It’s becoming a joke these days that a garage is used for almost anything except storing a car. Most people store their sports equipment and other large items and also use their garage as a workshop. Some have even put a home office or a gym in the garage space. If it has reached the point where you cannot fit your car in your garage, maybe you should think about putting in some shelves for additional storage.

Garage shelves can be obtained either site built or prefab. If they are site built, you will have to fit them into your existing space but you can adapt them to your needs with equipment you can find at your local home center, lumber yard or hardware store.

Basic garage shelves can be built out of 3/4 inch plywood of 1x or 2x lumber, simply set on heavy duty shelf brackets. The brackets should be attached to the studs with long screws and the shelves should be attached to the brackets. This is necessary because of at he weight. For additional strength, a brace can be added at each stud.

Floor supported shelves are very stable and are made by running vertical 2X4s every 50 inches and placing them on the floor, then attaching them to rafters or ceiling joints at the top., Then, 2X4s are run horizontally between the uprights and particleboard is used for the shelves. Usually 19-25 inch deep shelves are used and the 2X4s are placed on 25 inch spacing. The advantage of this is you can change the spacing to accommodate larger items.

If you are storing small items, it is better to attach a series of 1X2 strips to the inside edges of 2 adjacent studs. Then, cut some 1X4 and 1X6 lumber and fit them between Th studs and slip them on top of the 1X2s. This creates some small shelves that can be adjusted for small items such as cans, jars, bottles; you may want to organize your screws and nails in these jars and bottles.

For really durable, heavy shelving, choose steel shelving. Plastic shelving may be alright if you are storing things that are light weight, but if you have heavy items, you should choose steel. The disadvantage of steel is that you cannot cut it to size to suit your needs, but have to pick from the standard shelves. These do come in different widths, depths and heights, so you can find the ones most closely suited to your needs.

You should make sure that the prefabricated shelves you choose can be adjusted. AT least two different levels of adjustment between the framework is desirable. Make sure the pins are heavy duty and have a bar in place to prevent them from working loose.

Finally, make sure your prefabricated shelves can be attached to the wall for security against tipping. If you are going to use the shelves for heavy items, this is really an important feature.

Garage storage is something every home owner must come to terms with at some point. Our lives are just smack full of stuff. Stuff that has to go somewhere. Even though it’s stuff that we hardly ever use or really even need, we just seem to keep hanging on to it year after year. Of course, there are lots of things we do need to access and use on a regular, albeit infrequent, basis. For example, Christmas does come around every year, so those boxes and boxes of decorations have to be accessible and ready to rock ‘n roll when it’s time to deck the halls. And all that sports and fishing equipment can’t be buried somewhere when you need it. Lucky for home owners, effective do-it-yourself garage storage solutions are available from companies like Garagemaid. Consider the following:

Garagemaid has innovative garage storage systems that utilize interlocking connectors that are designed into each part. This means that there is no need to fuss with little fasteners that often just make assembly frustrating. The interlocking connectors add a lot of stability to the units, while at the same time making installation and assembly a snap. Once the unit is put together it’s just a matter of attaching it to the studs of the wall for a great garage storage system.

One of the nice things about Garagemaid products is that they are made out of a high density polyethylene so it is virtually impervious to problems that often arise from wood products when they get wet. With high density polyethylene, things like rot, rust, or cracking are avoided all together. It is an easily cleanable product that doesn’t have to be painted to look good.

Finally, the modular aspect of this system allows a variety of combinations that allow a more custom fit for your garage storage needs. You might start out with their basic storage cabinet that measures 84″ tall x 22″ wide. This has four adjustable shelves and a door on the upper part of the cabinet. The bottom part allows you to use up to four optional drawers. If you need additional garage storage you can just purchase additional shelves or even other cabinets with which it can be combined. This ability to customize really lets you get your storage just the way you want it in your garage space.

If you just need hooks for tools or other items you want to store on a wall, they also make a slat wall “workstation” kit with hooks. This unit is 42″ wide x 39″ tall. The kit includes 14 storage hooks that just snap securely into the slat wall where you want them. There is also a 4″ x 24″ storage basket that is designed to be used with the slat wall. These baskets are perfect for storing small items. The baskets have clear fronts so it’s easy to see what is inside. These don’t require any assembly. Just snap it in place and that’s it!

By combining the different styles of cabinets, slat wall kit, hooks, and baskets together anyone can design and implement their own customized garage storage solution in minutes. Then you will be able to find anything you need at any time.

I can’t seem to find any studs even with a deep scanning stud finder.