looking for some diy shelf /cabinet ideas for garage long wall

merim123 · Oct 22, 2011

Trying to figure out what I want to do with my long wall on my garage. This is the parallel wall to how the cars are parked. I have about 20' that is usable. Ceiling is only 8.5' tall, so not a lot of room. I was thinking some kind of grid made with 2x4 or something along those lines. Cabinets are flimsy I think, want to put some car stuff on them and need to carry the weight.

Any ideas/thoughts/pics?

redman43 · Oct 22, 2011

Here is what I've done in my garage.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=92954

mypov · Oct 22, 2011

Redman - Just wanted to let you know that I thought your shelves look great! I used the idea and built a set for my boss - he was really happy with them. Thanks for the idea! Were those cabinet shelves (the upper ones) in your pics difficult to make? It appears that it would be fairly simple to add some face trim and then some doors (if one wished). Anyway, nice handy work...
Cheers.

Merim - there were too great threads for you to look at, simple search finds them out. Something like storage ideas, genius storage ideas, or shop storage...Hours of browsing, lots of pics, and examples for ideas. Best of luck. Maybe if you took some pictures to give the impression of space you have to work with - could inspire more thought provoking ideas as well.
Cheers.

kbs2244 · Oct 22, 2011

God looking shelves.
I like mine painted white.
It makes finding things easier.

Something I learned a long time ago was to paint all the wood before cutting and building.
It is so much easier than trying to get paint into the corners of those boxs you just built.
You can get both sides of the sheets and all four side of the sticks so everything will be covered.
The only thing left is the small stuff where your cuts were made.

redman43 · Oct 22, 2011

mypov said:
Redman - Just wanted to let you know that I thought your shelves look great! I used the idea and built a set for my boss - he was really happy with them. Thanks for the idea! Were those cabinet shelves (the upper ones) in your pics difficult to make? It appears that it would be fairly simple to add some face trim and then some doors (if one wished). Anyway, nice handy work...
Cheers.

Thanks. I assume you mean the units above the workbench. It was all pretty straightforward since I used a Kreg jig to do the pocketholes. I don't think I would have even attempted it without that $100 jig. The hardest part was cutting everything square and to the same dimensions without a table saw. I had to do it all with a circular saw and then trim it with a flush cut bit in my router. Face frames and doors should also be a pretty straightforward task, but I haven't had the opportunity to do it yet.

Dan'sGarage · Oct 22, 2011

Merim123,

Here's what I did with my long wall...I installed a closetmaid system with vertical standards over a framed pegboard (look at the last set of pictures). This allowed me to make the shelves adjustable and still have pegboard for items in between. I plan on having deeper shelves (18" x 16') acrossthe top for larger tools and gear. This also places them above the cars. I will use smaller shelves like 12" and 8" deep shelves down below to house parts, cleaning supplies, etc

Something similar might work for you as well for your long wall. Mine is still a work in progress and once it's complete I'll post more pics. Anhyow, here's the link.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=106770

lowbucktruck · Oct 23, 2011

Merim123:

You didn't mention how deep the storage could be (without impacting your cars). When I planned my long wall storage, I parked a car inside first and got out the tape measure, to figure out how deep the storage could be, and still be able to open the car door safely. I decided on no more than 20 inches deep. Of course, in my case that was the passenger side... so I could still back the car out of the garage first.

If you are going to be storing car parts (which may be heavy), you might want some kind of metal shelving system that can handle the weight, and can be anchored to your wall. I built my own from Steelworks slotted angle uprights and steel shelves (which are adjustable).
http://wedo.hillmangroup.com/viewitems/metal-shapes/plated-steel-slotted-angle?
Like a really big Erector set.

Porcupine · Oct 23, 2011

Another good idea for adjustable shelving would be to check out the Heavy Duty Galvanized shelving system from Lee Valley. You can get different lengths of rails and shelf brackets that are rated for 300lbs each (supported brackets), and they come in different lengths. I was going to make my own shelves out of 2x4 and plywood, but I wanted the flexibility of being able to adjust them at any point in the future. Since I can get differrent lengths of brackets, I can make my shelves shallow or deep. In my case, I cut a sheet of 3/4 plywood into four sections for shelves about 12 inches deep. There are several great ideas on this site for shelving and storage which you can check out.

merim123 · Oct 24, 2011

thanks for all the posts, comments guys. I'll get some pictures of the wall and the room I have. I don't want to go all the way to the floor, I do want to do something like redman did. I do like doors though and closing it off from view.

I built some cabinets on the parallel wall that are 24x48 with 24" doors. They are a little too big, but not far off.

you can see them here in the background in white

the wall we are working with is about the same dimension without the door opening and no windows.

DRP6833 · Oct 24, 2011

I just built some of these in my garage this weekend. About 30 feet of storage for ~$300 ($400 if you include the new air nailer :thumbup:

).

A**holes Garage · Oct 24, 2011

Another option, Unistrut;

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=121430

merim123 · Oct 25, 2011

what is the final result on that unistrut. looks interesting

MG David · Oct 25, 2011

Depending on what you do in your garage it may be worth having doors to enclose all or some of your shelves. This will reduce the amount of dust etc landing on your tools and parts. Jobs like grinding, sanding and paint spraying will generate alot of dust.

thdewey · Oct 25, 2011

I built 5 enclosed shelves for less than $200. They will hold me and I'm around 300lbs.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50978

Jazz · Oct 25, 2011

I am in the process of doing something similar and am using this as a basic design. My original thoughts on doing this didn't work well and this design seemed to resolve the issues I had in my original design.

http://www.familyhandyman.com/DIY-P...installing-large-garage-cabinets/Step-By-Step

alabamavolvos · Oct 25, 2011

I built this shelving system in my garage. Ran the slats the full 28' length starting about 30" from the floor.
http://www.familyhandyman.com/DIY-Projects/Home-Organization/Garage-Storage/garage-storage-systems

Ramblur · Oct 25, 2011

Well not my long wall but parallel to the cars. I scored this 2' wide pallet racking for a C-note at an auction. I believe its 1500lbs. per shelf.

merim123 · Oct 25, 2011

that's a killer score on the shelving!

jazz - have you built that yet that you have some pics to share?

alabamavolvo - thanks for the links, the cleats look interesting in giving you ability to change.

hunt4cleanair · Nov 4, 2011

lowbucktruck said:
If you are going to be storing car parts (which may be heavy), you might want some kind of metal shelving system that can handle the weight, and can be anchored to your wall. I built my own from Steelworks slotted angle uprights and steel shelves (which are adjustable).
http://wedo.hillmangroup.com/viewitems/metal-shapes/plated-steel-slotted-angle?
Like a really big Erector set.

Hey lowbuck

I like this stuff. I'm doing an engine resto and have starters, compressors, alternators and carbs laying around the garage and realized I need some "upper" storage to store these larger type items. I like the idea of a flexible storage shelfs.

I went to the site but they said they sell only to distributors. How can I go about deciding what I need and how to get it? What does your system look like? thanks

elevator joe · Nov 4, 2011

2x4 frame with sliding doors on a pole barn track. holds a lot of stuff,doors cover it all up....?

DIYKiah · Mar 20, 2012

I know this thread is rather old but if you have an average garage with studs behind the drywall then check out DIYGarageShelf and their line of garage shelving kits. They are really easy to install and much more affordable than most stuff you will find out there!

jake00 · Mar 20, 2012

whipped this up in a few minutes this weekend out of stuff I had laying around.

admranger · Mar 21, 2012

elevator joe said:
2x4 frame with sliding doors on a pole barn track. holds a lot of stuff,doors cover it all up....?

Cool doors. Where'd you get those?

looking for some diy shelf /cabinet ideas for garage long wall

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