Your Complete Guide to Prices, Installation and Hidden Costs
Warehouse shelving in the UK typically costs between £70 and £180 per bay for boltless shelving, rising to £400 to £1,050 per bay for new pallet racking. Mezzanine flooring is priced by area, at roughly £75 to £150 per square metre.
What you actually pay comes down to five things: the type of racking, the steel gauge, the bay size, whether the stock is new or refurbished, and who puts it up. Below you will find current price ranges per bay, what drives them, and the costs most quotes leave out.
What affects the cost of warehouse shelving?
The type of racking
Heavy-duty options like pallet racking and structural mezzanines need more steel and more structural engineering, so they cost considerably more than the boltless shelving used for lighter goods. The gap between the cheapest and the most expensive option in the table below is roughly fifteenfold, and it is almost entirely a question of what the system is rated to carry.
Steel gauge and load capacity
Prices vary with the thickness of the steel. Confusingly, a lower gauge number means thicker steel, so a 12-gauge upright is heavier duty, and more expensive, than a 16-gauge one. The higher the load rating, the more material goes into the frame, and the more you pay for it.
Bay size
Taller frames and wider beams use more steel. A 3m upright costs more than a 2m one, and a 2,700mm beam costs more than an 1,800mm one. Where you have the choice, sticking to standard bay sizes rather than bespoke dimensions keeps the price down and makes replacement components much easier to source in five years’ time.
Installation method
Professional installation costs more than self-assembly, but it is faster, and for anything load-bearing it is the only sensible option. See the installation section below for what it adds.
Typical price ranges for warehouse shelving in the UK
What you pay depends on the type of system you order. Here is a rough guide to what to expect per bay:
|
Storage type |
Typical price range |
Best suited for |
|
Boltless shelving |
£70 – £180 per bay |
Light commercial goods, archives, small parts |
|
Longspan shelving |
£150 – £550 per bay |
Bulky, medium-weight, hand-loaded goods |
|
New pallet racking |
£400 – £1,050 per bay |
Heavy, palletised goods requiring forklift access |
|
Used pallet racking |
£200 – £600 per bay |
Cost-conscious warehouses needing heavy-duty storage |
|
Mezzanine flooring |
£75 – £150 per square metre |
Maximising vertical space for storage or offices |
All prices are indicative and exclude VAT, delivery and installation. Last updated: 1 July 2026.
Installation costs
Boltless and longspan shelving are both suitable for DIY assembly. Mezzanines and pallet racking are different: they need professional installation, which typically adds around 15% to 30% to the overall cost.
Always use a SEIRS-registered installer. SEIRS is SEMA’s Storage Equipment Installers Registration Scheme, and a SEIRS card shows the installer has been trained to the industry code of practice. Using one helps make sure the racking goes up to the manufacturer’s specification, which protects your warranty and reduces the risk of a collapse, a health and safety problem long before it is a damaged-stock problem.
Racking inspections and what the law actually says
SEMA guidance is not itself law. Your duties under PUWER and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act are what require racking to be kept in safe working order, and HSE guidance HSG76 is how you demonstrate you are doing it.
HSG76 and SEMA both recommend a three-tier approach:
- Daily visual checks by warehouse staff, looking for bent uprights, misaligned beams and missing safety pins.
- Documented weekly or monthly inspections by a trained person responsible for racking safety (PRRS), with the frequency set by how busy the warehouse is.
- An expert inspection at intervals of no more than 12 months, ideally by a SEMA Approved Racking Inspector (SARI), producing a written report with proposed actions.
How to reduce your warehouse shelving costs
- Buy refurbished or second-hand from a supplier who can document the original manufacturer and the load ratings.
- Order full systems in bulk rather than piecemeal, and ask what the bulk discount threshold is.
- Stick to standard bay sizes. Bespoke dimensions carry a premium and are harder to extend later.
- Reuse what you already have. If your uprights are sound, you may only need new beams.
- Phase the fit-out one aisle at a time so the capital outlay is spread across more than one budget year.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to use second-hand racking?
Yes, provided you buy properly. Used racking is safe when it comes from a reputable supplier who can tell you the original manufacturer, supply the load capacity data, and confirm the components have been checked for damage. Avoid mixing components from different manufacturers in the same run, and always fit a new load notice showing the rated capacity. If you cannot establish what a beam is rated to carry, do not use it.
Do I need a rack safety inspection?
Yes. HSE guidance HSG76 recommends an expert inspection at intervals of no more than 12 months, alongside your own daily and weekly checks. Arranging and paying for it is your responsibility as the operator.
How much does pallet racking cost per bay?
New pallet racking typically runs from £400 to £1,050 per bay depending on height, beam length and load rating. Used pallet racking usually falls between £200 and £600 per bay.
Is warehouse shelving tax deductible?
Shelving and racking normally qualify as plant and machinery for capital allowances, which may mean you can claim the cost against your profits. Mezzanine floors are more complicated, because parts of the structure may be treated as a building rather than plant. We are not tax advisers, so speak to your accountant before assuming a particular treatment.
