| To many people, the garage is more than a parking | | | | If you are keeping small items, try to work on the |
| area. It may also serve as a home office, as a gym, | | | | space in between the studs. What you can do is |
| or even as a workshop. Rarely do people keep their | | | | attach a series of strips, about 1x2, to the inside |
| sporting equipment, tools and machines in places | | | | edges of two nearby studs. Arrange them |
| other than the garage. If you are using your garage | | | | horizontally with a distance of 6 inches between each |
| primarily as a storage facility, you definitely need to | | | | other. Then, cut a few pieces of lumber measuring |
| put up shelves for better organization. | | | | 1x4 and 1x6 which you can fit between the studs. |
| You have two choices for your garage storage | | | | Slip them on top of the 1x2 strips and you have got |
| shelves: build them on-site or get them prefabricated. | | | | adjustable shelves, small enough for jars, bottles, |
| If you are handy with tools, the better choice is | | | | cans and other light items. They also make great |
| custom building your garage storage shelves. More | | | | organizers for nails and screws. |
| than the savings, you also get to optimize the | | | | If you prefer prefabricated garage storage shelves, |
| available space. Check your local home center, | | | | your best choice is steel shelving. Shelves made of |
| hardware or discount store and the lumber yard for | | | | plastic are good only for light items and you will need |
| your supplies. | | | | the sturdier steel shelves to hold the heavier items. |
| You can build a simple garage shelf using a piece of | | | | However, you will find that you will have to use the |
| plywood, about three quarters of an inch thick, or | | | | steel shelves "as is" since they cannot be modified to |
| 1x2 feet of lumber set on heavy-duty shelf brackets. | | | | fit your wants. Anyway, they are manufactured |
| Attach the brackets to the studs with long screws. | | | | following standard measurements so you can choose |
| Next, attach the garage storage shelf to the shelf | | | | the specs that will meet your requirements. |
| brackets. Strengthen the shelf by adding a brace at | | | | When choosing prefabricated shelves, you must |
| each stud. | | | | choose those that are adjustable to allow flexibility |
| Your other choice is to build floor-supported garage | | | | when storing items of different dimensions. Get |
| storage shelves. One way is to array 2x4 wooden | | | | those that can be adjusted to at least two different |
| bars vertically, 50 inches apart. Stand the bars on the | | | | heights within the same structure. Check the pins as |
| floor then attach the tops to the rafters or trusses. | | | | they need to be heavy duty and can lock the |
| Then, run another set of 2x4s horizontally | | | | shelves tight without coming out loose or getting |
| in-between the standing bars. Just add particle boards | | | | dislodged. |
| to create the shelves. Average measurements used | | | | Another important aspect of prefabricated garage |
| by others are about 19 to 25 inches deep while the | | | | storage shelves should you choose this option is that |
| space between the bars is typically 25 inches. Of | | | | they may have to be attached to the wall or require |
| course, you can change the specs to hold the | | | | some form of support to avoid tipping. This is |
| different sizes of the items you want to store in | | | | necessary if you intend to use them for heavy loads. |
| your garage. | | | | |