Boltless Shelving for City Hall and Public Works: City of Draper, Draper, UT
How a Salt Lake County city standardized on one boltless shelving section for two departments: anchored shelving at City Hall built to a layout drawing, freestanding shelving at Public Works, and a repeat order a year later on the same specification.
Draper, UT
Project location
Municipal
Industry
8 ft spans
Section width
3 orders
2017 to 2018
The Project: One City, Two Departments, One Shelving Standard
Draper City sits at the south end of the Salt Lake Valley, on the line between Salt Lake and Utah counties. Like every Utah city, it runs a City Hall full of administrative departments and a Public Works operation that maintains streets, water lines, parks and the city fleet. Both generate a steady flow of things that have to be stored: boxed files and supplies on one side, parts, tools and seasonal equipment on the other.
Between February 2017 and March 2018 the city bought boltless shelving from our Salt Lake City team three times. Chris Rodgers, our director of sales, quoted every order. The first went to City Hall and was built to a layout drawing for the space. The second, four months later, went to Public Works. The third, a year after the first, was another City Hall order that ended up being delivered to a different city building.
What makes the project worth writing up is not its size. It is that three separate purchases, for two departments with very different storage needs, all used exactly the same shelving section. That is a simple decision with long-lasting benefits for any public agency, and it is easy to miss when each department buys on its own.
This is one of the Utah public-sector projects behind our boltless shelving in Salt Lake City service page, alongside carpenter shop shelving for Granite School District and installed shelving for Ogden Housing Authority. The city has also bought lockers and pallet rack from us. The product family is covered in depth on our boltless shelving hub, part of our wider shelving solutions range.
A note on what we know
We supplied the shelving; we do not know what the city stores on each shelf, and we are not publishing the layout, the buildings’ addresses or how many sections went where. The photos on this page are illustrations, not photos of city buildings. Everything said about the shelving itself (section style, components, anchoring hardware, order sequence and delivery) comes from the project’s quotes, invoices and manufacturer paperwork.
One Section, Three Orders
Every order the city placed was for the same building block: a boltless shelving section eight feet wide, two feet deep and eight feet high, with five shelf levels and particle board decks, freight included. Only one thing changed from order to order, and it was a deliberate choice for each room: whether the shelving was anchored to the floor.
| Order | Date | Destination | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| City Hall build | February 2017 | City Hall | Shelving to complete a layout drawing, with foot plates and tie plates for anchoring |
| Public Works | June 2017 | Public Works | Same sections, freestanding. No anchoring hardware. |
| City Hall repeat | March 2018 | Redirected to another city building in transit | Same sections, with foot plates and tie plates again |
Standardizing like this pays off in ways that are easy to underestimate. Every beam, deck and deck support the city owns fits every section it owns, in either building. If a department moves, shrinks or takes over a storage room from another, its shelving can be broken down and rebuilt somewhere else with no leftover parts that only fit one unit. Damaged decks and bent beams can be replaced from a single part list.
It also simplifies purchasing. When the city came back a year after the first order, the request did not need a new design or a site visit. The section was already defined, so the quote simply restated it with the number of sections required. For a public agency, where every purchase has to be documented and approved, a repeatable specification turns a shelving purchase into a routine requisition.
Write the specification down once
If your agency buys shelving more than once, record one standard section: width, depth, height, number of levels, beam type, deck material and whether it is anchored. Attach it to the first purchase order. Every later department can order against it and the parts will match.
Why Eight Foot Wide Sections Need Deck Supports
The city’s sections were built on the longest standard beam in the manufacturer’s boltless line, 96 inches. Wide spans are popular in public buildings for good reasons: fewer posts per run means fewer obstructions, more continuous shelf face for boxes and bins, and fewer parts to assemble. But a long span changes how each level has to be built.
A particle board deck eight feet long, resting only on a front and back beam, would sag in the middle as soon as it was loaded. The fix is the deck support: a light steel bar that bolts between the front and back beams underneath the deck, at mid span, and carries the board in the middle. Every level on every one of the city’s orders included a 24 inch deck support, fastened with a bolt and wing nut at each end.
The beams themselves were double rivet beams throughout, front, back and ends. On a wide span the beam, not the post, sets how much each level can carry, and the longer the beam the lower its published capacity. Double rivet beams are the stiffer choice for loaded shelves at this width. Our guide to single rivet vs double rivet boltless shelving beams lists the manufacturer’s published capacities by beam length, and the right figure for your load should always be confirmed on the quote.
| Component on the orders | What it does |
|---|---|
| Series 200 angle posts, 8 foot | Uprights with keyhole slots the full height, so the five levels can be set anywhere. |
| 96 inch double rivet beams | Front and back beams of each level, spanning the full eight foot width. |
| 24 inch double rivet beams | End beams that tie front and back together and square the section. |
| 24 inch deck supports | Steel bars bolted between the front and back beams under each deck to stop mid span sag. |
| Particle board decks | One solid deck per level, sized to the full eight foot by two foot shelf. |
| Foot plates and tie plates | City Hall orders only. Hardware for anchoring posts to the floor and joining neighbouring posts. |
For other deck choices, our boltless shelving decking options page compares particle board, wire and steel. Replacement beams, posts, decks and supports are listed on our boltless shelving accessories page.
Anchoring at City Hall: Foot Plates and Tie Plates
Both City Hall orders included foot plates for anchoring, and the hardware list shows how they work. Foot plates come in three versions: left, right and double. A double foot plate sits under two posts where neighbouring sections stand side by side, and tie plates fasten those posts together so the run behaves as one assembly instead of a row of separate units. Single left and right plates go under the remaining posts. Each plate is then fastened to the floor with a concrete anchor.
Why anchor shelving in an office building? An eight foot section with five loaded levels is tall and narrow, and a building full of staff and visitors is exactly where you do not want one to tip. Utah sits on the Wasatch Fault, and many building officials and facility managers in the state expect tall shelving in occupied spaces to be anchored. Even without an earthquake, anchoring keeps a run from walking or racking when a cart bumps it or someone climbs a lower shelf to reach the top.
The anchors themselves are usually supplied and installed on site to suit the floor. Ask your building official or facility engineer what fastener and embedment your slab needs before installation.
Order the anchoring hardware with the shelving
Foot plates and tie plates are inexpensive and part-numbered to the shelving series. Adding them to the first order is far easier than retrofitting them later, when every section has to be unloaded to reach the post bases. Planning for earthquakes in Utah storage is covered further in our seismic planning guide for Utah shelving.
Public Works: Same Section, Freestanding
The June 2017 order for Public Works used the identical section, eight feet wide and eight feet high with five particle board levels, and was delivered to the Public Works facility. The one difference was that it shipped without foot plates or tie plates. The city decided, room by room, where anchoring was needed, and this shelving was ordered freestanding.
That flexibility is one of the strengths of a standard boltless section. Anchoring hardware attaches at the base of the posts and does not change any other part, so anchored and freestanding sections share the same posts, beams, decks and supports. If a freestanding run is later moved somewhere anchoring is required, foot plates can be added to the same posts.
Shelving in a public works shop tends to carry very different stock from a City Hall storage room: boxed hardware and fittings, safety gear, small tools and seasonal supplies. A solid particle board deck works well for that mix because small items cannot fall through, and five levels on an eight foot post leave openings that suit standard parts bins and cartons.
For heavier public works and fleet storage, see how the Utah Department of Transportation racked a highway maintenance shed and how Tooele County stores road and bridge department stock on pallet rack. For other agency storage, our government storage shelving page covers common municipal applications.
Buying on a State Contract
All three of the city’s orders were priced under the State of Utah cooperative purchasing contract that was in place at the time, which Utah cities, counties, school districts and special districts can use. Each quote was written as a single landed price that included freight, so there were no separate shipping charges to approve. The proposals were short: the section description, the number of sections, the deck, the anchoring hardware where needed, freight, and an expected delivery time of about ten days.
Public agencies across Utah buy this way. For more on how agencies plan storage, see our government material handling solutions page, and for document-heavy rooms, our records storage shelving guide and the Utah government records room mobile shelving case study.
Delivery: LTL Freight and One Change of Address
Each order shipped from the manufacturer, Jaken, on an LTL freight truck from its California warehouse directly to the city. The manufacturer’s invoices show the March 2018 order left the warehouse five days after it was placed. The June 2017 order took about six weeks, longer than the ten days quoted, which is a useful reminder to ask about stock when a delivery date matters.
The March 2018 shipment also had a change of plan. It was consigned to City Hall, and while it was in transit the delivery was redirected to another city building. Freight carriers can do that, but they treat it as a reconsignment and charge an extra fee to reroute the load. It is a small cost, and it is completely avoidable.
None of the orders included installation. Boltless shelving assembles with a rubber mallet, and a facilities crew can build an eight foot section quickly once the first one is up. The deck supports and anchoring are the only steps that need hand tools.
Confirm the building
Before the order is released, confirm which building and entrance will receive the delivery.
Name a receiver
Have someone on site who can sign for an LTL pallet and check the piece count.
Plan the unload
Freight arrives on pallets. Use a dock, forklift or pallet jack, or ask for liftgate service.
Report changes early
If the destination changes, tell us before the truck leaves. Rerouting in transit costs extra.
Assemble and anchor
Build the sections, fit the deck supports, then anchor the foot plates where required.
Need it installed?
If your facilities team cannot assemble or anchor the shelving, installation can be added to the quote. See our boltless shelving installation page and our Utah shelving installation service, or read the Ogden Housing Authority case study for a fully installed public project.
Planning Checklist for Cities, Counties and Special Districts
Municipal buyers along the Wasatch Front face the same questions Draper did. These steps make the first order right and every later one routine.
- Define one standard section (width, depth, height, levels, beam type, deck) and use it in every department.
- On sections eight feet wide, make sure every level includes a center deck support.
- Decide room by room whether shelving is anchored, and order foot plates and tie plates with the shelving.
- Ask your building official what anchors your floor needs before installation day.
- Use a state cooperative contract where it applies, and ask for a landed price with freight included.
- Confirm the delivery building and a receiver before the order ships; rerouting a truck costs extra.
- Keep the proposal on file so the next department can reorder matching sections without a site visit.
- Keep aisles clear for carts and exits, and keep the top level below any sprinkler clearance your fire marshal requires.
For another repeat-order project on one specification, see our phased boltless shelving case study for Source Energy Company or the Utah High School Cycling League warehouse. For Utah projects, start with our Salt Lake City boltless shelving page or the statewide Utah boltless shelving overview, read the boltless shelving buying guide and the rivet shelving overview, or, if you already know what you need, order boltless shelving directly.
What we verified for this case study
This page is built from the project’s own records: the three Zoho deals, the customer quotes and invoices, and the manufacturer’s purchase orders and invoices. Email correspondence from 2017 and 2018 is not archived, so no buyer quotes or design discussion are included, and the city’s reasons are described from what it ordered rather than from what it said. Order values, section and part quantities, the layout, street addresses, the contract number and all contact names are deliberately not published.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do eight foot wide boltless shelving sections need deck supports?
Should boltless shelving be anchored to the floor?
What is the difference between left, right and double foot plates?
Can anchored and freestanding boltless shelving use the same parts?
Can Utah cities buy shelving on a state contract?
Is freight included when you ship boltless shelving to a city building?
Do you supply boltless shelving to municipalities in Salt Lake County?
Planning Shelving for a Utah City or Agency?
Tell us about the rooms and what you store. We will define one standard section, plan anchoring room by room and quote it landed, ready for your purchasing process.