Independent comparisons. We may earn from shop links. More info

How to assemble metal shelving

Updated: October 2026

The carton is in the hall and you want the rack up before the boxes come back in. This is how to assemble metal shelving: a boltless bay with tabs, and a wire rack with clips or collars. Which type you bought is settled on the [metal shelf comparison](/hub/workshop/metal-shelf) and the [metal shelving buying guide](/hub/workshop/metal-shelf/sub/metal-shelf-buying-guide). A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission. We did not build every unit in a lab. Seat every joint before you load the deck, and do not climb the rack. If an upright arrives bent and only fits when you force it, stop.

The carton is in the hall and you want the rack up before the boxes come back in. This is how to assemble metal shelving: a boltless bay with tabs, and a wire rack with clips or collars.

Our top picks

Amazon Basics Amazon Basics 5-shelf chrome wire unit

Best overall

Amazon Basics Amazon Basics 5-shelf chrome wire unit
8.8/10about £44.99
View offer
SONGMICS SONGMICS 5-tier shelving, set of 2

Best value

SONGMICS SONGMICS 5-tier shelving, set of 2
8.4/10about £42.99
View offer
DIVCHI DIVCHI 5-tier boltless rack

Alternative

DIVCHI DIVCHI 5-tier boltless rack
6.9/10about £21.29
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Before you open the box
  2. 2.Boltless bay, from the feet upward
  3. 3.Wire rack with clips or collars
  4. 4.When you stop

Before you open the box

Count the parts against the packing list before you throw the cardboard away: uprights, beams or poles, feet or castors, boards or wire shelves, and any anti-tip kit. SONGMICS lists anti-tip accessories. Azil, selling a similar 1,800 × 900 × 400 mm bay, says that unit does not include wall attachments. Your box is whichever the listing promised. Clear a flat patch of floor longer than the bay. Two people is the safer default. A 900 mm frame racks out of square easily, and a 1,400 mm wire unit is a two-person lift. Fetch a rubber mallet if the listing is boltless. DIVCHI says the mallet is not in the box. A steel hammer is how reviewers bend uprights. If you cannot tell what the wall is made of, pause. Do not use the nearest plug.

Boltless bay, from the feet upward

Lay the uprights in pairs and fit the feet so the frame cannot dig into the concrete. Work from the bottom. Seat the lowest side beams, then the front and back beams at the same height, and check the rectangle before you add the next level. Rhino Racking’s article, for its own bays, describes that order, then tabs bent home so the joint cannot walk out. A tab only resting in the slot is not finished. Mallet the beam end, close to the upright, until the tab sits fully down. Do not swing at the middle of a thin upright. If a lug will not go home without folding the steel, that upright is scrap for this build. Boards go on after that level is square. Put a heavy deck where you can reach it without standing on the shelf below. The choice between this deck and open wire is on boltless or wire shelving.
Amazon Basics Amazon Basics 5-shelf chrome wire unit

Testsieger

Amazon Basics Amazon Basics 5-shelf chrome wire unit
8.8/10about £44.99
View offer

Wire rack with clips or collars

Wire assembly is poles, shelves and a clip or collar at each corner. Stand the poles, slide the lowest shelf on, and lock the clips so the shelf cannot creep down the pole. Amazon Basics reviews say the rack is sturdy once the clips are seated, and that the clips are fiddly. If a clip still will not lock, that is a returns issue under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Level the feet before the higher shelves go on. Amazon Basics in this set has feet and no wheels. Himimi and VANZBON give you lockable castors and feet. Do not mix them so one corner sits proud. Mallet the collar, not the wire, when fittings are tight. Lock the castors before you let go, or a wheeled unit will travel on a smooth floor.

When you stop

Stop if the steel is bending, if a tab will not stay seated, or if the uprights meet only when you force a kink. A second attempt from the bottom is fair. Forcing a bent upright is not. Stop if you would be guessing at plasterboard, dot-and-dab, or a single-skin garage wall. Load from the bottom. Heavy cases go low. Do not climb the rack or lean a ladder on it. Seal untreated MDF in a damp garage before you fill the shelves. That room detail is on metal shelf for a garage. Call a competent person for workplace pallet racking, a vehicle strike, or PUWER because people use the rack for work. HSE’s overview and leaflet INDG412 cover that duty. They do not certify any bay in this set.

Common questions

Do I need a rubber mallet?
For a boltless bay, yes. The tabs need a firm seat, and several listings say the mallet is not included. Use rubber, not a steel hammer. Wire units with plastic collars often go together by hand, though VANZBON reviews show that tight fittings can still need a mallet.
Can I build a boltless bay alone?
Some buyers do, including on the cheaper bays. A 900 mm frame is much easier to keep square with a second person, and a wider wire unit is a two-person lift. If you are alone, build against a wall so one side cannot fall while you seat the other.
Which shelf goes in first?
The lowest. On a boltless bay, complete the bottom rectangle of beams before you add height. On a wire rack, lock the lowest shelf and level the feet before the upper shelves. A top-down build is how a half-seated frame twists.
What if the tabs pop out?
The joint was not fully home, or the blow was hard enough to damage the slot. Reseat with a rubber mallet. If the metal has already folded, or the tab will not stay after a careful second attempt, stop using that upright. Do not load a bay whose lugs are only resting in the holes.
Should I fix it to the wall?
Fix it when the instructions include a kit, or when the bay is tall, narrow, or going to carry a heavy load up high. SONGMICS lists an anti-tip kit. Some similar bays, such as Azil’s, do not include wall attachments at all. Do not invent a fixing for a wall you cannot identify.

Related pages

Mannesmann tool box

Metal shelf

Best metal shelving unit for a UK garage or cupboard

Boltless or wire shelving for boxes, air and wheels

UK metal shelving buying guide: type, load and depth

Metal shelf for a garage: door, floor and low load

Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings in this comparison, read on 19 October 2026.

  1. HSE: PUWER overview (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. HSE: INDG412 Warehousing and storage (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. HSE: Warehousing and storage (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. PUWER 1998 (SI 1998/2306) (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. SEMA: Storage equipment guidance (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. SEMA: Technical bulletin 12, load notices (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Rhino Racking: Shelving assembly guide (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. Azil: Boltless shelving 90 x 40 x 180 (retrieved 19 October 2026)