Garage storage shelves - opinions?

[tohellwithuga]

I know it's not a very exciting woodworking project (if you could even call it woodworking), but, I am looking at possibly doing this project to free up floor space and finally (maybe) get the vehicles back into our garage (just had twin girls, and my wife kind of gave the ultimatum):

http://www.familyhandyman.com/DIY-Pr...e/Step-By-Step



(photo from http://www.familyhandyman.com)

I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on the project. Does the design look solid? Would you change anything about how they were built? Is there an easier / more sturdy way to accomplish this (basically, I want high storage in the garage with 11' ceilings to get stuff off the floor). I was thinking of maybe even doing 2 rows - one 9' high / 2' deep, and one 7' high / 18" deep (where possible), but I'm not sure. The supports for the 7' high shelves might get in the way of getting in and out of the vehicles).

In our last house, I build some high shelves, but they were suspended from the ceiling joists using threaded rods. I like the solution in the Family Handyman article better because it is supported by wall studs, not ceiling joists. Also, the threaded rods got in the way of the stuff I was storing. Finally, I like the idea of the plywood apron to be able to hang stuff off of at any point.

Also, for materials, I was thinking of using a 7-ply softwood from Chile that I saw at HD for $25 (probably the same as this - http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=50260). Opinions on this choice of plywood? Everything else I've found is either way too expensive, or all knotty/split/etc.

[JoeyGee]

For me, I wouldn't worry about the appearance of the ply for a garage/shop, but that's just me. If I were doing it, I would just use ac, or whatever 3/4" is cheap. You could always paint the cheap stuff white, which would help, and also brighten things up a bit.

I am in a very similar situation, and need storage wherever possible in my garage. I did similar shelving, but I just used metal shelf brackets from HD/Lowes and screwed them directly to the studs with no apron. I had some old crappy pine boards salvaged from other storage shelves that I used instead of ply. I did use some 1x3's under the pine to stiffen them (probably not entirely necessary).

The best part of using the metal brackets is they were something I did not have to make. Time and storage are the two things I have the least of.

[Dal300]

CDX, BC or AC would work fine for your application. I always use exterior grade when working in the garage because it handles changes in humidity better than interior grade.

One thing I would think about it I were you, on your plywood triangles, cut the center out, leaving a nice open space with a flat on the bottom. That way you could use the holes to store long pieces of wood, or hang rods off of them to hang stuff from or whatever you choose to use them for. They also add a nice detail that gives a more 'finished' look.

Plywood has more strength on compression than it does on extension so you'll be surprised at what you can hang from it.

[pelligrini]

I've got something similar at my house and my folks had some poorly installed ones which I later fixed. I rebuilt my folks shelves with brackets out of 2x4s. One side was a 2x4 flat against the wall with a bridal joint at the top accepting the 2x4 horizontal piece. another 2x4 was at a 45 toenailed to the wall and horizontal. the flat portion of the bracket was screwed into the studs. The one in my garage made by the previous owner is much stouter. 30" deep T&G shelf, 2x4 ledger & stretchers, 2x6 across the front and 2x4 45s at 32" o.c. It can (and does) support quite a bit of stuff.

I like the family handyman one. It should provide a clean look. The apron will let you hang anything anywhere you want. I wouldn't change it, after looking closely at the design it should be pretty solid once fully assembled. I'd probably rabbet a 2x4 and use it to edge the plywood shelves though. Just plywood and a 1x2 might sag under a heavy load and a wide span.

That plywood should be fine for this use.

[tohellwithuga]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

One thing I would think about it I were you, on your plywood triangles, cut the center out, leaving a nice open space with a flat on the bottom.

Not sure if I'm understanding exactly, but do you mean something like this (sorry for the sad drawing)?

[Dal300]

Exactly like that. It will add lateral strength and also allow you to have more storage space.

[mpc]

What I used in my garage to add a shelf for lumber storage used pre-made brackets like these from Home Depot's web site:
Heavy Duty Shelf Bracket They're available in several sizes/depths to match your shelf size.

I used these to support open-wire Closetmaid Shelf pieces so I could eyeball the wood pile from below as well. With these brackets, and the little "U" clips holding the shelves to the wall studs, I have plenty of strength. And I can stuff long items (boards, pipes, even straight edge clamps) into the triangular gaps of the supports. The metal shelves are available in several depths though maybe not 24 inches. They also have a lip on one edge; I mounted mine "lip up" to act as a catch for stored items since I live in earthquake country... don't want things falling on my cars.

They went together quickly.

mpc

[twistsol]

I'll second the rubbermaid heavy duty brackets. You can do an entire garage in a couple of hours, they're adjustable, and hold a lot of weight. I've loaded them up with wet pressure treated, and regular lumber with no issues at all.

As the dad of twin girls myself, your wife isn't going to want you spending any more time than necessary out in the garage. Mine are 17 and I think I got back into the shop when they were about five.

[leehljp]

Think hard on what and how you want to store things. I generally like small front vertical supports posts so that I can lay long items on a second shelf below. Either Ceiling hanger supports or from the floor supports.

For me, I seemed to always end up losing space because of the angled supports. I am sure no one else has this problem, it just happens to be me. I got into this "use every bit of space" in space tight Japan. Front supports from either the ceiling or floor have less "open front" but do give more freedom on the shelf for placing of items. I do realize that you are planning only one shelf level, and in that case, the laid out diagram will suffice. But if you want to add a second shelf, the brackets do restrict space on the second shelf.

[Shep]

As for spacing, measure what height you will need to have between shelves and add 2 inches. That why you have space for what you need and little room to "grow." You might need a coupled different shelf spacings depending upon your needs.

[chopnhack]

I have used that ply from the borg and its pretty good for the price. Very few voids. It is from pine though, so the face will show marks easily. The faces though are thick not just veneers so you can actually do stuff with them. If you use ac you could always throw a piece of HPL on top and have an easy to clean surface. Heed Lee's advice though, the brackets do kill lots of space. No harm in introducing other materials into your woodworking. Think steel angle or rect. tube and you can create a much larger clear span with perhaps only two brackets - on on either side. HTH

[radhak]

I have followed the same plans and made myself a storage area in my garage. I agonized a bit before, wondering about the same things - strength, material, usability. I have no complaints about it now. It works as designed, gives me the extra space I wanted, and but for shortage of wall-space, I would have built it all around the garage walls.

I did make some changes : for the shelf itself and the aprons, I used 1/2 inch ply, while the triangles are 3/4 inch. I still think 3/4 all around is overkill, and adds avoidable weight. I used Douglas Fir for the braces and the edging, and just gave all of that a teak-oil once-over. Been good for 5 years now.

I like the aprons for hanging stuff, but have not yet filled all of that. Btw, as you can see in my picture, the triangle at the far end is slightly smaller in size to account for the door opening. Do note that my net load is a bit light : just almost empty suitcases and a big microwave oven in box. I daresay it could easily take much more, but I may not be able to manage putting it there or taking off : that dang thing is at a height of 9', and I need my ladder each time!

[LCHIEN]

that plywood apron looks wasteful of material to me. I can't see much structural need for it, if you have the braces anchored into wall studs. if you want to hang stuff, put some pegboard into the space between the brace angles, using several 1/4 or 1/2" spacers behind the pegboard to allow the pegs to poke thru. Then you'll have a configurable support for less than the cost of plywood.

[radhak]

that plywood apron looks wasteful of material to me. I can't see much structural need for it, if you have the braces anchored into wall studs. if you want to hang stuff, put some pegboard into the space between the brace angles, using several 1/4 or 1/2" spacers behind the pegboard to allow the pegs to poke thru. Then you'll have a configurable support for less than the cost of plywood.

That might be true, Loring, but only some of the times : in my case, the studs don't line up where I wanted the braces (eg, the door would have caused too much distance from one end to the next brace).

I think using the plywood apron to secure stud-support would make it easier to position the braces anywhere on the apron and get the strength advantage.

[Kristofor]

11' of available height is great... I have 10' ceilings in the garage and built a (way overbuilt) 3 shelf unit across the front of the garage over the hood of my truck. I used 2x4 framing with BC plywood for the shelves.

I measured the height to fit the specific Rubbermaid containers that I keep my tents/camping gear and Christmas decorations in as well as the largest (actually tallest) of the coolers. This gave me 2 usable height shelves ~10' wide and just shy of 3' deep, and one small one at the top that is only used to hold smallish things out of season (hoses, lawn chairs, etc. in the winter), or for long term storage.

The design in that article seems cool if you integrate the extra hanging/storage modules, but it also seems like an awful lot of material, for a pretty small amount of actual shelf space. I think if I only needed a 10-18" deep shelf and not the other bells/whistles I'd look for pre-fabbed individual brackets or even heavy duty adjustable standards.