TOTE STORAGE RACK
Pick a grid and a tote. Each tote hangs by its rim and slides out like a drawer.
Pick your grid and totes; the rack resizes
CAN I BUILD THIS?
4 steps. One day, about 2 1/4 hours of assembly.
SHOP
27 MATERIALS TO GET · 7 TOOLS TO GET
Drawn end-on. ClickTap anything you already have.
Lowe’s materials are $3.01 less for this build.
CUT LIST
23 BOARDS · 6 SIZES TO CUT
LABEL EACH PIECE
ClickTap a piece when it’s cut, clicktap again to undo. On a repeated board, clicktap the row under the piece as you cut each one.
2×4×8′ BOARDS
0 OF 53 CUT- A: Front frame plate
- B: Back frame plate
- C: Front frame upright
- D: Tote rail
- E: Back frame upright
- F: Corner brace · 45° both ends
- G: Bay spacer block
- H: Rail spacer block
BUILD STEPS
2 1/4 HRS ASSEMBLY · 4 STEPS
- OPTIONAL GLUE
- OPTIONAL GLUE
- EASIER WITH · OPTIONAL90° corner clamps (set of 4) · square the frames’ corners$49.40
- CHECK BEFORE YOU DRIVEEqual diagonals, a square frame and identical bays.
ABOUT THIS PLAN
Name your bin (seven store presets, or your own tape measurement), say how many columns and rows you want, and everything else is arithmetic from there. The rack’s width, depth and height are the last things decided here by our configurator.
This simple build is entirely made of 2×4s. Two frames (plates and uprights) stand up and tie together with paired tote rails. Each tote hangs by its rim on one pair and slides out like a drawer. At four bays wide, or more than four high, four corner braces appear across the back on their own. Every cut is a straight crosscut, plus a 45° cut at both ends of each brace, eight in all.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Which totes fit this rack?
One rack holds one tote length, not both.ABOUT 30″Commander, CX, Greenmade, Hyper ToughABOUT 28″HDX, Sterilite, Rubbermaid RoughneckAny other tote: measure the lid and type it in up top.
Don’t the totes need shelves?
No. Each tote hangs by its rim on a pair of 2×4 tote rails, so the tote itself never touches a shelf. Every bay stays open underneath, and any tote slides straight out like a drawer without unstacking the ones around it.
Why is a 2×4 not actually 2 inches by 4 inches?
The name is the size before the mill dries and planes it. Every board sold as a 2×4 really measures 1 1/2″ × 3 1/2″. That goes for the rails, the uprights, all of it. Every rail length and every upright on this page is already worked out from the real size, so the rack comes out square when you cut to the numbers as written.
Can the rack roll?
Yes. Enable the CASTERS toggle up top: a caster set joins the materials list and screws to the bottom plates. Racks 4 or more totes wide take a third pair at mid-span so the long plates stay supported. The frame itself doesn’t change; the rack just rides 4 1/4″ taller.
When do I need the corner braces?
At four or more bays wide, or more than four high. The rack picks up four braces across the back on its own, and the extra lumber, the screws and the bracing actions in step 2 join the plan with them. They are the only angled cuts in the build: 45° at both ends of each brace, eight cuts in all.