softlord at 9:57 PM on August 8, 2014

again, moving that much weight will need you to have a little ramp or just a fake floor to put at the same height as the floor of the cabinet so you aren't pulling it all down on you (as it will roll out instead of slide and retract).

Even a wooden wine box with a rope handle that is kept off to the side decoratively when not in use.
posted by Buttons Bellbottom at 4:45 AM on August 9, 2014