How to Install a Hanging Pot Rack

The kitchen is by far the most cluttered room in just about any home. It seems that nearly all of the infomercials are about some new kitchen gadget that will make your life so much easier. In fact when it comes to cooking, most of us have more tools in the kitchen than all the tools in a Sears automotive department. From knives and dishes, to the endless number of electrical gadgets that make life so easy, there is a tool for it. The problem with this is not really in the added convenience, but in the lack of space. It may seem like a good excuse to get a bigger home, but all you really need to do is maximize the space in your existing kitchen. One way to do this is by installing a hanging pot rack. These are especially nice if your kitchen has an island for the stove and food prep area. It can save you multiple trips to and from the cupboards to get the pan that you need. It makes things quicker, easier, and adds a touch of beauty to your home. The added space is just another plus.

The first thing that you will need to do is decide whether you are going to build your own pot rack, or just go get one at the local hardware store. Even if you are going to put your own together, I would recommend buying a kit. This will give you all of the hardware and pieces. It is usually cheaper to get them in this way as well. It is cheaper to assemble it yourself and cheaper to get the kits than to buy each individual piece to put it together. If you have some grandiose idea of this truly extravagant rack that just is not carried anywhere, then you may want to build your own, but be very cautious when selecting the materials. Many of the kits on the market have also been carefully calculated for the amount of weight they can hold and the additional weight that the rack itself takes up. You need to realize that the more elaborate you make your rack, the heavier it will be. If you get it too heavy, there is nothing in the world that will keep it attached to your ceiling. You also want to consider the material that the rack will be made of. If you want a wood rack, you will need to choose a very sturdy type like oak. If you want a metal rack, you will need to go with a light, yet still durable metal like steel clad aluminum or wrought iron. When you design a metal rack, you will need to keep it simple. Not only will there be the weight of all the dishes, pots, and pans, but there will also be the frame itself.

Once you have the actual frame, you will need to think of how you want it mounted. For one of the more beautiful designs, You may want to suspend this rack from the ceiling. You can also build a cabinet system to install and attach the rack directly into the bottom of the cabinets. This may not be a hanging rack, but it serves the same purpose and will increase the amount of space in your kitchen. If you are going for the shear beauty of a suspended rack, then the hanging style will be what you desire. A more rustic and optimal design is the cabinetry over the island. This is usually more sturdy and adds even more space to your kitchen. This article will cover the hanging style since that is a little more difficult and confusing.

When you go to hang your rack over the middle of your kitchen, there are a few things that you will need to keep in mind for safety reasons. The first thing that you need to realize is that if you have a heavy style of cookware, you will not want to use this for storing these pans. Not only will you end up in the hospital due to lifting that cast iron skillet overhead, but that will quickly yank the studs from your ceiling as well. The next thing that you want to consider is how you will be attaching this rack to the ceiling. There are a couple options. The one that I will be going over is a six point cable setup. This means that the rack will be attached at six points via a steel cable that wraps directly around the studs. This method can hold the most weight, compared to any other methods I have personally seen, aside from hard mounting a cabinet structure to the ceiling. There are a couple of things that you can do to hide or cover the bland cables. Some people even like the look of the cables, so that is all up to you. The cover ups and hiding techniques will not reduce or detract from the sturdiness of this design.

Before you begin, you want to think about the final look of your rack. If you like the steel cable look, you can just keep on going. There are also several different types of decorative chain that you can pass the cable through so it looks like chains to the ceiling. Another option is to pass the cable through a wood or metal tubing. If you use this method, there is no end to the designs that you can put on these. You can even put lights in these tubes and make them into lamps. There are several other things that you can do to cover the cable look if you want to. Your imagination is the only limit to these ideas.

Another thing that you will need to do before you start is weigh your rack and the pots and pans that will be on it. You will want to know a good estimate of the final weight of this rack. Once you have that estimate, add one to two hundred pounds. After you have that number, you can go shopping. One more measurement that you want to make is the distance from the ceiling to where you want the rack to hang. This all depends on how high your ceilings are and how short you happen to be. You want the rack to be low enough to get to everything comfortably, but not so low that it is dragging on your stovetop or smacking you in the head while you cook. Now that you have all the numbers, you can go out and get your cables. You want to find a cable that has the strength to hold the number you have for the weight. Once you find your cable, you will need to buy a length equal to your length number times two (it will be looped over the stud and both ends will attach to the rack) plus 14 inches (enough to wrap around the studs, plus a little slack on both ends) times six (one length for each point you are anchoring). Many hardware stores will even cut these into the proper lengths for you. You can often tell them that you need six lengths of X" cable. That will save you from doing the final calculation in the equation. You will also need to find a method of attaching these cables to the rack. There are several different attachments that you can put on the end of the cable to anchor it. From loop clasps and eyelets to clamps or fittings. You will want to talk to the salesman about what attachment will work best for your design, material, cable, and weight. You will want to keep the weight as the key factor in your decision. It won't matter how pretty it looks if it falls down every five minutes.

Once you get all the hardware home, the rest is fairly simple. The first step is to find the studs. You want to find two or three of them in the ceiling (refer to the image). Once you have them you can measure out the dimensions of your rack on the studs. The middle stud will be the middle of your rack. You want to measure out how far apart the cables will be when you mount it. You want them as close to the outer edge as possible. Once you get that figured, re-measure the ceiling along the studs so you know exactly where the rack will be. Now you can either drill holes large enough for the cable to pass through or (the easier method) cut a small hole in the ceiling that you can reach through to "feed" the cable over the stud. You can always fill the hole or install a light to cover the hole. There are several things that you can do with a hole.

Once you have the cable over the stud, even it up so that both ends are hanging even. To make things easier on you and anyone helping you, you will want to feed the cables through all six points before attaching anything. This way, no one has to hold the rack up while waiting for you to pass the cable through the next hole. Once you have all of the cables fed through, you will want to attach the two middle cables first. Now you can attach the four corners in an x pattern. This makes the holding up time less for your assistants. After you have everything attached, you can start to load up your rack. If you want to add the tubes to the cables, you will want to cut the tubes about 12" shorter than the distance from the ceiling to the rack. Before you attach the cables, slide them both through your tubes. Once they are through, you can attach your cables to the rack. If you want to add lights or outlets to your rack, you can do this prior to patching the holes in the ceiling. If the rack will not be too much of a distraction to you installing these, you can do it once you finish. Otherwise, you may want to do that prior to attaching the cables.

That is really all there is to it. This method adds extreme sturdiness to your rack and can hold the needed weights with no fear of it falling. By doubling the cable like this, you can hold much more weight that just the single loop. With this type of anchoring, you will have to worry more about the studs cracking than the cables dropping your rack. It is also quick and easy and will last for many years to come.