The type of wire deck that best suits your pallet racking is dependent upon the type of beams the decks will be used with. The most common type of beam is the standard step beam, which has a 1 5/8” deep indent on the inside beam face, referred to as the beam “step”. When standard step beams are being used, U-channel decks are usually recommended, as the ends of the U-shaped support channel fit snugly on the beam step. Utilizing a U-channel deck allows the user to take advantage of the extra weight capacity provided by the U channel. Another type of beam is the 7/8” step, or “bulk step” beam. These beams are similar to standard step beams, except they feature a step that’s only 7/8” deep instead of the standard 1 5/8”. Users with 7/8” step beams have a couple of options: if available, they may choose to use 7/8” step U-channel decks, which are simply U-channel decks made for 7/8” step beams. If 7/8” step decks are not available, they’ll want to use flare channel decks. Least common but still prevalent is the box beam. Box beams have no step, but instead have four flat sides. Since there’s no step for a U channel to sit on, box beams require the use of flare channel decks.

If you began this article confused, hopefully it has lessened the confusion and not made it worse. All in all, the wire deck information required for most customers is fairly simple. U-channel decks are stronger than flare channel decks, but must be used with step beams. Flare channel decks “flare” over the top of beams and fit any type of beam, but aren’t as strong as U-channel beams. If custom decks are being made, more specific capacity and measurement requirements will be needed. However, for most applications, the type of beam, beam dimensions and the amount of weight are the the primary pieces of information that will be needed at the time of quotation.

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