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garage storage thoughts? - Printable Version

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Re: garage storage thoughts? - 3d - 08-25-2014

davemchine wrote:
I'm leaning towards this shelving rack from Costco for storage. The cost is very reasonable and it is a large rack. http://www.costco.com/Alera-Industrial-Wire-Shelving-4-Shelves-48%22-x-24%22-x-72%22-Black-.product.11517555.html

If you can wait 3 months. Black Friday,, errrrr,,, Buy Nothing Day usually has a few deals on metal shelving at the Big Box stores. Last year I got metal shelving with the similar specs for $49 plus free shipping.

LINKY:
http://forums.macresource.com/read.php?1,1649872,1649898#msg-1649898

I got three of them and lined a wall in my garage with them. When I have a free moment I guess I should strap them to the cinder block wall for more stability..

Re: garage storage thoughts? - Robert M - 08-25-2014

Dave,

I think you need to ask yourself a few questions before making any decision. How do you plan to use the garage? Is it large enough for a vehicle _and_ shelves and a workbench? The garage at my parent's house isn't big enough for both. It was either the car or storage. They chose storage and set up shelves on one side and along the back. They have a workbench on the other side, leaving ample space for items like a snow thrower, bicycles, a fridge and a freezer.

Since you have the luxury of empty space, it's an opportunity to draw out the configuration on paper. Even do piece of paper for the shelves, the bench and other stuff and move them around the 'garage" until your satisfied with the configuration. I know it sounds crazy but ti'll make a huge difference. It's what I did prior to moving into my new apartment. Each room was laid out on paper before we brought stuff over. Made life much easier when moving stuff into the new unit.

For shelves, I am not a fan of the wire shelving sold at place like the container store. I'll take heavier duty shelving over it every time, at least if it's going to go into a garage. If space allows, I recommend this shelving:



We have two sets at my office and they're easy to assemble, well made and very strong. Definitely very happy with them.

Off the shelf workbenches can be very expensive. We did better by making them ourselves out of legs and plywood. The plywood needed sanding and a couple of coats of poly. End result, solid, workbenches custom made to our specs. We got the height adjustable legs, poly and plywood at Home Depot.

Robert

Re: garage storage thoughts? - GGD - 08-25-2014

Robert M wrote:
For shelves, I am not a fan of the wire shelving sold at place like the container store. I'll take heavier duty shelving over it every time, at least if it's going to go into a garage. If space allows, I recommend this shelving:



We have two sets at my office and they're easy to assemble, well made and very strong. Definitely very happy with them.

That's pretty much they type of shelving that my search started with, but I really wanted something taller, wider and deeper to use the entire width and height of the wall that I was putting it on. I ended up with an 8' tall unit that is 8' 6" wide with ten 4' wide shelves, five on each side of a center upright that can all be adjusted independently. I also felt that 24" depth wasn't enough and went with 36", I would have preferred 30" but it doesn't come in that size.

They also make a 36" high upright that they don't show on the website, that can be used for making benches/tables, I have an additional set of 2 shelves coming off one side of the unit that fills the wall space under a window and can be a workbench.

Just like hard drive storage, you'll use as much as you've got so I went for the maximum square footage of shelf space that I could fit in the section of wall that I was working with. I couldn't do that with those fixed size shelves, a custom configuration was exactly what I needed.

I also didn't like the open wire shelf that many came with, and preferred a flat wooden or metal shelf, it's much easier to slide things around and stuff won't fall through the openings.

My initial search for something configurable was Pallet Rack, but I really didn't need something that can withstand a forklift loading/unloading, and this Bulk Storage Rack was the ideal solution for me, with my three 8' uprights, the load capacity is 21,000 lbs. I especially liked that they had the wood shelf inserts designed to exactly fit. I'm also glad that I went with two side by side sets of 4' shelves instead of a single 8' wide shelf, more flexibility for shelf height spacing, and 4' shelves are easier to assemble and adjust than massive 8'x3' shelves.

If there was a configurable store-bought product that I could expand and buy extra shelves for, I probably would have gone with that, but I was surprised that I couldn't find something like that.

Just wanted to share my thought process from when I went through this, good luck with whatever solution you find is best for you.

Re: garage storage thoughts? - artie67 - 08-25-2014

Look for used office furniture yards. Metal cabinets, lock together shelving, and such. Metal cabinets with doors are great for those appliances which seldom get used in the kitchen.
A simple 24" solid core door is a good top to start with. Wood legs and a shelf can be added. Pipe and floor flanges work also.
A surplus cabinet with wheels and a top work great. Locking wheels are a plus.

Re: garage storage thoughts? - Robert M - 08-25-2014

GGD,

That's one of the things I liked about the shelves. They come with wire shelves but the design works for plywood shelves, too. But, I definitely understand why you made the design choices.

Stores do make solutions that are somewhat more customizable. My problem is they're neither customizable nor heavy-duty enough. That's why we custom built benches. They worked out so well, we custom made tables for our office. One set is literally wall to wall and the height adjustable legs allowed us to raise the bench enough to slide a lateral file under it but still keep it low enough for comfortable usage.

Robert

Re: garage storage thoughts? - Paul F. - 08-25-2014

I'm rather fond of these as a base-to-build-on for a workbench...

http://www.harborfreight.com/60-in-4-drawer-hardwood-workbench-69054.html

You can't buy the lumber to build your own for the same price, and add a 1" plywood top with about 8" of overhang, bolt it to the wall, and you have a pretty good workbench!

Re: garage storage thoughts? - Robert M - 08-25-2014

GGD (and Dave)

These are the workbench legs we used for out work tables in the warehouse and office:



That's the price for a pair of legs. They come in other sizes, too.

We looked at the prices for workbenches and balked at the costs. They're expensive!



One set of legs, plywood, bolts, sandpaper, poly, poly applicator and elbow grease. Huge savings in comparison!

Robert

Re: garage storage thoughts? - davemchine - 08-25-2014

Robert I like that base quite a bit. Could I buy that and attach an off the shelf laminate top? I'm thinking about a six foot length. Would I need to reinforce the laminate top or add another base in the center?



Re: garage storage thoughts? - Robert M - 08-25-2014

Dave,

I couldn't say. We used plywood but i suspect any appropriate top should do the trick. The tables that are extra long have three bases. The shorter tables have just two bases. No problems at all. If you want, I'll measure the length of the tables my ops guy and I put together tomorrow.

Robert

Re: garage storage thoughts? - space-time - 08-25-2014

davemchine wrote:
Right now I have numerous storage cabinets in my garage but the house I am moving to has none at all. It also does not have a workbench. I'll be researching my lowe's and costco options but would appreciate any thoughts.

why are you moving then?