The garage has long ceased to be an ordinary place for storing a car. Today it can combine a workplace, a warehouse, and anything else, if there is enough space inside. Often, many car enthusiasts store tools, equipment, household supplies and everything that their wife puts out of the house in the garage, but it’s a pity to throw it away. But where should all this be placed? Just throwing it in a heap on the floor is not an option at all. Another thing is to build shelves and racks for all the necessary things. This will help organize the space and give the garage interior a nice look.
Functional purpose
A garage, where all the things are scattered in the corners, immediately makes you want to clean it all out and put things in order. Creative chaos is, of course, good, but important tools must be stored in decent conditions. In addition, it is much more convenient when everything is in its place, and you don’t have to scour the garage for a long time in search of the right thing.
Garage shelves can be made from different materials: wood, chipboard, metal. Combinations of different manufacturing methods are also often found. All materials vary in price and strength, so it is worth considering them in more detail.
Shelving in the garage
Useful tips for organizing your garage space
Since the garage, by its intended purpose, is a home for cars, you should be careful to ensure that the space for tools is well organized. Also, there will probably be several square meters in the room in order to remove some of the items from the apartment, so as not to clutter the living space.
When installing various devices indoors, it is important to consider that all available equipment is at hand. To do this, you can use the following recommendations:
- Regardless of the size of the garage, it is important to have a rack with shelves on which you can put tools, materials and useful items.
- If you want to carry out routine car repairs with your own hands or perform other repair work, then you definitely need to make a workbench in the garage.
- To overhaul a car, you should make your own cellar - it will not only allow you to regularly inspect the mechanism, but also provide additional storage space.
- Finally, it is quite possible for a garage to set up its own small workshop, the accessories for which can also be made with your own hands.
Rational organization of space in the garage creates many tangible advantages:
- it becomes possible to independently carry out short-term repairs of car parts and other mechanisms, due to which you can significantly save money;
- Convenient placement of tools significantly speeds up work and saves time;
- creating additional places for storing tools, old things, clothes makes it possible to relieve the apartment of things that are rarely used in the household;
- Finally, thoughtful internal logistics of the premises allow it to maintain its attractive appearance and avoid clutter.
NOTE. At the project development stage, it is important to take into account the area of the room, and also take into account several mandatory utility compartments - for storing summer and winter tires, cans, jacks, etc.
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Materials for building shelving
Most shelves are built from either wood or metal. The first material is more affordable and simple, while the second is reliable and lasts longer. It is not uncommon to see combinations of both.
It is not worth making the racks completely metal, as the structure will be very heavy. But it is possible and even necessary to combine metal and wood. The frame is made of steel, and the shelves are made of chipboard, boards or anything else.
You can also use plastic, but it is not very common here yet. Therefore, it can be difficult to find durable and reliable plastic that is as good as metal in these characteristics.
Homemade options
A simple shelving system can be made independently if it is not possible to purchase a finished product. There are many freely available diagrams that will make your work easier. If you have at least a little knowledge of carpentry or own a welding machine, it will not be difficult for you to make some pretty good shelving yourself that you can proudly display in your garage. The main thing is to decide which material is best to use. As mentioned above, shelving is usually made of metal or wood.
To make a wooden rack, the first thing you need to do is draw a design drawing. Determine exactly where in the garage it will fit. Its length directly depends on the height of the garage, and the width of the shelves depends on the things you will put on them. Let the length of the shelves not be more than 90 cm, otherwise they will bend. You don’t have to be a talented artist to draw a drawing; a schematic image of the future product will do.
A high-quality rack needs high-quality natural boards. Oak or pine are perfect. You can also use chipboard, PVC wall panels or plywood. It is better not to use a board made from shavings; it will not last long, will quickly get wet from the slightest moisture and will not withstand heavy loads. It will be nice if the humidity of the board is not higher than 12%.
The lowest board - the base on which the entire structure will rest - must be thick, strong and wide enough. For strength, cross beams can be nailed onto it. Next, we need walls that will be attached to the side of the base. If you want to save on wood, replacing the board with thick plywood is an inexpensive, readily available alternative. Marks are placed on the sides - shelves will be installed there. The height is your choice. The shelves are carved from the same wood. If additional strength is required, the shelves will need to be secured with timber.
Whether to install a back wall is entirely your choice. It all depends on your taste and the appearance of the wall to which the future rack will be attached.
When all parts of the structure are in hand, processed and cleaned, proceed to assembling the structure. It can be glued with glue, attached with nails or screwed in with self-tapping screws. Initially, install the lower base on the desired wall and install the rear damper on it, if required. On the side boards, where marks for shelves were previously left, holders made of plastic or metal are fixed. Metal ones are much stronger. If there are no holders, then the shelves can be screwed to the sides. The side walls are attached to the bases, and then, holding them from the inside, the shelves are screwed from the outside with self-tapping screws.
This is an example of the simplest wooden shelving unit. It can be installed in other rooms besides the garage. The design will look harmonious and perform its task anywhere.
For a steel rack, you initially need to have the appropriate equipment, for example, a grinder for cutting metal and a welding machine. Don't forget about safety precautions when working.
The choice of consumables for metal structures is much larger. Corners, profiles, pipes will do.
For a metal rack, a profile or corner is cut according to previously sketched drawings. A grinder is used to cut blanks for stands, lintels and shelves. The cut and peeled elements are collected. Side frames are created that need to be assembled correctly, since the structure may be disproportionate and uneven. To do this, the frames are laid flat on the floor, checked that their diagonals are even, and then welded.
Next, vertical beams are attached to the assembled frames
You can choose any height.
The structure is painted to prevent corrosion. Paint or a regular primer is suitable for this. If necessary, future shelves - wood or chipboard - are also painted, but before doing this, they are antiseptic. After the paint has dried, holes are drilled in the racks, a shelf is placed on top and a self-tapping screw is screwed in from below so that it goes through the metal and is fixed in the wood. For stability and strengthening of the structure, it can be installed on the wall.
This is another example of a simple and universal metal shelving unit that will accommodate any items. If possible, do not limit yourself to the simple option, make a separate rack for tires and wheels - a very necessary attribute in the garage.
Metal
All-metal shelves can be too heavy, so you need to choose the right material with the right rigidity. In addition, you need to remember that metal tends to oxidize.
Many may think that aluminum is ideal for such work. But in reality it is too thin and constant loads will quickly destroy it. Most often, shelving is made of steel angle and profile pipe, because these are the most common materials that may even end up in your garage.
In many hardware stores you can buy collapsible metal, wooden and plastic shelving. If you don't want to bother with building them, then this is the perfect option for you.
Metal
Manufacturing process of metal shelves
Welded frame from a profile pipe.
A metal structure can be made from rectangular pipes or corrugated pipes with a width of 5 cm on one side. A 30-mm angle is used to make crossbars. The frame is made from a corner with the expectation that the thickness of the shelf will be 1.5-3 cm.
Cross members based on angles are welded to the vertical guides. A rational solution is to bolt it. This manufacturing option allows you to change the height of the shelves. When using an angle, the connection can be made with an overlap. A difference of 3-5 mm when laying shelves remains unnoticeable.
Cutting corners for a smooth connection
Creating a bolted structure involves separately assembling the squares of the sidewalls and shelves and then twisting the parts. Each connection is secured with two bolts. If the racks are based on profile pipes, the sidewalls are initially assembled, and then the crossbars are attached. The result is two rectangles with crossbars. In some cases, they resort to welding.
There is another fastening method using special crab systems. They are metal plates with recesses formed to fit the profile. Pipes are laid into the grooves, then the two elements are tightened with bolts. This connection cannot withstand heavy loads.
The advantage of the device is the absence of holes on the metal surface. M6 and M8 bolts are used. They require large holes. Initially, they are drilled with a thin drill, then the hole is expanded to the desired size with a thick drill.
Drawings of popular designs
There are many drawings of various shelves on the Internet to suit every taste. The most popular among them:
- Shelving with a steel frame and wooden or metal shelves.
- Wall shelves. They are also made either entirely of metal or with wooden inserts.
Calculations of the amount of materials must be made based on the free area on which the racks will be placed. It is not necessary to make the shelves straight; you can build a corner structure to save space, or simply make two shelves, but smaller ones for each wall.
Drawings of popular designs
General design issues
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Rack with shelves
First of all, you should forget about the first ideas that come to mind - creating the simplest hanging shelves, with a load or area that can accommodate all the property currently contained in the garage. Firstly, this is not rational from the point of view of their manufacture, and secondly, over time, the volume of things stored in the garage increases, so new and new designs will have to be made.
Therefore, it is immediately necessary to plan the design of the shelves in such a way that it is:
- universal
- expandable
- as easily movable as possible
That is, it is advisable not to make each shelf separately, but to make an entire rack consisting of several shelves as a single structure.
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Rack with cabinet
The next important question is what the design of the rack will be - collapsible or not. Typically, non-removable structures are more durable and can withstand heavy loads, however, their disadvantages include difficulties in expansion, dismantling and transportation.
Collapsible structures are less stable, their rigidity is far from that of non-collapsible ones. Often, for additional stability, such structures have to be attached to walls. However, they have two special advantages - easy expandability and mobility. In addition, thanks to their modularity, shelving can be made in a variety of sizes.
In this case, the choice depends solely on the desires of each person.
Wall shelves
The simplest option. All you need to do is select and measure the wall on which the shelves will hang. Choose a place where it is easy enough for you to reach, but so that the shelves do not interfere with free movement around the garage and do not take up much space.
It would be good to draw a diagram of the entire garage in order to correctly calculate the size of the future structure. Remember also that there will be a car in the garage - the shelves should not make it difficult for you to get in and out of it.
Don’t forget about the aesthetics of the interior. The shelves should fit into it normally and not seem something alien and unnatural.
Wall shelves
Preliminary preparation
You should start by preparing a drawing. You can do it yourself, using, for example, frames offered for sale as a basis. It is necessary to calculate the overall dimensions of the shelves and the parameters of the base for them.
Moreover, their dimensions should be based on preliminary measurements of the space in the garage. If you take these measurements correctly, you can consider that half the job is already done.
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Shelf drawing
- At the same stage, it is necessary to think about how the shelves will be connected to the frame, and the frame itself will be further strengthened by attaching it to the walls or floor.
- An important parameter here will be the height, since, in the case of low ceilings, it is advisable to make the frame height up to the ceiling, leaving no free space.
- Determining the distance between shelves is one of the important design points, since it is this that determines the rationality of distributing things across levels.
- Traditionally, the lower ones are made the most spacious: large and heavy equipment is placed on them; in addition, they are often used to store wheels and rims.
- Usually the following rule is used - the higher the shelf, the less weight should be placed on it and, accordingly, its height is lower. This can be explained quite simply – by increasing the stability of the rack as a whole.
- We should also talk about the depth of the shelving. Shelves that are too narrow make the entire rack impractical, and shelves that are too deep make it much more difficult to access. The optimal depth is 50-60 cm.
- The width is usually determined by the tensile strength of the material from which the shelves are made. There is no need to make the rack too heavy by making shelves more than 1.5 m wide (this will require too thick iron or wood so that they do not sag under the weight). Usually the width is about 90-150 cm.
Let's look at the most popular shelving devices that you can make yourself.
Shelves in the form of a shield for tools
If you have a lot of tools in your garage, it can take a lot of time to find the right ones. It will be more convenient for you if they are all organized on shelves where they are simple and easy to reach. Doing this yourself is not at all difficult. And after that, you will always know where a specific tool is and can quickly find it.
Shelves in the form of a shield for tools
Useful tips
Before planning garage shelves, you need to determine how they will be attached. Bolted technology is usually used for wooden structures, welded - for metal ones. Both technologies allow structures to serve properly for a long time. However, they have some disadvantages.
Welded shelves cannot be disassembled. If you change the layout of the garage, simply dismantling the welded product will not work. The main positive factor of this design is its reliability - welding seams are not at all easy to destroy.
Bolted racks cannot provide sufficient rigidity. For stability, the structure must be additionally attached to the wall. However, it has a significant positive factor - mobility. The shelves are easy to disassemble and assemble, and you can also make different distances between them.
garagehow to make it yourself shelving shelving in the garage
Hanging shelves
Assembling such a structure is quite simple. Many garage owners dream of hanging shelves that will allow them to organize the space by moving everything unnecessary from under their feet to the top. There are several types of wall shelves, and their choice depends on your preferences, the amount of free space, their placement, and so on.
You can hang shelves even under the roof itself, if it’s convenient for you to reach there. Just make several steps so that the bottom ones contain things you constantly need, and the top ones contain things you rarely use.
Choice
First of all, you need to decide on the material for the structure, the final size, which depends more on the room, and the loads that will be placed on the rack. The set that you will receive in the store depends on all this.
The most interesting thing is that some stores may even offer you to assemble this entire structure after delivery, which again is a nice bonus. Personally, I am sure that, if time allows, it is better to assemble the rack that you chose in the store yourself - time passes, and men simply change toys.
What tools and materials will be needed
The desire to make shelves and tidy up your garage is certainly a good thing. But in reality, it alone is not enough. You need special tools and, of course, materials. You should choose them based on what exactly you are going to do.
For wood, a regular hacksaw will do. You can use power tools, but without special skills, it is better not to do this. If you are planning to build a structure out of metal, it will not be possible without these tools, so either do it yourself or contact someone who knows how to work with welding.
What tools and materials will be needed
Regardless of what kind of rack you build, you will in any case need a set of standard tools: a hammer, a tape measure, a drill, a level, and so on.
Materials must be selected in advance, otherwise all the work may go down the drain. Make sure you have enough wood, metal, nails, screws and anything else that may be needed during assembly.
How to assemble a rack from an aluminum profile with your own hands
Assembling a rack with your own hands from a profile can be done even by a person taking up this task for the first time. It is easier to work with than wood.
The main advantage of the modular design is the ease of assembly from a ready-made kit
Materials and tools
To calculate how much material is needed, first sketch out a sketch indicating the dimensions and number of shelves. Profile dimensions are selected depending on the expected load. To connect the parts, you will need self-tapping screws with press washers, since their fastening is more reliable. It is better to take pointed ones, since drill ones make large holes, so the strength is reduced. Shelves are made from boards 2 - 3 cm thick, 10 mm or more plywood, OSB sheets no thinner than 12 mm.
To work you need to stock up on tools:
- Tape measure, pencil or felt-tip pen, square for checking angles.
- Metal scissors for cutting profiles.
- Screwdriver. If you screw in each screw manually with a screwdriver, it will take several days to assemble the frame.
- A wood hacksaw for cutting shelves. The process will speed up if you have a circular saw or jigsaw.
Build process
When the materials and tools are prepared, begin assembly:
- On the profile, mark the length of the racks, crossbars, and crossbars along the width of the shelves. To prevent the rack from turning out crooked due to errors with the dimensions of the workpieces, you need to re-check the correctness of the markings.
- On the side walls of the profile, cuts are made to the base and bent at this point. The workpiece is cut along the fold line.
- Longitudinal cuts are made on the crossbars to a depth equal to the width of the profile of the vertical supports. Internal bends, if any, are cut off.
- The crossbars are inserted into one another to form a rectangular cross-section. The cut ends are bent 90⁰. You need two of these parts for each shelf. They are installed on both sides of the frame.
- The assembly of the sidewalls, so that there are no distortions, is carried out on a flat surface, possibly on the floor. Cross members are inserted between a pair of vertical supports. After checking the corners, each bend is screwed with 1 - 2 self-tapping screws.
- After both sidewalls are ready, the rack is assembled from the profile. First install the lower crossbars, then the upper ones. If no distortions are found during inspection, the rest are fixed. It is more convenient to screw in the screws by placing the frame on its side. Having secured the parts on one side, it is turned over to the other.
- On profile racks with wide shelves, additional supports are installed from below in the middle of the lower crossbar. After determining the height, bends are made on them and screwed with self-tapping screws.
- After measuring, the shelves are cut. To increase the rigidity of the frame, cutouts are made in the corners so that they extend onto the side crossbars. To fasten wood, it is better to use self-tapping screws with fine threads.
