Tech: Storing LPs

Subject: Tech: Storing LPs
From: Thompson
Date: 14 Feb 09 - 02:36 PM

I'm minding a bunch of LPs (about six big boxes) for someone who's away for a few years, and have had to clear them out of the attic while it's being insulated.

When I put them back in, I'd prefer to have them in plastic boxes for neatness. Or bookshelves - but my attic is not really intended for heavy weight; the joists are designed for holding up a roof, not for the extra weight of furniture.

The local tidy-up shop has offered to sell me large covered plastic boxes which fit LPs exactly. Is this a good choice? Should I get those anti-damp granules (where?) and drop a couple of packets in each box?

Subject: RE: Tech: Storing LPs
From: wysiwyg
Date: 14 Feb 09 - 03:25 PM

It would be a big favor to the friend who these beloing to, if you could take them to a copy shop and make copies of the front and back of the album coves and any booklets inside. The proper storage for the vinyl may not be the proper storage for the paper covers and booklets. I did everything "right," for example, for the advice I had at the time. I now have a nice stack of pretty-good vinyl wrapped in moldy, some-parts-missing paper.

ANY advice you get is only going to be the best thinking available at the moment. Better advice will come down the pike, but in the meantime the materials you store (with today's best advice) will be aging in some ways you cannot now predict or, unfortunately, control.

~S~

Subject: RE: Tech: Storing LPs
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Feb 09 - 03:42 PM

I wouldn't have thought the extra weight of a few shelves wouds be too significant - the main weight involved would be the records.

Subject: RE: Tech: Storing LPs
From: pdq
Date: 14 Feb 09 - 03:42 PM

Are you in the US? I use a Tharco "F-16" folding box which holds about 30 LPs.

When taped shut, they sit on the shelf like a fat book. You write what is inside on the front edge.

Cost less thar $1 each wholesale, last time I bought some.

Subject: RE: Tech: Storing LPs
From: Bill D
Date: 14 Feb 09 - 03:50 PM

As long as they are stored vertically in the boxes, they should be fine. ...and I doubt that six boxes of a size you can get INTO the attic would overload the joists. If any doubt, just separate them in 2-3 groups by a few feet, so the weight is distributed.

If temperature/humidity varies a lot, plastic boxes might help, but just a plastic trash bag around a box would likely be enough.

Subject: RE: Tech: Storing LPs
From: Thompson
Date: 14 Feb 09 - 04:37 PM

Thanks, that's great. They can get into the attic ok, unlike the two tin trunks that will now be there forever since I got a
Stira and forgot to tell the installer to make the opening big enough to get the trunks through.

Subject: RE: Tech: Storing LPs
From: johnross
Date: 14 Feb 09 - 06:43 PM

If the attic is not insulated, it could get very hot in the summer, especially if there's no air circulation up there. Maybe hot enough to warp the records.

If your basement is dry and not humid, that might be a better place to store them. Place the boxes up off the floor, high enough to stay dry in case a drain backs up or something else causes a flood.

Subject: RE: Tech: Storing LPs
From: Gurney
Date: 15 Feb 09 - 01:00 AM

AS johnross says, heat is also your enemy. I have seen a record which warped into uselessness because it sat on an English windowsill on a summer day. One day!
As Bill D says, they should be stored in their sleeves, on edge, and not allowed to lean sideways.
As WYSIWYG says, you also have to look after the sleeves, which could be the hardest part of the exercise.
The obvious part of the attic to store the weight is over or near an internal wall.
I would think carefully about putting silica gel among the LPS. Its purpose, after all, is to attract water! A plastic tarp thrown over the boxes, with the silica gel under but separate (and in a large, waterproof tray) is as near as I'd put it.
Perhaps you should talk to an archivist. They do know about preserving paper, after all.

Subject: RE: Tech: Storing LPs
From: GUEST,rich
Date: 15 Feb 09 - 02:08 AM

Cold can also be your enemy. Not chilly but if your basement or attic gets really cold (i.e see your breath cold) the vinyl can get brittle.

Subject: RE: Tech: Storing LPs
From: johnross
Date: 15 Feb 09 - 01:59 PM

To clarify my comment about attic insulation, if the insulation is on the floor of the attic (either batts or blown-in), the attic space itself will not be insulated, and it could become very warm in summer and cold in winter. Depending on where you live, of course.

On the other hand, if the insulation is on the inside surface of the roof itself, and the attic is finished living space, it might remain at moderate temperature.

As a serious record collector myself, I would not consider storing them in my attic.

Subject: RE: Tech: Storing LPs
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Feb 09 - 01:59 PM

One more point regarding storage and house construction. If you have joists, then you should be fine putting weight up there. Joists are meant to hold floors. If, on the other hand, your house is built with trusses (like mine) then minimum attic flooring, placed strategically for moving around in the space to attend to wiring and such, means that you shouldn't store heavy things up there, not in a concentrated spot, unless you can position it above a bearing wall.

I wouldn't put LPs in the attic for various reasons. Heat, humidity, and the work of hauling them up there.

For what it's worth,

SRS

Subject: RE: Tech: Storing LPs
From: Thompson
Date: 16 Feb 09 - 04:58 PM

No choice, really. Basements are unusual in Ireland. The attic will be insulated under its floor, which may cause its temperature to be cooler than it has been.

Subject: RE: Tech: Storing LPs
From: Wesley S
Date: 17 Feb 09 - 03:42 PM

Don't store the records in any place that you wouldn't keep a pet or a child. If you don't have room in the house you might consider a storage unit that is climate controled. I still have a little over 2,000 LPs but I have a TV room to put them in. The best shelving I've ever found is by Skandia. It's pricy but it's the only thing I've used that didn't warp or sag.

Subject: RE: Tech: Storing LPs
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Feb 09 - 04:00 PM

Wesley, have you been over to Sutherland's hardware on Camp Bowie, west of Alta Mere? I think it's actually 180, no longer called Camp Bowie. Near Cherry Lane. They have a line of Mexican heavy pine furniture that is very strong. I've seen the type in a couple of other places, but they have the most to choose from and the best prices. I picked up a two-shelf cabinet (no doors) out there that I can put four feet of LPs on and it doesn't have any problem supporting them, no sag, because the pine is very thick and strong.

SRS

Subject: RE: Tech: Storing LPs
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 18 Feb 09 - 05:10 PM

Funnily enough, under the bed (if it's high enough to store them verticality, not flat) is probably quite good, temperature wise.