Garage Storage

[Andy4639]

I want to add some storage over the truck and Tahoe in the garage. Want to put coolers and light stuff up over them on some kind of shelf. What has everyone done and draw backs if any have you encountered since doing it.
Between the Bud clock and the wall on both sides. The right side will have the Tahoe park under it so it will have to be short.

[BR3W CITY]

I've seen old painters scaffold re-used for a simple "just toss it up there" space. Holds a fair amount of weight.

If you make anything large enough to actually walk in-on....be careful of your homeowners insurance. I know that they aren't friendly about "improvised"....anything. Sounds dumb but a friends dad built a "man-shelter". A dang near bomb proof building with a second "loft" space for an office and storage. They made him install a 3ft railing due to some such thing about un-protected ledges over 16ft.

[kcsa75]

You can see where the studs are so you can punch a hole in the ceiling or use some heavy duty L-brackets to attach some 2x4s to the ceiling joints. Bring them down as low as you want them, then connect everything together on the bottom, throw up some plywood and you have shelves.
http://www.familyhandyman.com/DIY-Pr...tions/View-All

[shortbed70]

I only lost 3.75" of room! For bigger items I would say frame up a shelf and put up as high as you can and attach to wall and ceiling. I don't have my shelves done yet.
Posted via Mobile Device

[midniteblues]

there's a fellow around here that has a awesome 70 camaro with the driverside roof all bashed up. he said one day somebody slammed the door to the garage and a shelf above the car with gallon paint cans fell on the car he claims he never saw it coming/happening whatever you do if its above your rides MAKE IT STURDY and SECURE.
my problem is during the winter when my car is packed away I seem too allways need something thats above the car and very hard too get too

[_Ogre]

i'd focus on making better storage on the walls
with over head storage all i can think of is how much your head is going to hurt when you run into it

[motornut]

I went with side/wall shelves

may have to ask but.....some hardware stores will sell rougher/dirt/sundamaged/wet marked plywood 1/2 the price(or less) of "nice" stuff

I got 4X8 sheets cut in half so 2X8
screwed 2x4 along the front/back edge
measured out the height size of the storage "buckets"
screwed the legs to shelves

I can take some pics....
makeing a work bench this spring

[MP&C]

I have most of my sheetmetal eqpt down the one side of the paint booth. This left the top part of the booth wall as un-used / wasted space. I got cabinets to hang on the booth for additional storage....




...and custom-tailor the inside as needed...

[Lattimer]

I have these hanging from the ceiling: http://www.hyloft.com/ceiling-storage/

I have 2 of the 48x48 units. Got them at Lowes.

[PanelDeland]

Go to "Restore",buy upper kitchen cabinets and hang them on the wall High enough to get under with the Ho'Then use the area inside to store stuff and put more on top.The doors will keep stuff cleaner and out of sight(looks less cluttered).You might also find a Kitchen remodeler who would sell you "take outs' resonable.

[chvtrkman]

I have an issue with storage space in my garage...it's an unfinished garage,no drywall or insulation between studs,etc. (that may be a project in the future).I'm interested in using the open space above the beams,up to the rafters,for storing spare parts and general "stuff"..However,with the existing beams I estimate that I have apprx 10 ft. of ceiling height when I do drywall it.What I'm wondering is,what are your opinions as to what works best in terms of needing overhead space for working on our trucks?..I'm thinking here for a hoist when pulling an engine..? I'm asking this because I'm considering doing something like adding overhead shelves similar to the picture in kcsa 75's post.

[WadmalawJoe]

Originally Posted by chvtrkman

I have an issue with storage space in my garage...it's an unfinished garage,no drywall or insulation between studs,etc. (that may be a project in the future).I'm interested in using the open space above the beams,up to the rafters,for storing spare parts and general "stuff"..However,with the existing beams I estimate that I have apprx 10 ft. of ceiling height when I do drywall it.What I'm wondering is,what are your opinions as to what works best in terms of needing overhead space for working on our trucks?..I'm thinking here for a hoist when pulling an engine..? I'm asking this because I'm considering doing something like adding overhead shelves similar to the picture in kcsa 75's post.

Is the garage just big enough for the truck? No room to put cabinets along a wall?
I would try to save that space for over the truck for like you said pulling a motor with a overhead hoist or even adding a lift someday so you can lift the truck to make it easy to work on.
In my workshop I put wood across the bottom of the overhead joist (rafters in my case) perpendicular to the joist and slide in long pieces of pipe, broom handles, molding pieces, whatever would fit in between the joist. I'm a remodeling contractor so I have all kinds of oddball things.

[rfsnyder]

I have an interesting shop tool organization system that you may be interested in...

I've been working to try to get my garaged organized for some time now.. and still not even close. I have a small, one and half car workshop, and was jumping from one project to another and things got out of control! So, I decided to start with the organization of my tools. I was looking for a system that allowed me to utilize my entire wall space above my bench, because all the other walls are taken… hanging shelves, floor shelves, compressor, table saw, band saw, etc.

Cluttered Bench and Peg Board


Like most of you, I had one small piece of peg board with tools hanging among. Tools were accessible, but no organization and clearly not enough room for all my tools! On any one project, I would have to go to two, three or more places for the tools in need… I would dig through my toolbox, look on shelves, de-box items for that’s how I stored them… then retrace my steps to put everything back (well sometimes). That’s when things went sour, when I didn’t get things back! I had tools everywhere, couldn’t find what I needed, and clutter all over my bench! Maybe some of you can relate!

Then I found this system... it's called a French Cleat (some call it a closet cleat from closet organizers)!! Ever seen it? From all my web searches, its mostly used in the Woodworking community, more so than shade-tree mechanics. It’s actually a very simple, very ingenious design, and yet, very, very strong! It’s basically two mating pieces of wood that are cut at 45°. This “wedge” is the premise of the system... it works based on gravity and back-pressure!


I simply took a 1x4, and with a 45° cut, ripped the board into two long pieces.. one around 2 ½“ (long-side) and the other 1” (short-side). This actually creates both pieces of the French cleat system that you’ll need, all from one board. You need to mount the wider piece securely to the wall studs (with the 45 angled down and into the wall), and the other smaller section is what you use to hang your “Hangers” (Whatever you want to call them… shelves, hangers, boxes, wall cabinets, organizers, parts bins, etc.).

Mounting Bottom Cleats to Wall Studs


Here is the BEST PART…. Everything is fully movable! They are not fixed to the wall-side cleat in any way, they just simply sit into the wedge and hang, and you can rearrange your “Hangers” anywhere you want! You can match your workflow, by project, or by tool grouping. I have my “most used” tools closer at hand and to my bench… and my least use tools higher on the wall, still accessible, but not taking up prime real estate .

New Wall Organization - Cleat System


The fun begins by being creative with your ”Hangers”. There are endless possibilities.. I grouped my tools together so everything is together.. drill and drill bits, grinder and discs, you get the idea. Here are some samples of my “Hangers” which have all been built with scrap lumber sitting in my shop…

• Cordless Drill Organizer (Holds 3 drills, 1 impact drill, 2 Circular Saws, Battery charger, and shelf for drill bits (see underneath))
  
  
  
• Sandpaper Organizer (organizes 8x11 Sheets, various grits of 6” discs, and even rolls of emery cloth)
  
  
  
• Die Grinder Support (Holds 2 grinders, their key/wrenches, and an array of Discs (flapper, strippers, grinding)) with dowel rod
  
  
  
• Shelving (these can be of any length and width and are very strong)
  
  
  
• Tape dispenser (holds multiple flavors of tape and has a hacksaw blade mounted on box to tear tape)
  
  
  
• Wall Cabinet (Yes this big wall cabinet and all of its contents are hanging from the cleat system... I can relocate it if need be!)
  
  
  
• Dremel Organizer (holds my dremel, all the cutoff wheels, and misc bits)
• Stapler/Nailer (This holds 3 Staplers (an air nailer/stapler, an electric & manual staplers) and a shelf for the staplers/nails.
• screw Driver Organizer (both phillips and regular)
• Pliers Holder
• Wrenches (ratcheting and open end)
• Magnetic strips (got these cheap from Harbor Freight and seems to be the catch all… any metal of course)
• Hammers Holders
• Pry-Bar Holder
• Parts Bins and Trays
• Spray Paint Can Cabinet – Currently In work (will hold 56 cans in total (7 rows, 8 Cans across) and you’ll see the caps of each to determine color and easily remove without disrupting the others)

Search the internet… you’ll find some very clever tool holder designs…. It’s not that expensive to do… I did my entire wall with 1x4s separated 3 ½" for a total of 8 rows, all under $70 including mounting screws.

Feel free to share your garage organization techniques… or any comments to the French Cleat System.

[WadmalawJoe]

Excellent!! I love it!

I use that same french cleat system for fireplace mantel shelves I make.

I can't use it in my current shop, as I have almost all open stud walls, so I just put blocking in between and made shelves that way. I will have to take some pictures of mine.

[chvtrkman]

Originally Posted by WadmalawJoe

Is the garage just big enough for the truck? No room to put cabinets along a wall?
I would try to save that space for over the truck for like you said pulling a motor with a overhead hoist or even adding a lift someday so you can lift the truck to make it easy to work on.
In my workshop I put wood across the bottom of the overhead joist (rafters in my case) perpendicular to the joist and slide in long pieces of pipe, broom handles, molding pieces, whatever would fit in between the joist. I'm a remodeling contractor so I have all kinds of oddball things.

Sorry,I was away for a week,but to answer your question...yes,the garage is just big enough for my truck. (actually,it's a standard size 2 car garage,but the wife's side is,well,HER side..if ya get my drift.."off limits")So,while I presently do have some shelving along the walls (open studs),I am looking to eliminate them so that I have enough room to work/walk around the truck,hence the idea of overhead storage.Like I posted last week...it's mostly spare parts,carbs,intake manifolds,seats,exhaust tubing,windshields,doors,etc.
I will probably keep one area of shelving for hardware,paint cans,motor oil, coolant,WD-40,sandpaper,dropcloths,..that kinda stuff.I just need to condense the items to be stored on shelves,and confine it all to a smaller area.As far as head room for working on vehicles goes,I was thinking a minimum of 8 ft.,but I don't know if some of you have managed with even less than that. Oh yeah, and there are a lot of cool ideas posted for storage ideas. Everyone has their own system of what works for them,I guess.

[MP&C]

How close is your garage door to the ceiling when open? This is wasted space available for storage. We have a canoe that has been stored in a car trailer, and to make it more accessible, and easier to load on top of the wife's SUV, it will get stored here, above the door tracks....





Most of what I found online in canoe hoists looked "lightly" made at best. Plus, I needed to take the ropes to a side wall for securing, which meant no "kit" was complete for what I wanted. I checked a couple different local stores today, and about the cheapest pulleys I could find (with bearings) were ones designed for patio doors. Here they are installed in the 16 ga Stainless brackets I bent up....











Using one for each end, then changing direction mid-stream to take the rope over to the side wall, using this bracket....











Next, I'll make the ceiling to wall transition bracket, and the pulley/hook brackets to support the ends of the canoe.


The ceiling to wall transition was made in 3 pieces and fusion welded together..














Then to make the pulley hooks for the canoe straps...

















Installed, and using a crossbrace from the scaffolding for a dry test run...








All the bits installed....

[MP&C]

Here's the canoe in it's place....well above the door.

[msgross]

good ideas here