Shelving

Blah

Shelf material

Most showcase shelves are made of glass, as glass allows light to flow round the case. Options for glass shelves are:

• Toughened glass - can support heavy exhibits, but it can disintegrate dramatically if struck on edges or corners.
• Laminated glass - is the safest option but can't support as much weight as toughened glass and so will require more supports.
• Float glass - offers a good balance of object safety and load capacity but can break into dangerous sharp shards.
• Toughened and laminated glass can be used for exceptional loads where there is a higher risk of breakage.

Glass isn't the only choice - metal, Corian™ and stone can all give good results.

Shelf support

Where the case has a solid wall of timber or metal we can mount shelves on cantilever brackets located into hidden uprights.

Where the case is all glass, we usually mount shelves on adjustable rods suspended from the top of the case. Suspended rod shelving is extremely flexible and discrete.

Whatever shelving system you choose, remember that it can also provide a useful platform for object labelling and graphics.