About Storage Rack Designer
Storage Rack Designer is a free web application that sizes a DIY wood rack for plastic bins. You enter the bin and how many rows and columns you want. It calculates the outer dimensions, how many boards to buy, a cut list, and a 3D preview you can rotate in the browser.
What it is
You describe the bins and the grid. The tool computes a screwed-together wood rack. Uprights and lip-support cleats form bays. Bins slide in from the front, and the lips rest on cleats that span the depth of the rack. The body of the bin hangs between the cleats. There is no shelf under the bin.
It is a planner for a garage, basement, or workshop rack built from common construction lumber. It is not a furniture store, a CNC service, or a general CAD package. It is also not an engineered structural design. Fit and safety are covered in the terms of use.
Guides
The guides explain the same rack in words: how to measure a bin so the fields match the form, how the frames and cleats go together, and what each preset actually enters.
- How to measure a bin
- How the rack goes together
- 27 gallon tote (Costco SKU 718262)
- 12.9 quart Iris bin (Costco SKU 1410571)
- 6 quart Brightroom box (Target TCIN 93327180)
What you get
- Dimensions — outer width, height, and depth; bay sizing; lip-to-cleat contact; warnings, including any piece longer than a standard 96 inch board.
- Materials needed — how many full boards to buy, a screw count at two screws per joint, a rough lumber weight, and an optional board price.
- Cut list — pieces packed onto stock boards, including kerf, or the same parts listed one type at a time with pencil marks where parts meet.
- 3D preview — orbit, zoom, and pan. Optional bin placeholders and a 6 ft scale figure. Wood grain or cut-list colors. A 2D view from the front, back, sides, top, or bottom.
How the rack is designed
- Front and back frames of 2×4, with the 1½ inch face toward you as you insert a bin. The 3½ inch dimension runs front to back.
- Uprights — one more upright than the number of columns, on each frame. Uprights sit between the top and bottom rails.
- Top and bottom rails spanning the full outer width. Those rails are 1½ inches tall.
- Lip-support cleats — two per bay per row, on the bay-facing sides of the uprights, running the full outer depth. Default cleats are 2×4s with the 3½ inch face vertical, so the lip sits on the top of a 1½ inch thickness.
The build sequence, screw count, and what the model leaves out (wall anchors, load rating) are in how the rack goes together.
Inputs and presets
Lengths are inches. The form asks for bin depth, width, height, the lip (lipless width and height above the lip), clearances, how many bins across and up, kerf, and cleat stock. How to measure a bin defines each one.
Built-in presets:
- 27 gallon tote (Costco SKU 718262). This is the default.
- 12.9 quart Iris bin (Costco SKU 1410571).
- 6 quart Brightroom box (Target TCIN 93327180).
A preset locks outer depth, width, and height. Lip fields start locked and can be unlocked. Slack can be edited. If your bin is not in the list, type the measurements. Product names identify a bin. The site is not affiliated with those stores or manufacturers.
Lumber assumptions
- Frame stock is a 2×4: about 1½ by 3½ inches, in a 96 inch board. Buy full-length 8 ft boards. A precut stud is shorter, about 92⅝ inches.
- Cleats can stay 2×4 or switch to other sizes. A 2×2 cleat is modeled as ripped from a 2×4, and the purchase count stays in boards you can buy.
- Pieces longer than 96 inches are flagged. The tool does not design a splice.
- Board count packs cuts onto 96 inch boards, including kerf, then applies the wastage percentage.
What it does not do
- It does not rate a safe load or design a wall anchor.
- It does not guarantee a bin will fit. Presets and math are a best effort. Measure yours.
- It is not a French-cleat wall, wire shelving, or a metal rack.
- It does not export a CAD file or a CNC toolpath.
- It does not require an account.
FAQ
Is Storage Rack Designer free?
Yes. It runs in the browser. No account is required to enter bin sizes, read dimensions, or use the cut list and 3D view.
What materials does the rack use?
Construction lumber. The frame is 2×4. Cleats default to 2×4 and can be changed. See lumber assumptions.
Can it design a rack for a specific tote?
Yes, either from a preset or from your own measurements. The rack is for bins with a lip that can sit on a cleat. A bin with no lip has nothing for this pattern to catch.
Does it work for French cleat walls or metal shelving?
No. It models a front frame, a back frame, and depth-running lip supports.
Do I need CAD experience?
No. Change the numbers and the dimensions, cut list, and 3D view update.
What units does it use?
Inches for inputs. Dimension readouts can show inches, feet and inches, or decimal inches.
Who operates the site?
Great Sitkin Technologies LLC. Questions: contact. Privacy: privacy policy. The rules for using the calculator: terms of use.
At a glance
- Product
- Storage Rack Designer
- Designer
- storagerackdesigner.com
- Guides
- storagerackdesigner.com/guides/
- Price
- Free in the browser
- Outputs
- Rack dimensions, board count, cut list, 3D model
- Operator
- Great Sitkin Technologies LLC