Best Boltless Rack Setups for Singapore 2022

*Updated in 2022*

You got your new home. You are about done with renovation. Now you are wondering how to maximize the storage space in your HDB bomb shelter or storeroom. Contrary to popular belief, bomb shelter and storeroom sizes vary from estate to estate; and what you store varies from household to household. In this guide, we will talk about the key factors that ultimately influence the storage rack layout in your storeroom and how to maximize storage space, so that whatever you buy from Amazon Prime, AliExpress, Ezbuy or Taobao, will not be scattered all over your home.

Creating the ideal storeroom isn't about "racking" up all available storage space. Here are three quick key factors to think about:

• Stored Item Sizes - How big are your boxes or household items? This factor affects the number of shelf levels you should get. For stacking items or big boxes of more than 40cm high, go for 4 Shelf Levels. For normal household items and boxes, 5 Shelf Levels is recommended to maximize available storage space.
• Floor Space Required? - Are you storing bulky items like fold-able table or stools? If you do, these items cannot be stored on a rack and some floor space should be carved out to slot them in, so that the access way into the storeroom is not obstructed.
• Shape of Bomb Shelter or Storeroom - The shape and size of your storeroom plays the biggest factor in determining how the rack layout should be to maximize storage space within.

Sounds overwhelming...? Let us take you through SIM WIN LIANG's recommended rack layouts for the various common shapes and sizes.

Slim Rectangular Room - Ideal for Connected Rack Row

One of the most common bomb shelter storeroom sizes in Singapore is a slim rectangular shape where the shorter end is less than 1.3m or 1300mm long and the longer side is more than 1.9m or 1900mm long.

Our recommended rack layout for this room type is the Connected Rack Row where two (or more) rack bays are connected side by side to form a rack row to maximize the longer end of the bomb shelter storeroom. It is achieved by connecting a Boltless Storage Rack with a Rack Extension. This layout gives you excellent access, to store and retrieve your stores from the rack(s), and ample walkway space in and out.

The Connected Rack Row is also our favourite layout for providing good floor space to store bulky items - without obstructing your entry into the room. If the bulky item is longer or bigger than usual, opt for an Extension of a shorter length (refer to left layout in image above) and you can enjoy a much bigger corner space at the far end of the room!

This layout is also the most cost-effective setup. By connecting the rack bays, they share the interconnecting Upright Frame and you save extra cost for every rack bay connected. Sharing of the connecting Upright Frame doesn't affect the loading capacity per tier - you continue to enjoy 150 - 230KG uniformly distributed per Shelf Level. Lastly, as more rack bays are connected, the Connected Rack Row gets increasingly stable - which is why warehouses love this setup!

Broad Rectangular Room - Ideal for L-Shape Rack

This type of bomb shelter storeroom is most common among Singapore's 4-room or 5-room HDB Flats. Both the length and width are at least 1.3m or 1300mm and in some cases, it is actually a square shape. The door is typically inclined to the either sides of the walls, rarely in the middle.

This room type is perfect for L-Shape Racks as you can maximize the storage on one side of the room, normally the end furthest from the door, while maintaining a comfortable walkway into your storeroom. The L-Shape Rack is best known for its ability to store items at the corner of the rack without any form of obstruction, commonly referred to as "No Center Pole".

The excellent corner accessibility comes at a compromise where the loading capacity is reduced to 150KG per L-Shape Level, from the usual 150 - 230KG. This is because the Secondary Extension is connected to the Main Boltless Storage Rack via L-Shape Connector Brackets, rather than supported by the Upright Frame. As such, the loading strength is "borrowed" from the Main Storage Rack's Shelf Level, resulting in the reduction.

However there is little reason to worry as most Singapore households rarely load close to 100KG per L-Shape Level. If you think about it, how heavy can toilet rolls, tissue boxes, wet wipes and packet drinks be?

On the downside, floor space is not a luxury for L-Shape Rack setup. Storing bulky items may block access to the items on the L-Shape Rack, or even choke up the walkway into the room. A workaround to carving out some corner space is to reduce either the length of the Main Rack or Secondary Extension, depending on how the rack is setup in your room (refer to layout image above). Doing so will give you some space to slot in bulky or tall items.

Big Room with Door in the Middle - Ideal for U-Shape Rack

"What if I have a really big room and ample space on both sides of the door?"

If both the length and width of your storeroom are at least 1.5m or 1500mm, then you truly have the option of "racking" up all available space with a U-Shape Rack setup. This setup typically consists of two Boltless Storage Racks on both sides of the room and connecting Shelf Levels to them, using L-Shape Connector Brackets.

This rack setup boasts an abundance of storage space with excellent corner accessibility throughout. The loading capacity is amazing too; with 80KG uniformly distributed per Shelf Level (each blue/purple segment in layout image above) or up to 240KG uniformly distributed per U-Shape Level. The only downside to this setup is that your rack may be a short distance away from the walls (normally no more than 5cm) as our rack depth and length come in standard sizes.

As good as U-Shape Rack setup may sound, we do not recommend U-Shape Rack for new generation Singapore HDB Flats as our Bomb Shelters are rarely big enough.

Ending Note

We at SWL hope that this guide is able to assist you in making a good decision with your rack setup. Our recommended layouts are by no means a hard and fast rule - it is simply a simple and cost-effective way, that is based on our on-site experience with tens of thousands of household in Singapore. Ultimately, always think of the three key factors - Stored Item Size, Floor Space Required and the Room Shape - as they are the main influences to how your storage racks should be like.

Enjoy your new home and keep it neat and tidy!