What pine is best for pantry shelves?

DaveF

Howdy. I am looking at building shelves for a pantry. Fairly rustic as such, think garage shelving but up a notch or two with a bit of detailing. I will use pine and am looking for tips on the best sort for this project avoiding treated I assume.
Cheers
Dave
Edit: Uploaded some images / specs at Jason's suggestions. My area for the shelves is 2540w x 2230h with 4 shelves at a minimum. I initially thought that 45x90mm frames would be good but maybe thinner if I have more uprights as shown in the first image?

redracer01

Hello @DaveF 

If your looking for shelving material, you can't go wrong with Clear Pine FJ Laminated Panel 1800 x 600 x 18mm, combined with Porta 40 x 18mm 2.4m Clear Pine DAR Moulding as trim and support edging material it will give you that perfect rustic look your trying to go for. I suggest using Porta 42 x 42mm 2.4m Standard and Better Pine DAR as vertical supports for the shelves. Now some of our readers may think that these materials I've recommended are on the soft side, I can only vouch for their integrity as these are the materials I've used in my shelf building at home. You could use heavier duty material such as Practa 2200 x 600 x 26mm Acacia Timber Bench top, but they tend to start getting on the heavier side of things. As a guide the heavier the shelf the bigger the supports. So you will have to use bigger timber vertical supports to keep the shelves up and makes it look bulky in a confined space. As soon as the opportunity presents itself I will draw some samples for you. For the mean time have a look at the materials below. If you have time come visit the store and speak to the resident timber specialist. I'm sure you'll get heaps of advice and you can gauge for yourself if the timber your looking at will suite your needs. I'm not too keen on using plywood unless its AA grade which means it has been specially made not to have any knots in it. These materials tend to be on the more expensive side of things. Assembled properly the materials I've recommended can hold a great amount of weight.

If you look at the picture you've posted, you will see that the person who built it used a timber bead/trim at the back of the shelves to act as support when heavy things are placed on it such as canned goods and glass jars. The center shelf (looks like a bench top)  that's bigger is held in place by a timber frame and is made so that it can support even heavier items such as cooking appliances. The first shelf at the bottom has been assembled in the same manner. The shelves are uneven and has been made to look like cabinetry instead of shelves. It's a visual trick that makes you think that your looking at cabinets without doors instead of shelves. Giving the pine a natural finish will give it that uniform rustic look your going for. I strongly recommend using a pocket hole jig to give it that professional finish!

Cheers,

Red