Is it safe to put an iMac on a closet wire shelf?

September 23, 2020 6:24 PM

I may be transitioning to working at home. Don't have a desk, they're expensive and hard to find; however, a currently spare room in my residence has a nice closet with an adjustable shelf. Thinking about putting the work iMac on the pictured shelf (moving it down to body level, of course). Would it be safe or too heavy?

The shelf in question feels solid, but an iMac is heavy-ish (about 25-35lbs). Doing a bit of research online says that wire shelves, on average, can take 200lbs, but I'm not sure if it would be safe for both the iMac and the wall/shelf itself. Turning to the trusty Green :)

Picture of the shelf
Picture of the wall with inserts/screws

Thanks!

posted by thoughtful_analyst to Home & Garden (11 answers total)

You're totally fine if the rails aren't badly installed or otherwise messed up. That kind of system is designed to distribute the forces out a lot, and so it's also fairly fault tolerant. To assuage your doubts you can check and snug each screw carefully, and test the whole system for a few days with some bags of sand or whatever other weights you have.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:35 PM on September 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

It should work. You might consider adding a plastic or cardboard sheet on top to provide a more uniform surface. Also consider adding shelf supports at the outer edges on the sides for added stability, less bounce when typing.
posted by nickggully at 6:37 PM on September 23, 2020

Yeah, should be fine, but I’d recommend putting down a rigid plate because the stand is pretty small and it’d be best to spread the load a bit. I’d be more comfortable with something a bit sturdier than cardboard.
posted by doomsey at 6:39 PM on September 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: @doomsey: can you please clarify what you mean by "rigid plate"?
posted by thoughtful_analyst at 6:48 PM on September 23, 2020

rigid plate = a piece of wood or something bigger than the 8" x 8" surface area of the base of the iMac, so the weight is spread out over more wires.
posted by jonathanhughes at 6:52 PM on September 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

So, my question is, if the imac is on the shelf, where will the keyboard be and what is your work posture like? Because it seems totally fine to put a computer on a shelf like that, sure, but are you going to be leaning on it while you work? Because that seems less fine.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:28 PM on September 23, 2020

Response by poster: Thanks, I adjusted the shelf and am now testing it with a couple of heavy items for the next few days just to make sure.

I'll most likely use a comfortable office-style chair and utilize some kind of "tray" table for typing.

This is temporary—I'll try to find a more permanent configuration (a proper desk) once things settle down. Maybe try to grab a free desk from Freecycle or whatnot.
posted by thoughtful_analyst at 7:49 PM on September 23, 2020

I've used a 5 ft folding table from Office Depot as a desk for 5+ years, and I've WFH full time that entire time. I think the table was $35.
posted by COD at 1:11 PM on September 24, 2020

Were using a sliding closet door as a counter in the kitchen and another one as a desktop in the home office. These are supported by old plastic crates… If you have room for it, this may be a good option for you.
posted by conscious matter at 2:29 PM on September 24, 2020

We use a system like that in our pantry and I am certain we have shelves with more weight in canned goods than any iMac.
posted by advicepig at 3:29 PM on September 24, 2020

Response by poster: Just a small update that I found a nice IKEA "ingo" solid pine tree table, felt very solid/durable, at a thrift shop. I'll use that; a cursory search on Google seems to show that it's safe to do so. Phew, glad the task of desk-searching seems to be put to an end!
posted by thoughtful_analyst at 11:23 AM on September 28, 2020