Garage Storage Shelves - Low Cost Solutions

When you think about garage storage shelves, what do you think of first? Which aspects of garage storage shelves are important, which are essential, and which ones can you take or leave? You be the judge.

A garage is the perfect storage place for all sorts of items from storing sporting equipment, to outdoor toys, to beach items, to lawn equipment, to tools and machinery along with it’s original purpose for a place to park your car or other vehicles. Although if all of your vehicles stay outside and if your garage is only used for storing things it will really need some shelves to have an organized storage area.

To have a really organized and clean looking garage you could use pre-made cabinets similar to what you will find in kitchens. However the expense of these cabinets can add up quite quickly and may very well be out of many homeowner's budget range for their garage remodeling project. Therefore this article's focus is on the low cost solutions of garage storage shelves that will be more affordable for the majority of homeowners.

Most garage shelves that will be used by homeowners will be one of two types or a combination of the two. The two types are the site-built ones that you make yourself and the prefabricated type that are made in a factory. The prefabricated shelving may or not be already assembled. As a rule the site-built garage shelves are usually less expensive but it does depend on what materials you use and how elaborate you make them. The site-built ones will also have much more leeway in allowing you to adapt & adjust the sizes to fit the space you have available. You will have no problem finding everything that you will need at your local home improvement store, a lumber yard, some discount stores or, a hardware store near you.

One of the very basic site-built garage shelves is made from a piece of ¾” plywood or a piece of a 1x or 2x lumber placed on a set of heavy-duty steel brackets. The brackets are attached directly to the garage wall studs using long lag screws and then laying the shelf across the brackets. Some brackets will have a provision to secure the shelf to the bracket with screws, where some others will have a tab or something that sticks up in front of the shelf to hold it place. To add strength to the shelves if you are spanning more then two studs you can add additional braces at every other or each stud in-between.

Another type of site - built shelves are the ones that are floor - supported. One method to build these are to run wood 2x4s vertically every 50 inches and resting them directly on the floor. You then attach them to the roof trusses or ceiling joists at the top. Next you run more wood 2x4s horizontally on edge across the uprights (this means the taller 3-1/2" side should be facing you with the 1-1/2" side facing up). Then you cut pieces of particleboard or plywood to fit to create the shelves. The shelves can pretty much built any size you like but the most common dimensions are 19-25 inches for the shelve depth and 25" up & down between the horizontal 2x4s. However, you definitely will want to measure the items you are planning on storing on the shelves and adjust the size accordingly for the items to fit.

Sometimes the most important aspects of a low cost solution for garage storage shelves will not be immediately obvious. Please keep on reading to get the total picture and solution.

If the walls of your garage are not drywalled you could consider using the space between the studs for storing small items inexpensively. You just simply attach a series of 1x2 strips horizontally approximately 6 inches apart to the inside face of two adjacent studs. Then depending on the size of the studs, cut some 1x4 or 1x6 pieces of lumber and slip them between the studs and rest them on top of the 1x2s. This way you can create some nice small adjustable shelves. Although it is a good idea to screw the 1x2s to the studs instead of nailing them in case you need to move them later. These garage shelves are great for jars, cans, or bottles to store screws and nails to keep them organized. Of course they could also be used for small boxes and other lightweight items.

If you decide to use prefabricated garage shelves instead of building your own your best choice will usually be the steel ones. The plastic shelving may well be enough for storing lightweight items but in many cases you may need something more durable and resistant to store your heavier items. There is a drawback to using all steel or plastic prefabricated shelving and it is that they can not be cut down to size without a lot of effort. For the most part you will probably have to live with the standard widths, depths and heights. Therefore you will have to choose ones that will fit within your available space even if that does mean not using all of the areas effectively.

Another important consideration in using prefabricated garage shelving is its adjustability. On most steel ones this will not be a problem since the legs are usually made out of punched angle with a lot of holes to choose where to place the shelf clips. However, on any other prefabricated shelves there should be at least two different locations within the shelving framework to make upward and downward adjustments. In addition the pins or posts that hold the shelving for adjusting should be fairly heavy duty and should also have something in place to prevent them from working loose or getting knocked out by accident.

The last thing to consider doing when selecting prefabricated garage shelves, especially those designed for the heavier loads, is that they should be secured to a wall or supported in some way to prevent them from tipping over. As a rule it is probaly a good idea to brace or screw all of them to wall just in case you throw some heavier items on them later. That way you and your family don't have to worry about what can or can't be place on each set of shelves.