My hack-a-shelf project

[eljay]

I had two of these 36x18x72" shelves and I was tired of reaching to the back of the shelf and fumbling through cans of stuff and had some extra undermount slides kicking around. So, I added two drawers and then pegboard sides and sliding doors to cover the mess.

I hope this gives others some ideas just as I found some around the forum!

Enjoy!

Edit: more details
Sliding doors:
- 2.5" corner braces attached to the shelf with nuts and bolts (two per door section)
- 72" sliding/bipass door kit (spans both 3' shelf sections) like this one: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00FZXPPKM/?tag=atomicindus04-20
- door frame: 1x3" furring strips forming a rectangle and held together by 1.5" corner braces screwed into the 1x3"
- white fiberboard fronts just screwed onto the frame
- door hangars from the sliding door kit screwed to the frame

Here is my other thread with more detail on the back of the doors and tips from other members who inspired the idea: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=459254

Note: the shelf cross sections are weak sheet metal, so the weight of the door bends them forward. But it's not too bad. If that fails, I'll add some flat bars across the top of the shelf and attach the L-brackets to those instead to prevent the flexing.

Drawers:
- 14" undermount slides (the shelf is 18" deep, but I just positioned them, so the drawer sits flush in the front and stick out in the back, which is open anyway)
- 1/2 plywood for the box with sides just nailed and glued
- some random wood pieces as blocking/spacers attached to the shelf and then the undermount slides are screwed into those.

 

[gtsgarage]

Nice job.

 

[Colin Len]

Nice work! I've been toying with a similar idea - specifically the sliding doors. My garage is small and I'd like to have storage along one wall but it ***** to need 15"+ just for door swings on the cabinets.

Any commentary on how you did the sliding doors, how it worked out, if you'd do it the same next time...etc?

 

[bdbecker]

Thank you for sharing!

I've been wanting to do this to my shelves as well. I find it interesting that you did a couple things that I had in mind, specifically the pegboard sides and sliding doors. The pull out drawers were something I hadn't thought of but really like. That might be just the ticket for organizing a bunch of the smaller items that get stacked on the shelves.

 

[bri_man57]

Very cool! Huge fan!

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

 

[Cypress]

looks great!

did you remove the wire mesh and replace with some type of plywood or something? I have the same shelves and hate that mesh material.

 

[Sawdust_]

What kind (brand) of shelves are those?

 

[eljay]

Thanks for all the kind comments guys!
I've added some more detail to the first post. Let me answer the rest.

 

[eljay]

Nice work! I've been toying with a similar idea - specifically the sliding doors. My garage is small and I'd like to have storage along one wall but it ***** to need 15"+ just for door swings on the cabinets.

Any commentary on how you did the sliding doors, how it worked out, if you'd do it the same next time...etc?

Thanks!

Yes, I wanted to keep the space clear for opening car doors, walking by etc. So, adding traditional cabinets was not an option. I still wonder why most cabinets are swing doors for a space where everyone wants to utilize every inch.

See the first post updated with details.
And here's more: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=459254

 

[eljay]

Thank you for sharing!

I've been wanting to do this to my shelves as well. I find it interesting that you did a couple things that I had in mind, specifically the pegboard sides and sliding doors. The pull out drawers were something I hadn't thought of but really like. That might be just the ticket for organizing a bunch of the smaller items that get stacked on the shelves.

Thank you.
Yes, the pegboard idea came to mind as I was hanging things on the top of the corners etc. Now, I can get some hooks and get brooms etc. off the floor.

 

[eljay]

Nice job.

Very cool! Huge fan!

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

Thanks!

 

[eljay]

looks great!

did you remove the wire mesh and replace with some type of plywood or something? I have the same shelves and hate that mesh material.

I left wire mesh on the bottom shelf and also under the drawer. It's not doing anything there, but it would just sit in a corner collecting dust, so it might as well add some strength to the drawer shelf as the slides are resting on it.
The plywood for the top two came with the shelves.

 

[eljay]

What kind (brand) of shelves are those?

Sorry, I cannot remember. I think I bought it at Canadian Tire here 5 years ago.
They are 36x18x72" and come with two plywood shelf inserts and 3 wire mesh pieces and and a hanger that slides into the slots.