Storage cabinet idea - cheap & simple - but will it work well?

[gamp945]

Hi all,

I'm new to woodworking / cabinet building and have an idea I wanted to run past the old pros here. I'd appreciate critical feedback to identify any flaws with my idea.

I just hung up a wall full of Knape & Vogt (AKA John Sterling) "fast mount" wall shelving: 6' tall by 8' wide and 24" deep.

These are great heavy-duty wall standards and brackets that hold a LOT of weight, don't break the bank, and made in USA. They look like this:

Small finished system:

20" deep supported bracket (300 lbs):

My idea: attach a vertical piece to each side of the shelves to create a box. Then, cut a pair of dados about 1/2" apart near the edge on each piece (top/bottom/sides) and insert 2 or more thin pieces of plywood to create sliding doors for each row of shelving. Here is a photo of what the sliding doors would look like:

The purpose of my idea is solely to hide the contents of the shelves. I'm thinking that the sliding doors are simple and inexpensive compared to creating traditional cabinet carcasses and doors with hinges. Any flaws with this design?! Thanks for reading!

 

[Limerick racer]

gamp945: Nice shelves. There are more qualified people than me on this site to advise you and I am sure they will.
My thoughts are two fold: (1) The brackets may be rated for 300# but the anchor screws into your metal header or into your studs are handling most of the load. Be sure that you are using rated hardware, and use a lot of screws for the vertical pieces. (2) the plywood doors need to be factored into your load capacity of the unit. If you plan to not put heavy items on the shelves then you can probably get away with adding the doors. Its a great idea and keeps the mess out of sight.
Good luck.

 

[mbatarga]

Just realize - attachment to the end of the shelves removes the adjust-ability of the original shelving unit.

 

[rcktsled]

I have the same shelving. It's great stuff, brutally strong. I don't see anything wrong with your plan. Go for it!

 

[gamp945]

gamp945: Nice shelves. There are more qualified people than me on this site to advise you and I am sure they will.
My thoughts are two fold: (1) The brackets may be rated for 300# but the anchor screws into your metal header or into your studs are handling most of the load. Be sure that you are using rated hardware, and use a lot of screws for the vertical pieces. (2) the plywood doors need to be factored into your load capacity of the unit. If you plan to not put heavy items on the shelves then you can probably get away with adding the doors. Its a great idea and keeps the mess out of sight.
Good luck.

Thanks for your thoughts

1) I used GRK structural screws (rated) for the wall standards and went through drywall and straight into studs. I'm using a screw at every mounting point on the wall standards. I think I will have very good load bearing capacity with this setup.

2) Good point. I think the doors will be pretty light though - I'm planning on 1/4" baltic birch, which will weigh about 35 lbs for all sliding doors on this unit.

 

[gamp945]

Just realize - attachment to the end of the shelves removes the adjust-ability of the original shelving unit.

Very true. I had this same shelving in a previous garage (but without any type of door), and never changed the configuration once it was set up for my space.

With that said, I will have about 18" between each shelf. I plan on installing some smaller shelves for small items within these spaces that will also be covered by the doors. These smaller shelves will be adjustable for fine tuning.

 

[gamp945]

I have the same shelving. It's great stuff, brutally strong. I don't see anything wrong with your plan. Go for it!

I agree - brutally strong, and a great value! Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Jack Olsen]

I enclosed shelving in my garage that was originally open. Very glad I did it. It looks much less cluttered and keeps the contents of the shelves from getting covered in sawdust.

I cut grooves in 2" stock like that for sliding doors, too. One tip is to make the grooves significantly deeper for the upper guides so that you can lift the doors up and remove them.

There are also commercially available aluminum guides that might be smoother/easier.

 

[gamp945]

I enclosed shelving in my garage that was originally open. Very glad I did it. It looks much less cluttered and keeps the contents of the shelves from getting covered in sawdust.

I cut grooves in 2" stock like that for sliding doors, too. One tip is to make the grooves significantly deeper for the upper guides so that you can lift the doors up and remove them.

There are also commercially available aluminum guides that might be smoother/easier.

I had a look at your website. Those sliding doors are pretty much exactly what I want to do. That's a good tip on the top guide. I saw some guides available on Rockler, and then I had an idea: UHMW tape set in the guides. The tape would be less expensive, less complicated, and might even work better than the aluminum or plastic guides.

Thanks for the info and inspiration!

 

[theoldwizard1]

Do NOT use particle board, especially in a garage. It will **** the moisture out of the air and swell.

Even plywood needs a good alkyd primer and a coat of alkyd enamel all all surfaces, especially the edges. If you add some enamel hardener it will be almost as tough as epoxy. Give it an extra day or 2 to dry.

 

[gamp945]

Couple more things for anyone interested:

I plan to attach the two side panels to the shelves with pocket screws, which will not be visible.

Total cost for this system is about $400 including the brackets, baltic birch plywood for shelves and doors, structural screws, and pocket screws.

The total size of the system will be 6' high x 8' wide x 2' deep.

 

[Colin Len]

Instead of creating a set of doors for each level of shelving you could create larger sliding doors to cover the entire shelf unit ("barn" style doors). This would allow you to adjust shelf heights still whenever you like. It may also be easier to access things if you needed items from different shelves since you could open one large door instead of multiple smaller ones. But you could argue having more smaller compartments has it's advantages too.

Here's a thread I bookmarked long ago that discusses basically what I'm talking about except it's in relation to rack shelving instead of your wall shelving. Same concept could be used though and would just require slightly different execution.

 

[sberry]

Panels screwed to the steel would be strong. Even sheet metal. There are lots of ways, I might make the shelves from stock 2x12, run a couple bearing legs to the floor in the front and screw all the attatchments to the shelves, side plates, etc and have super strong shelves that wont sag.

 

[sberry]

I did some for a bud, he designed, I would make a couple changes. But, a stick 1/8 angle and half a piece a strip in each one. I think we did maybe 4 sets and I stacked 4 angles and the 2 flats in a saw and gang cut it. At the time maybe 100 in materials fir all 4 All square cut design and minimal welding.

 

[gamp945]

Instead of creating a set of doors for each level of shelving you could create larger sliding doors to cover the entire shelf unit ("barn" style doors). This would allow you to adjust shelf heights still whenever you like. It may also be easier to access things if you needed items from different shelves since you could open one large door instead of multiple smaller ones. But you could argue having more smaller compartments has it's advantages too.

Here's a thread I bookmarked long ago that discusses basically what I'm talking about except it's in relation to rack shelving instead of your wall shelving. Same concept could be used though and would just require slightly different execution.

Thanks for the suggestion A "barn style" door would have the advantages of shelf adjustability and larger access size, and was one of my initial ideas. The downsides of this option are increased cost, weight, and complexity.

Did you forget to post the link you mentioned? I'd enjoy reading it.

 

[Colin Len]

Oops, I did forget the link
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=121487

 

[Voi]

I did something similar to what you did but the cabinet is completely supported by a French cleat above the shelves. The cabinet does not have a full back and goes right over the entire shelf and standard system. In theory I could lift the cabinet up and over the shelves.

I did not use sliding doors but might do this for the next set of cabinets I build.

I'll probably use the plastic tracks from Outwater. The bottom track has a radius the doors run on. I've used them before with good results.

 

[rsanter]

You are over thinking it.
Build a box with doors.
Attach said box to wall.
Have your shelving inside box.
You are done

Bob

 

[pdubss]

I enclosed my workbench with sliding doors. At the time I didnt have anything to cut the grooves with. After a bunch of searching, amazon had the best price on 6 foot plastic grooves for 1/4 ply.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

 

[Brian_WK]

I used the same brackets mounted to block wall. They are stupidly strong when anchored and supported right. Mine are mounted every 24 inches on center but my 3/4 shelving still has a front and cross brace on them to prevent sagging. The barn style door has me thinking and is going on my list the door on shelf idea would look cool but ultimately in my case wouldn't work due to me re-configuring every year when I do my garage clean out and throw stuff away, or items get used, fixed, etc. Now if only I could find cheap barn door hardware and 9ft hollow core doors...

Brian

 

[Lee Celtic]

The plan will work.. you are basically making a cabinet with no back and wall mounting it.. only thing you really need to be sure of is that the top is level and the sides run square to it or lining up any type of door sliding or barn with be hell..

Adding something like this in all four corners would help keep it square and give you mounting points.