A 250kg shelf can be overloaded by a 200kg load. A Galway storage supplier explains the load rating most buyers misread, and where longspan fits between the stockroom and the warehouse.

A shelf rated at 250kg. Now put a 200kg compressor on it. The weight is within the limit, yet the shelf may still be in trouble. The problem is not how much it carries. It is how that weight is spread.

That’s the catch hidden in the load rating on most shelving and racking, according to Irish storage supplier RackZone. The figure on a product page is usually a UDL, or uniformly distributed load. It is the most a shelf can safely carry when the weight is spread evenly across the whole surface, edge-to-edge and front-to-back.

Push the same weight into one corner and it becomes a point load. The UDL rating does not cover that.

The sum behind the sticker

RackZone's workings are simple. UDL is total weight divided by shelf area. Spread 300kg across a shelf measuring 1.8m by 0.6m and the load comes to about 278kg per square metre.

Their advice is practical. Spread heavy items across the full depth and width. Place dense, compact items centrally over the strongest part of the deck. For small, heavy footprints, choose solid steel or timber decking over wire mesh.

Span matters too. On longspan beams, a longer span reduces the safe UDL. A wider bay is not simply a bigger version of a narrow one.

The awkward middle

Between a stockroom shelf and a pallet in a warehouse sits a format that many buyers never meet until they need it. RackZone describes longspan shelving as built for bulky, hand-loaded stock that is too big for standard shelving but not suited to full pallet racking. Think automotive parts, catering equipment and awkward, irregular items.

Some suppliers call the format longspan racking. RackZone's own pages use both names for it.

According to the company's warehouse shelving guide, standard bay widths are 1,800mm and 2,400mm, heights reach up to 4,000mm, and depths come in 400mm, 600mm and 800mm. Industrial and longspan ranges carry up to 450kg to 500kg UDL per shelf. Assembly is boltless so a rubber mallet does most of the work.

When the forklift arrives

Once goods arrive on pallets and a forklift does the lifting, the answer changes. Pallet racking takes over, and the layout starts to depend on the truck as much as the shelf.

RackZone gives guide aisle widths of around 3.5m or more for counterbalance forklifts, around 2.7m to 3m for reach trucks, and about 1.6m for very narrow aisle trucks. Adjustable pallet racking is designed to the European standard EN 15512, and inspection is covered by EN 15635.

Space is the reason these numbers matter. Bisnow reported on 1 September 2026 that Dublin's logistics market has vacancy of around 3.5 to 4 per cent, with limited industrial-zoned land keeping supply tight. When floor space is scarce, businesses build upwards and a rating misread on the way up costs more.

So what is the best shelving in Ireland?

There’s no single answer, and that’s the point. The best shelving in Ireland for a garage is not the best for a chilled store or a commercial kitchen. RackZone's range runs across ten types: value, industrial, metal, galvanised, chrome, home and office, plastic, warehouse, garage and HORECA.

What the buyer carries, how it’s stacked and how the shelf is loaded decide the rest. Read the rating as a UDL then check where the weight will actually sit.

RackZone is 100% Irish owned and based in Poolboy, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway. They offer next-day delivery on orders placed before 3pm, and hold a Trustpilot score of 4.8 out of 5 from more than 2,700 reviews.