New Garage/Shop - Help with shelving choice

[Fusilier]

My new 12' x 26' garage is now finished except for wiring. Unfortunately, it is also full of crap that used to be in the old garage plus I've started to move my woodworking tools from the sunroom, basement, laundry room, etc. out there too.

I plan to build and install shelving and cabinets to store the multitude of crap in order to free up floor space for workshop space. I have no plans of ever parking a car in there (who would do that to a garage?) but that doesn't mean it will never happen.

I'm looking for suggestions for a shelving system I can make and mount that will work with the exposed 2x4 framing now, but can also be taken down and reinstalled over drywall when I get around to insulating and finishing the insides (probably next spring/summer). If I can get the majority of the stuff off the floor (like sporting goods, bikes, car roof rack, stuff for flea market/yard sale, garden hoses, car tires - you know the off season stuff), then I can get to work building in the cabinets and other goodies for woodworking.

I've seen some neat shelves that mount on the sides of the 2x4 s but those won't work with a finished wall.

I intend to build at least one roll around set of shelves that I've seen on the Wood Magazine site. I also have plans for a roll around tool chest that looks like it will be a great option too. Roll it into the open when working; close it up and roll it into the corner when not.

Free plans or ideas are great but I've no problem buying a commercial plan or a suitable book if anyone can point me in the right direction. I guess I can purchase a shelving system (again Lee Valley has some great options) but I figured I'd try for a wooden DIY option first.

Any help / pointers would be very much appreciated.

Cheers,
Marcel

[twistsol]

If you are planning on using the shelves for storage, you may want to consider that everything on them will collect a ton of dust over time. We put basic wall cabinets in our garage about a year ago, and everything in them stays clean no matter how much dust I make. They're are also easily movable.

I didn't take the time to make them but bought the lowest cost ones available at IKEA. eventually they'll probably be replaced but for now they work well and appear to be holding up better than I expected.

[Mr__Bill]

Marcel,

Welcome to the forum.

Whatever you build for cabinets, if you plan on taking the wall cabinets down when you sheetrock and then putting them back up a French Cleat works well. It's nothing but a board with a 45 cut on the top edge and the mating one on the back of the cabinet. They interlock and hold the thing up and on the wall. When sheetrocking time comes you just lift them down and put the board back up on the wall to hang them again. You can also move them around with little effort too. just in case you change your mind as to where to put them.


Bill

[Fusilier]

Thanks for the reminder. I love French cleats. I've used them to mount cabinets in my basement and it means I can level and attach a cleat rather than holding an entire cabinet in the air while trying to level and attach it.

Great idea. Thanks.

Now I have to figure out how to do some cantilevered shelves too.

Marcel,

Welcome to the forum.

Whatever you build for cabinets, if you plan on taking the wall cabinets down when you sheetrock and then putting them back up a French Cleat works well. It's nothing but a board with a 45 cut on the top edge and the mating one on the back of the cabinet. They interlock and hold the thing up and on the wall. When sheetrocking time comes you just lift them down and put the board back up on the wall to hang them again. You can also move them around with little effort too. just in case you change your mind as to where to put them.


Bill

[atgcpaul]

For shelves, I like the heavy duty shelf standards and 18" brackets. The
standards are the double slotted kind. I screwed the standards onto the
studs and the shelves are infinitely adjustable. I use this as my wood rack.
It allows for a very low profile installation.

I also have 3 5-tier plastic shelves from the Borg @ $40/each. I pile boxes
and larger items on it--things I don't frequently use. In the back, I built wall
hung cabinets to hold smaller, WWing items and tools.


Paul

[dbhost]

For shelves, I like the heavy duty shelf standards and 18" brackets. The
standards are the double slotted kind. I screwed the standards onto the
studs and the shelves are infinitely adjustable. I use this as my wood rack.
It allows for a very low profile installation.

I also have 3 5-tier plastic shelves from the Borg @ $40/each. I pile boxes
and larger items on it--things I don't frequently use. In the back, I built wall
hung cabinets to hold smaller, WWing items and tools.


Paul

I use a similar system. At my local big boxes, the Rubbermaid components cost about 3/4 what the Closetmaid brand stuff does for the same quality. Price check the stuff while you are adding it up.

I have a couple of shelves that are in areas that don't allow for variation in placement. Placing them lower isn't possible due to other obstructions, and higher would make them useless, for those I use the simple steel closet shelf brackets and plywood for shelves. This is screwed directly to the studs.

Simple, cheap, effective. Doesn't have to be pretty.

[phi1l]

Check out this link:

http://www.woodsmithshop.com/download/211/lumberrack.pdf

this is for a wall mounted Lumber rack, but can be easily modified for shelf storage by making longer verticals & adding shelf boards. & then when things are organized & the C____ disposed of, & you need Lumber storage, just change the verticals to shorter sturdier ones for lumber storage..

Good Luck

[Mr__Bill]

Check out this link:

http://www.woodsmithshop.com/downloa...lumberrack.pdf

Thanks for the link, today I was going to start hunting through magazines to see what I could find for lumber storage, now I don't have to. This looks a lot less expensive than the metal standards and brackets that I was considering.

Bill,
over here on the big ocean where today, the sun is shining.

[atgcpaul]

Thanks for the link, today I was going to start hunting through magazines to see what I could find for lumber storage, now I don't have to. This looks a lot less expensive than the metal standards and brackets that I was considering.

Bill,
over here on the big ocean where today, the sun is shining.

I suppose it depends how you look at it. If I had to do over, I'd stick with
the metal brackets and standards.

Yes, with the Woodsmith plans, you'll probably save money. However, I don't
consider my time free anymore. Consider these points:

--It will take at least an afternoon to cut everything to size and get it mounted. After you've bought the metal brackets at HD or Lowes, you should
be able to install everything and load up your shelves in less than an hour.
You still have to load the heavy plywood onto your car/truck or maybe wait
around for some kid to cut your sheet in half for you.

--You lose 4" of shelf space because of the depth of the uprights. With
metal standards and brackets, I get a full 15" deep shelf and the whole thing
projects 16" from the wall. The plan's shelves project that far, too, but you
only get 12" of shelf--except the top shelf.

--Your shelf spacing is locked in unless you dismantle all the uprights and
reposition them. Metal brackets can be adjusted easily every 1/2" or so.

--The wooden brackets are 7" thick. You could buy a cheaper, more compact metal system where the brackets are only 3" tall and store more
material in a smaller space. My shelves are a little over 4' off the ground and
I keep my plywood under it.

Paul

[Mr__Bill]

I suppose it depends how you look at it. If I had to do over, I'd stick with
the metal brackets and standards.

My shelves are a little over 4' off the ground and
I keep my plywood under it.

Paul

Paul, you make a number of good points. One evening this week I'll visit HD and price out the shelving. I need some 24" deep shelving in the laundry room and I seem to remember they have some that deep so I may just lump it all together in one purchase.

I too will be storing the wood over the plywood. In my case in front of where the car will park. So falling off of the wall on to the car is a major consideration for me. I'm looking at a lot of options for that reason.

Bill,
ever wonder when you suck up those big black spiders if they can crawl out of the vac hose and come get you?

[atgcpaul]

I too will be storing the wood over the plywood. In my case in front of where the car will park. So falling off of the wall on to the car is a major consideration for me. I'm looking at a lot of options for that reason.

Bill,
ever wonder when you suck up those big black spiders if they can crawl out of the vac hose and come get you?

Bill,

If you ignore the junk in the foreground, you can see one of my wood racks in the
background. I put a deck screw in every available hole in those standards
into the studs--no time to skimp or use dry wall screws in this situation.


Good luck with your decision.

Paul

[JasonSTL]

I'm in a similar situation with a smaller shop, though the drywall is up and painted. I've decided to go with this modified cleat method. It won't work for wood storage, but appears strong enough for regular shelving, and I'm hoping that it will help me keep organized as I rearrange my shop until I get it where I want it. I really like the idea of adding the cleats to your bench or assembly/finishing table to move supplies there while you work. This idea alone is going to keep a lot of junk from accumulating on work surfaces.

Good luck, and have fun with your new space.

Jason

[Fusilier]

Jason:

I think I was looking at that issue of AW recently. I really like the idea of being able to adapt and move stuff around.

ShopNotes did a similar system years ago using strips of sheet metal rather than the 1/4 inch ply for the hook in back.

My biggest problem would then be finding suitable plywood. Here on the East coast of Canada we can't seem to get much except construction grade and expensive cabinet grade plywood. I always get jealous reading these magazine articles with these massive piles of gorgeous sheets of plywood. I know this would be for a garage but if I'm to make something, I'd like it to look good in the end. Perhaps I should just wait for a sale.

Thanks for the pointer to the AW article.

[michelevit]

french cleat

i also vote for the french cleat system.
a couple of advantages of it that i have have found is...

its somwhat modular. you can rearrage cabinets, shelves that hang from
the french cleat as needed.

its easilly removable. I am quickly outgrowing our house and when it comes
time to move, I can easilly remove all the hung shelving and cabinets to
its new home. I can't imaging how much more difficult it would be if I hung
the shelves/cabinets direclty to the wall.

its easy and affordable.

i use french cleats on one side of my garage and have made cabinet cubbies
to house my tools.

[Mr__Bill]

Bill,

If you ignore the junk in the foreground, you can see one of my wood racks in the
background. I put a deck screw in every available hole in those standards
into the studs--no time to skimp or use dry wall screws in this situation.


Good luck with your decision.

Paul

Well i visited Home Depot and only the ClosetMaid line was well stocked there. So I now have some heavy duty shelves in the laundry room. I'll see how they work and may go that way for lumber storage. That hardware is expensive though. If I made the supports out of wood I could have had three times the number of shelves for the same price. At one time Home Depot had a really rugged looking line of shelf supports and standards but I could not find them on line or in the store.

Bill