Tips For Building Storage Shelves In Your Garage

Many people use their garage as home for all types of items and miscellaneous things that they do not have any other place for. So all sorts of items from sporting equipment to books to tools to handyman and equipment find their way into the garage. Some garages lose their original purpose, which is for parking cars. If you are one of those people who use their garage mainly for storage then you should think about putting in some shelving. A well-organized shelf not only provides a convenient place to store hardware and tools but also it is great for working on home projects. Building plans for shelves are available at most home improvement shops.

There are two kinds of garage shelving. You can opt for pre-fabricated or custom-built. Obviously prefabricated shelving is a lot cheaper and you can find a wide variety of sizes to fit your space. This kind of shelving can be found at your local handyman center or your neighborhood lumberyard.

A very basic garage shelf is made of plywood or lumber and is secured with shelf brackets. In this case the brackets are attached to this studs using long screws. To increase their strength, a brace can be added at each stud. You can also use floor-supported shelves.

Material

Although you can use plastic shelving a much better choice is prefabricated steel shelves. Plastic shelves are for light duty and you will soon outgrow them when you start storing heavier items. There is a disadvantage to steel shelving in that it cannot be cut to sizes so you have to go with standard widths and other dimensions so you have to make sure that it fits your space.

Adjustability

When considering prefabricated shelves, you have to pay attention to adjustability. Shelves should be adjustable and the pins for adjusting the shelves should have a locking mechanism so they do not get lost or misplaced.

Safety

When you install shelving in your garage, it is a good idea to make sure that the shelving is attached to the wall to prevent tipping; shelving can be dangerous especially if you have heavy equipment loaded on them.

Hooks

Consider installing hooks into the ceiling joists for hanging bicycles, miscellaneous tools, canoes, etc. Installing hooks will help you greatly in freeing up space on your shelves.

Getting rid of clutter

Most garages turn into junkyards over time. So consider going through your garage and its shelving on a periodic basis to throw away things that you no longer need.

Have a garage sale!

Instead of throwing away things that you no longer need, a better option and one that saves resources, is having a garage sale. This is a great way to meet your neighbors and get rid of things that you do not need anymore; although this is not something to be done for making money as most garage sale customers are looking for very

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