What's your project?
Whear?
Articles & Advice > All Cabinets Articles > The Laminate Shelf: Wallet Wise, and Splinter ...

The Laminate Shelf: Wallet Wise, and Splinter Free

Cabinets

Related Content

Find Top-Rated Professionals

In the shelving world, the laminate shelf is the best choice for many light duty jobs. Plastic laminate is stain and rust-resistant, cost-effective, and virtually impervious to moisture problems. While other shelves may boast of their strength, the laminate shelf is an excellent solution for storage problems of everyday items.

Laminate Shelf Benefits
In a place like a garage or work shed, there are many items of significant weight to be stored. For these places, the tried and true strength of wood or metal is probably a better choice than plastic laminate. For storing lighter items around the house, laminate is a great material.

Shelf for shelf, plastic laminate is generally less expensive than its wood and metal counterparts. If you need a lot of storage space, the money you save will be compounded for every shelf you install. The savings for really decking out a closet or storage room can really add up.

Laminate shelves can look good, too. Plastic has gotten a pretty poor reputation as an aesthetic building material, but high quality laminate looks so good that some wooden shelves are covered with it. Older plastic shelves were often cheaply made, and truly looked the part. Today's laminate plastic is pleasing enough to sit next to (or under) items that are meant to be displayed.

Want a shelving unit all your own? Use this link for
Custom Built Shelves

For laundry rooms, bathrooms, or other particularly moist areas, laminate shelving can be a blessing. It doesn't rust, it is resistant to stains, and there's no worry about water cracks or moisture expansion. As long as you're not planning on storing a weight set in your bathroom, the shelves will hold up very well, with next to no maintenance.

Laminate Shelving Drawbacks
Plastic shelves can become permanently warped if too much weight is left in the center for too long. While it is not likely to break, it has a tendency to bend; this makes for a less than stable storage situation when it comes to heavy items.

Unfortunately, laminate is not considered a very luxurious material. No matter how good it looks, or whether it is in a shelf, floor, or any other spot, it is still plastic. Laminate doesn't add as much value to a home when used in flooring, and the same is true when it is used in shelving. Where a set of wood shelves will be seen as an asset, laminate, no matter the appearance or performance, is still seen as a "quick fix" material.

Laminate Shelf Inlays
Laminate can play a more heavy duty role when it comes to racks of shelves. Many metal shelf racks are made of thin metal dowels or wire. These shelves are easy to put together and can hold a lot of weight, but the large spaces between the metal easily allow smaller items to fall through. A laminate inlay will take care of this problem in a snap. Many different sizes are available to fit many different shelves. You simply lay them down on top of the metal, and you've got a surface that will hold a lot of weight, without letting smaller objects fall through the cracks.

Jon Nunan is a freelance writer who draws on his experience in construction, ranging from landscaping to log home building, for his articles on home improvement.

Rate This Article

OVERALL RATING Be first to rate this article!

YOUR RATING

Very PoorPoorFairGoodVery Good

Log-in to save your ratings!

Recommend This Article
Digg This Digg
Submit to Reddit Reddit
Bookmark This Del.icio.us
ServiceMagic Articles To-Go

Add to Google

Add to My AOL 0

What's Your Project?

Are You a Quality Pro? Contractors Join Here
More Tips & Advice For Your Home
Related Articles
    Recent Articles
    Videos
    The Story of Jane The Story of Jane

    When you're having a hard time trying to choose one service professional over another, ServiceMagic is the best way to make an informed choice.  Watch Now

    By using ServiceMagic you agree to our Terms & Conditions
    SUBJECT GUIDES: Plumbers | Electricians | Kitchen Remodeling
    FOR HOMEOWNERS: Categories | Projects | Contractor Directory | Community | Tell a Friend | Blog | Refer-A-Pro | Screen-A-Pro | Guarantee | Seal of Approval
    FOR CONTRACTORS: Contractor Advertising | Construction Jobs | Contractor Leads / Join Our Network
    FOR OTHER NEEDS: Contractors for Your Business | Events | Care
    SERVICEMAGIC SITE: Home Improvement | Log In | About Us | Contact | Help | Careers | Site Map | Articles | Galleries | Videos | Project Tools | RSS Feed | Affiliates
    LEGAL: Privacy (Updated) | Terms & Conditions
    INTERNATIONAL: ServiceMagic UK | Travaux | 123Devis
    Follow Us on Twitter Become a Fan of ServiceMagic at Facebook Get the IPhone App for free
    © Copyright 1999-2009, ServiceMagic, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    Better Homes and Gardens Member of the Better Homes and Gardens Network