Aisle Ties - A Practical Alternative To Floor Fixing

Making sure your racking is secure and stable is a key task in creating a safe working stockroom or warehouse operation.

It is true that many racking units have a natural stability due to their the size proportions, in these situation they do not require fixing down and are perfectly safe to use free-standing. However, if the height to depth ratio exceeds a value of 5 then the units should be fixed to the ground or to each other for greater stability. Specially made metal footplates are normally used for floor fixing to allow either a screw or anchor bolt (whichever suits the flooring best) to fix down to the flooring surface.

In those instances where the floor is unsuitable for receiving a fixing, a popular alternative is to use aisle ties to attach runs of shelving together. These 'top-ties' are made from strong steel tubing that are fixed to the top of the racking.

There are several reasons why aisle-ties may be the only option for your racking installation:

1. The floor is not suitable to take a fixing

2. The racking units are not permanent and will need to be moved or reconfigured

3. The flooring is old/delicate/expensive - drilling holes is not an option

4. The racking is quite tall and narrow, putting extra pressure on the floor fixings. Sometimes aisle ties should be used alongside floor bolts (see image below)

5. Your rental agreement does not allow holes to be drilled in the floor

6. Underfloor pipework or heating elements at risk of damage

The main photo (top-right) shows a typical retail stockroom used for storing boxed shoes. E-Z-Rect Trimline shelving is connected via aisle-ties that attach to the top of the posts. These are typically fitted to racking units that are over 6ft high/tall. Depending upon the layout and loadings concerned, aisle-ties may not be needed for every frame. 

Once the runs of shelving are connected together you are left with a super-rigid storage structure. Due to the modular nature of the aisle ties, they can be easily retro-fitted to existing E-Z-Rect shelving units if required.

There are instances where both floor fixing and top-ties are required. The photo below shows an installation of our garment racking system that uses both fixing systems to create high density tall and slim storage racks that are very secure.

Contact us today to find out more on 01993 779494.