Copper Pot Racks

This pot rack photo used under Creative Commons from Flickr

Ceiling Mounted Copper Pot Racks

The following 2 pot racks are perfect examples for comparing pricing etc.
Both are 3ft oval copper pot racks.
Old Dutch makes a popular affordable model and
Enclume manufactures a top-of-the-line premier model.

Old Dutch 36x18 Oval
Amazon price: $230.71 - item ships for FREE with Amazon Super Saver Shipping

*Also available in a 4 ft. oval

27 customer reviews with
solid 4.5 star rating

36-by-18-inch heavy-gauge oval pot rack
Copper plated over steel with a tarnish-resistant coat
Includes grid and 16 hooks
Grid lifts out for cleaning

Amazon Copper Pot Rack review: "I love it. It fits perfect in my kitchen, easy to put together, and holds everything I need it too. And the price was the best part."

Enclume PR16BWG CP Premier 3-Foot Oval Ceiling Pot Rack, Copper

This 3-foot copper hanging pot rack is the most popular size
Mounts on 12-inch centers
36.5" length by 17" width by 22" height, includes grid

No Amazon reviews available at this time.

Enclume PR16awg-CP 5-Foot Oval with Grid Premier Ceiling Rack, Copper

Amazon price: price fluctuates by seller. Click for current price. -

Also available in chrome.
This 5-foot model is the largest Enclume oval hanging pot rack and can be found in the kitchens of many professional and serious cooks.
Mounts on 18-inch centers
59.5" length by 20.5" width by 21" height

No Amazon reviews available at this time.

Old Dutch 30x20

Amazon price: $220.00

26 customer reviews with
solid 4.5 star rating

Includes grid and 24 hooks (12 angled and 12 straight) for hanging whole sets of cookware
Arched supports, spaced 16 inches apart, allow easy access to cookware

Amazon review: 5-star:"My fiancee and I had looked at many different style potracks and had been the most impressed with Enclume but the price was very high. We had recently decided to change how to hang our All Clad Stainless cookware to just plain bars when I decided to look on Amazon.com. I found the Old Dutch PotRack and decided to purchase it for the looks, what our needs were and the great price. We just love the potrack..."

Note: Two (of 26) reviews cite concerns over a missing hardware and sagging frame.

**Note: Here's another example (below) of a
side by side comparison of price and features.
The following are 2 similar dome styles. Both are nice choices.
One is top of the line and one is a more affordable option.

Rogar Copper Oval Pot Rack with Grid 40-in.
Amazon price: $619.99

Here's the rare Solid Copper Pot Rack. Here's the description from the manufacturer, "This solid copper pot rack comes with copper-plated accessories and is fashioned from 2-in. wide bars that are 1/4-in. thick. It is polished to a mirror finish." It is more of a simple oval compared to the other oval pot racks, but it is indeed solid copper.

Wall Mounted Copper Pot Racks

Old Dutch Cookware Rack with Grid, Satin Copper

Amazon price: $145.00

This heavy gauge book shelf pot rack measures 36" x 8½"
Comes with a matching grid and 12 hooks
Lacquered to resist tarnishing

No Amazon reviews available at this time.

Enclume PR8B CP Premier Bookshelf Wall Copper Pot Rack
Amazon price: $619.99

This pot rack that is a shelf will keep cookware, cookbooks and other cook's necessities at your fingertips
Mounts on 32-inch centers
36" length by 9" depth by 13.5" height
The arms can be flipped to support rack from the bottom.

No Amazon reviews available at this time.

Note: Help other shoppers. If you decide to purchase your pot rack through Amazon, please consider writing and submitting a review of the product. Genuine honest reviews help the best products rise to the top.

Where should I hang my pot rack?
Most ceiling mounted pot racks are hung over kitchen islands, counter peninsulas or chopping blocks. But they don't HAVE to be hung over anything (although you must have enough clearance to walk underneath without banging heads). Wall mounted pot racks work well between cabinets and over kitchen counters. The most important thing to remember is to hang your pot rack where it works best in YOUR kitchen, with consideration for how it will look.

Pictured here is the Enclume Copper 5-Foot Oval Premier Ceiling Rack

How high or low should I hang my pot rack?
Since people come in all shapes and sizes, there is no one height that works for everyone. The best thing to do it stand where you will hang your pot rack and hold your arm up as if to grab a pot off of it. Consider that you may be leaning over an island. This is where you want the bottom of your pans to be - not the pot rack frame and hooks. Since pots range in size from 10" to 20", you want to hang your pot rack that much higher. The exception would be if you are storing cookbooks that you need to access frequently on top of a bookshelf-style pot rack. In that case, it's important to hang the rack low enough to access things stored on top easily. It's important to note here that most ceiling mounted pot racks come with 5" extension hooks, but not adjustable chains. Using only extension hooks will put your pot rack at a fixed height. Chains will allow you tons of flexibility for height adjustment, but are usually considered an accessory . Be sure to order them if necessary.

Experienced home builders and remodelers agree that ceiling mounted pot racks should be hung from "structural framing members" meaning ceiling joists or roof trusses. For a single story house ceiling joists or roof trusses are most likely spaced at 16" on center - sometimes 24"on center. Depending on the size of the room, number of stories, and a number of other factors this measurement could be different. This picture illustrates how ceiling joists are spaced.

This ceiling joist photo used under Creative Commons from Julian Berry on Flickr

If you have a smooth finished ceiling you might be lucky enough to see a dimple where a nail was used in the ceiling sheetrock. This will give you a clue where a joist or truss is located. If you have a textured ceiling, this won't be visible. For this project it may be worth investing in a Stud Finder to get you started.

When you locate your wooden joists (or trusses) determine whether they are parallel or perpendicular to how you intend to hang your pot rack and mount accordingly, mounting the hardware directly into solid wood. It's important to note here that pot racks hung by chains are more stable when hung at angles - either inward or outward. You'll see in the photo below how the chains are hung from the pot rack inward to the ceiling hooks.

Hanging pot racks from sheetrock should be avoided when possible. Sheetrock is not designed to be a structural panel.

Ceiling Plates can be used if necessary
Usually joists can be located and pot racks hung with no problems, but sometimes joists or trusses are not in a usable position. In this case you can use a ceiling plate to add stabillity for mounting hardware. The pictures below show how one homeowner made a ceiling plate from plywood and placed his pot rack exactly where he wanted it to be. This homeowner also added lights to the plate.

These pot rack/ceiling plate photos used under Creative Commons from Joshua Bloom on Flickr