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Garage Organization Systems

Discussion in 'Homeowners Corner' started by Koyak, Dec 28, 2005.

  1. Koyak

    Koyak New Member

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    Hello Fellow Broadland-sters (Saturday Night Live reference :)),

    It's me again with, yet, another question:

    What do you do to organize your garage? I've been looking at slat walls, peg boards and systems by rubbermaid and schulte. And even considering making my own stuff. I'm not sure if I have the time to make my own so the do-it-yourself route is my last option.

    I'm looking mostly for shelves and hangars for tools, lawn trimmer, blower, and fishing rods and tackle, etc.

    I've ordered hoist (pulley) systems to hang the bikes and kayak from the ceiling. so that's taken care of.

    I'd appreciate it if you can provide me with manufacturer names and, most importantly, what you like and dislike about it.

    Thank you, My fellow Broadland-erinos :D


    Mike
     
  2. afgm

    afgm Ashburn Farm Resident

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    The Container Store just started their yearly Elfa shelf system sale. 30% off. In my opinion, the best shelf system available. They are located in Tysons. The Elfa system has configurations for garages.
     
  3. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    I went the 'cheap' route and installed shelves myself for a few reasons

    1 - most shelving systems are not that deep (30" or more)
    2 - most shelving systems can not hold alot of weight (or sag alot)

    I installed shelves along the front wall of my 2 car garage to mainly hold storage stuff and give access to frequent items. My criteria were to hold large boxes, bins, and still provide 'underneth' access for floor bound items (like lawn mowers, etc).

    My system was based on the vertical slot rails screwed very securely to the studs of the wall, with heavy duty brackets with MDF wood shelves screwed to the brackets. I built it very sturdy to hold alot of weight and they've been perfect ever since. The only drawback to my build was the shelves would not be adjustable without unscrewing the wood from the brackets, but I've never had to adjust them and its easily done if required.

    I can provide specifics if you want, but since DIY is low on your list.. only by request :) I will say tho that I doubt you will find a comparable alternative in the mass-consumer space. To go very heavy duty is specialized and $$. Most metal shelves you buy in home improvement centers are max 4' long and 30" deep and aren't the sturdiest things (we have tons of them in our offices)

    -Steve
     
  4. Sunny

    Sunny Chief Advisor

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    My husband put up a peg wall on one side- and we have "gorilla racks" all along the back wall. They are VERY sturdy and we have them in our storage space too.
    I am not really sure how he put the peg board up- but it is completely full of hanging strollers, weedwacker, chairs, rake, shovel, kids bikes, and all kinds of schtuff. I know he had to put up 2x4s to frame the area first...
    Good Luck!
     
  5. wahoogeek

    wahoogeek New Member

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    flynnibus (Steve)

    Please post some more specifics if you can. I am about to give up on buying pre-fab shelving unit for the exact reasons you listed. How much weight can your shelves support and how deep?

    Anyone have a good bin system for sports equipment (one for balls and a larger one for times like bats, hockey, lax, etc.)?

    thanks all.
     
  6. afgm

    afgm Ashburn Farm Resident

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    http://www.containerstore.com/plan/sketches/garageSketch.jhtml

    http://www.containerstore.com/browse/index.jhtml?CATID=74628

    Good examples at these links. Extremely sturdy and easy to put up. Not cheap, but I think they are a good value. If you go to the store a consultant will walk you through a design. Their computer design program is excellent and provides a "customized" direction sheet on how to install.

     
  7. afgm

    afgm Ashburn Farm Resident

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  8. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    Well I looked this morning in the garage.. I thought I put deeper shelves but I didn't.

    What I have is 8' long metal rails mounted vertically at every 16" stud along the front wall of the garage, mounted towards the ceiling. They are mounted with 3" #10 screws directly to the studs. This is the backbone :)

    Then I have 18.5" long metal brackets snapped into the rails to support the shelves. The shelves are made from 3/4" MDF sheets that are 24" deep and 48" long. The way it works out is there is 3 brackets that support each 48" section of shelf. The shelves are arranged to butt each other so the shelf can be continuous down the length of the wall. The shelves are screwed from the bottom through the bracket into the bottom of the shelf. Giving one flat, sturdy 24" deep shelf that is 48" long to whatever length I want.

    I have the shelves setup with the top two levels that run the length of the wall continous that give me about 20"+ for height on the shelf. This gives me enough space to store any type of box that comes along, even coolers, etc. The 3rd shelf is the bottom and is still ~ 36" off the floor to allow me to roll or store things directly under the shelf up to the wall. So bikes, lawn mower, etc all roll under the shelf to the wall. At one end, I moved one of the shelves up a bit so my rolling tool chest can roll right under the shelf.

    At the farthest end from the door, was only enough space to be a 'half' length piece of shelving, so I opted to leave that section open. So anything very tall I have a recessed area to lean it in, put in, etc. I keep my upright air compressor in that area as well. (some might store rakes, hoes, etc there)

    With this arrangement, in my 2 car garage, the entire front wall is storage, with roll up storage underneth (for my kids bikes, tool chest, lawn mower, etc) and I still have enough front to back room to fit my cars easily. Front to back is a little tight with our mini-van (only leaves us about 20+" to walk in front of the van), but with my other car there is tons of space front and back.

    Curious ones can ask for photos.. but mainly it will just show how much junk I have stowed away down there :)

    I forget the total cost, but I want to guess all said and done it was about 250-350 in parts from Home Depot and I think I did it in a weekend. For comparison, one 48" shelving unit will run you ~$100 for the ones that are sturdy enough to even think about putting heavy stuff on.

    The components I used look like this (but this isn't the particular configuration of mine. Mine are 18.5" deep under a 24" wide shelf)

    [​IMG]

    -Steve
     
  9. dsd

    dsd New Member

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  10. wahoogeek

    wahoogeek New Member

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    thanks for the post flynnibus
     
  11. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    Griots resells alot of stuff. Its fine for their brand stuff.. but most of their other resold parts are expensive and can be had for less elsewhere

    -Steve
     

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