Pallet Racking in Denver, Colorado
Selective, push-back, drive-in and pallet flow rack for Denver and Front Range warehouses, planned around Denver’s high-piled storage permit rules and delivered and installed from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs.
Since 1997
Storage systems experience
Since 2016
Supplying Colorado projects
Free
Layout design and quote
Front Range
Delivery and installation
Shop Pallet Rack Online for Denver Warehouses
Starter and add-on sections, wire decking and column protectors with current online prices. Freight is quoted by destination, and some common sizes are in stock at select manufacturers, subject to confirmation. For a full Denver layout, request a free quote.
Pallet rack for Denver and Front Range warehouses
Denver is the distribution center of the Rocky Mountain region. Freight moving along I-70, I-76 and I-25 ends up in warehouses in Commerce City, Aurora, Montbello, Henderson and Brighton, and in the newer buildings near Denver International Airport and along E-470. Those buildings hold everything from beverage and building materials to e-commerce orders and household goods, and nearly all of them need pallet racking.
Material Handling USA has designed, supplied and installed storage systems since 1997. We are based in Salt Lake City and have supplied pallet rack to Colorado businesses since 2016, from single-bay orders to full warehouse systems. This page covers what matters for a Denver project: which rack types fit which operations, what the City and County of Denver requires before high-piled storage goes in, how Front Range floors and buildings affect the design, and how delivery and installation work.
For rack types, capacities and planning in more depth, start with our main warehouse pallet racking guide. For long loads like lumber, pipe and steel, see our cantilever rack in Denver page. Storing tires? See tire storage racks in Denver.
Recent Colorado pallet rack projects
These are real Closed Won projects from our records. We describe the business and the work, but we don’t publish client names, layouts, quantities or prices on this page.
Moving and storage company, Englewood. A repeat customer since 2016. It added pallet rack over several orders as its vault storage grew, including a large system in 2022.
Cannabis operator, Thornton. Pallet rack for a licensed facility in 2022, ordered in two phases.
Aerospace manufacturer, Colorado Springs. Pallet rack plus other material handling equipment across several 2025 orders.
Noise-control manufacturer, Longmont. Pallet rack for production and shipping storage.
What these projects share is common for Colorado: a business that starts with a few bays, then adds rows as it grows. That is why we design with standard frame depths and beam lengths, so later bays match. If you already have rack and need to add to it, our pallet rack identification and compatibility guide explains how to match what you own.
Pallet rack types we supply in Denver
The right system depends on how many SKUs you carry, how many pallets of each, and how fast they turn. This table matches the common Denver operations to the rack that usually fits them.
| Rack type | Best for | Typical Denver users |
|---|---|---|
| Selective pallet rack | Many SKUs, direct access to every pallet | 3PLs, distributors, building suppliers, manufacturers |
| Double-deep rack | More positions per aisle, two pallets deep | Beverage and grocery distributors with several pallets per SKU |
| Push-back rack | 2 to 6 pallets deep, last in first out | Food and beverage, packaging, seasonal stock |
| Drive-in rack | Deep lanes of the same product, highest density | Cold storage, bulk ingredients, single-SKU staging |
| Pallet flow rack | First in first out, gravity-fed lanes | Dated food and beverage, high-volume picking |
| Carton flow rack | Case and each picking at the pick face | E-commerce and parts fulfillment |
| Narrow-aisle rack | More rows where aisles can shrink | Buildings with reach trucks or turret trucks |
| Structural rack | Heavy loads and forklift abuse | Steel, heavy manufacturing, freezer and drive-in systems |
High-density options for Denver distributors
Many Denver beverage, grocery and packaging distributors carry a few hundred SKUs with several pallets of each. Selective rack wastes space in that case, because each pallet needs its own aisle face.
Push-back stores pallets on nested carts 2 to 6 deep, loaded and unloaded from the same aisle. Pallet flow loads at the back and picks from the front, so the oldest pallet always ships first, which matters for dated product. Drive-in gives the most positions per square foot but works best when a lane holds just one SKU.
A mixed layout is common: selective rack for slow movers, push-back or flow for the fast, deep SKUs.
Denver industries we design for
Wire decking for parts and mixed loads
Manufacturers and parts distributors along the Front Range often store cartons, bins and loose parts on pallet rack, not just full pallets. Anything that doesn’t sit on a pallet needs wire decking or pallet supports under it, so nothing can fall between the beams.
Wire decks also let sprinkler water reach lower levels, which solid plywood decks can block. Match the deck’s rated capacity and dimensions to the beam and the load, and post capacity signs at each bay. Our pallet racking weight capacity guide explains how beam, deck and frame ratings work together.
Denver permits and code for pallet racking
Permits are where Denver projects most often lose time. The rules below are summarized from the City and County of Denver and nearby building departments. Always confirm current requirements for your address before you order.
Current code. Denver adopted the 2025 Denver Building and Fire Code on June 13, 2025. It is based on the 2024 International Building Code and 2024 International Fire Code with Denver amendments, after a transition period in which either the 2022 or the 2025 code could be used.
High-piled storage. The Denver Fire Department defines high-piled storage as combustible materials on pallets, in racks or on shelves where the top of storage is more than 12 feet high. For high-hazard commodities such as rubber tires, Group A plastics, flammable liquids and idle pallets, the threshold is 6 feet. High-piled storage needs a Fire construction permit before the rack is installed, and an operational permit for ongoing use, with annual inspections.
What Denver Fire wants to see
The design submittal for a high-piled storage permit typically includes:
A floor plan showing where the storage areas are and how large they are.
Usable storage height for each area, and the number of tiers in each rack.
Clearance between the top of storage and the sprinkler deflectors.
Commodity classification for what is stored, and the aisle widths.
The submittal also has to show the fire protection features IFC Chapter 32 requires for that storage area, such as sprinklers, detection, smoke removal or extra exterior doors. Planning this before ordering is far cheaper than lowering beam levels after an inspection. Our warehouse fire safety and flue space guide covers the sprinkler side.
Suburbs and other Front Range cities
Each city has its own building department, and the rules differ:
- Aurora has a dedicated High-Piled Combustible Storage checklist. Plans must be digitally sealed and signed by a Colorado-licensed design professional.
- Colorado Springs and El Paso County (Pikes Peak Regional Building Department) exempt movable racks up to 5 feet 9 inches tall from permits. Taller rack generally needs one.
- Commerce City, Lakewood, Arvada, Thornton, Westminster and Englewood each review rack under their own adopted codes. Call the building department with your rack height and commodity before ordering.
- Unincorporated areas fall under the county building department, not the nearest city.
Seismic design. The Denver area has much lower seismic demand than the Wasatch Front in Utah, but storage rack is still designed to the adopted code’s seismic and load requirements, and every column is anchored to the floor. See our pallet rack seismic compliance notes and our guide to permits and engineering for pallet rack.
The Rack Manufacturers Institute publishes ANSI/RMI MH16.1, the design standard for industrial steel storage racks, and the Denver Fire Department’s warehouse and high-piled storage page lists its current permit requirements.
Front Range floors and buildings
Expansive soils. Parts of the Front Range sit on expansive clay soils that swell and shrink with moisture. Slabs-on-grade over those soils can heave or crack over time. Before anchoring rack in an older building, look for cracks, heaved joints and uneven areas where frames will land, and plan anchor locations away from damaged concrete. Our concrete slab requirements for pallet racking guide explains slab thickness, strength and joint spacing.
Clear height. Newer bulk distribution buildings around Denver commonly have 32 to 40 feet of clear height, while older buildings in central Denver and the I-25 corridor are often much lower. Taller rack uses that height, but it also changes the sprinkler design and almost always pushes storage past Denver’s 12-foot high-piled threshold.
Temperature swings. Many Colorado warehouses are only partly heated. Rack itself doesn’t mind cold, but cold docks change how drivers work, and frozen or icy pallets slide more easily on beams. Pallet supports or wire decks help on levels near the dock doors.
Mezzanines. If you need more space for small parts and offices rather than pallets, a mezzanine can add a second floor above the work area.
Delivery and installation across the Front Range
We deliver and install pallet rack throughout the Denver metro and the Front Range. Freight is quoted by destination, and the rack ships from the manufacturer or distribution warehouse that best fits your order.
Denver metro: Denver, Aurora, Commerce City, Henderson, Brighton, Thornton, Westminster, Arvada, Lakewood, Golden, Englewood, Littleton, Centennial and Castle Rock.
Northern Colorado: Boulder, Broomfield, Longmont, Loveland, Fort Collins, Windsor and Greeley. Southern Front Range: Colorado Springs, Fountain and Pueblo.
Installers anchor every column with the specified anchors and pin every beam. See our pallet rack installation page and anchor bolt guide.
Layout and quote
Send a floor plan or photos. We draw a free layout around your building, lift trucks and permit limits.
Permits and engineering
For high-piled storage, we provide the rack details your design consultant needs for Denver Fire or the local building department.
Delivery
Freight is scheduled to your dock, with the delivery date confirmed ahead of time.
Install and sign-off
Frames are stood, anchored and beamed, capacity signs posted, and the rack handed over for loading.
Moving buildings within Colorado? Existing rack can often move with you. See our pallet rack relocation, teardown and reinstall service. After installation, protect columns near docks and busy aisles with column protectors and end-of-aisle guards, add rack safety netting where cartons could fall into walkways, and set up regular rack inspections.
New vs. used pallet racking in Denver
A lot of Denver buyers search for used pallet racking first, and there is plenty of it for sale along the Front Range. Before you count on the savings, it helps to know where the money actually goes.
Used savings are usually used up by installation. Rack that has been taken down and moved rarely goes back together cleanly. Bent columns need replacing, connectors don’t seat well, and mixed batches don’t line up. The installer time spent straightening and fitting used parts often costs more than the difference in price, so new rack frequently ends up cheaper once it’s installed.
Reusing rack you already own can work, especially for a straight move of a known system. Even then, new parts are sometimes cheaper after the fix-up time is counted.
The quickest way to decide is a call to our sales team with pictures of the rack, the upright labels and the connectors. We’ll tell you honestly whether it’s worth installing. Our used vs. new pallet rack guide explains the trade-offs in more detail, and our pallet rack cost and pricing guide shows how to compare quotes.
Plan your Denver rack online
Lay out bays and levels in our free 3D pallet rack configurator, then send the design for a Denver freight and installation quote.
Open the Configurator See All Design Tools Call (800) 326-4403
Pallet Rack Applications in Denver
Denver and Front Range warehouses use pallet rack for a wide range of operations, from general distribution to specialized storage. Here are common use cases and what to consider for each.
Denver pallet racking FAQs
Do I need a permit for pallet racking in Denver?
What building code does Denver use for storage racks?
Do you deliver and install pallet rack in Denver?
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Is used pallet racking cheaper in Denver?
Does pallet rack need to be anchored in Colorado?
What pallet rack works best for beverage and food distributors in Denver?
Do you have Colorado references?
Pallet rack in other locations: Salt Lake City · Boise, Idaho · Cantilever rack in Denver · All pallet rack
Planning pallet racking in Denver?
Free layout design, permit-ready rack details and delivery and installation across the Front Range.