DIY garage shelves: options, photos

The garage is intended for storing a vehicle. In most cases, this rule is broken and all kinds of tools and other items are stored in it. The result is one large and cluttered room. A good owner can put a lot of things in his garage and they lie there very neatly. How to achieve this? Everything is extremely simple. It is necessary to make special racks or shelves on which everything can be neatly placed. You can make a rack and shelves in the garage with your own hands - we’ll look at the options, photos and drawings in this article. Do you want everything in its place in your garage? It's within your power, just don't put it off until later. Act immediately and you will certainly succeed.

We make it with our own hands

There are several options for making shelves in the garage. This:

• Stationary structures. You could say they are the most common. They are increasingly chosen for storing a wide variety of things. One of the features worth noting is that the load is evenly distributed on the floor, since the structure is installed directly on it. If you decide to make such a rack yourself, you will certainly succeed; there is nothing difficult in the task.

REFERENCE.If you plan to store heavy items, it is better to give preference to a metal structure, otherwise, a wooden one will suffice.

• Prefabricated - collapsible structures. What is their main difference from the described design? It's quite simple. They are made of perforated material, and the shelves on them are assembled like a puzzle. Everything is extremely simple and convenient. Even an amateur can cope with this issue.
• Mobile structures. They are made with wheels, so you can move them to the place you need. You don't have to unload them for this. There are restrictions on permissible weight. It won’t be difficult to buy such a rack and simply assemble it in the required place.
• Rotating design. It is safe to say that this option is very convenient for the master. You can store a variety of tools on it and, if necessary, quickly access them. All this with a compact design.
• Wall shelves. With their help, you can rationally use the space in the room. They can be done at a convenient level so that they do not interfere with moving around the garage or parking the car. Installation is carried out using fasteners.

Transforming your garage

First you will need to do a project. Decide what designs you will need and in what quantity. Measure how much free space you have. It will be convenient to completely empty one wall of the garage and build racks or make shelves near it. Calculate how many shelves you need and for what purposes, their sizes will depend on this.

Most often, home craftsmen proceed as follows:

1. Calculate the length of the structure along the entire length of the wall of the room.
2. Also make the height as high as possible.
3. The width of the shelves should be determined based on the weight of the cargo you plan to store on them. This figure should be no more than 150 cm, most often it is 100 cm.
4. The depth of the shelves is usually 50–60 cm. Making this figure significantly larger is impractical.
5. The height of the shelves ranges from 25 to 60 cm; to store large items, this parameter can be increased to 80–100 cm.

Prefabricated structures

This is a very simple option to assemble. You don't need to do anything complicated. Just buy a suitable structure and assemble it on site. As a rule, galvanized metal with paint or polymer coating is used for their manufacture.

REFERENCE. Thanks to the perforated racks, the shelves can be installed at any height convenient for you.

These structures are resistant to corrosion and mold. It is also worth noting fire safety, which is very important. Some designs include the possibility of installing wooden shelves.

IMPORTANT. It is convenient to assemble such a structure in a horizontal position, and only after that can it be lifted and installed in place.

Durable structures

If you want to make truly strong and reliable structures, you should choose the most reliable materials that can withstand heavy loads.

Racks can be made from a metal corner or a rectangular profile. You should not choose a size that is too large, 40 mm will be enough. Create a frame on which the shelves will ultimately be attached.

IMPORTANT. Fastening the shelves to the frame can be done by welding or bolts.

For shelves you will need a wooden board with a thickness of 15–25 mm; strength depends on this indicator.

REFERENCE.Wooden materials must be painted or another method of protection against fungus must be chosen.

The algorithm of your actions should be as follows:

1. Prepare in advance the materials and tools that you may need during the work process.
2. Next, prepare all the parts in accordance with the planned dimensions.
3. It is necessary to determine at what level the shelves will be made. Apply markings.
4. Weld the corners - the frame for the shelves - to the vertical posts. At this stage it is very important to control the horizontality of the elements.
5. When the frame is ready, it must be primed and painted to protect it from corrosion.
6. Now you can move on to making the shelves. They can be located along or across the frame.

Secure the shelves securely using self-tapping screws. Make sure that the structure you assemble is securely attached to the wall; this is important, because for various reasons the structure can collapse, thereby damaging the car.

Wooden structure

Such racks are usually made when there is a desire to save on materials. To create vertical racks, you need to purchase a burs of 100 mm, no less. For shelves, a 15–25 mm board is suitable, or it can be plywood or chipboard.

IMPORTANT. Wooden racks are very durable structures, but the load capacity is much lower compared to metal ones. Also, the fire hazard is very high.

To fasten shelves to such a frame, use metal mounting angles and M5 bolts 60 mm long.

We make it with our own hands

Shelves in the garage can be made with your own hands, starting from the very beginning, or you can purchase a ready-made structure and simply fix it in the place you need.

Wall shelf

To attach such shelves, you must use special brackets. They can be of various shapes. Your task is to choose those that can maximally compensate for the pressure of the load, as well as distribute the load over the entire surface of the wall. To mount it, you need to measure a horizontal line on the wall, focusing on it and then attaching the bracket in the future. It is recommended to use anchors for installation; this is more reliable than choosing self-tapping screws. When all the necessary fasteners are installed in place, you can proceed to installing the shelf, which can be wooden or plywood.

IMPORTANT. To make the structure more durable, you first need to attach 15x15 mm corners, and place a shelf on top of them. This solution will avoid the possibility of the shelf bending under the weight of the load.

Tool shelf

We've sorted out the usual shelves and racks, but what about small tools? It can be placed just as conveniently on a shelf, only an unusual one. This is a special shield shelf.

Also, the structures cannot be classified as products with high load-carrying capacity or strength, but they are very convenient for placing small tools that should always be at hand.

Do not overload this design. The consequences will be unpleasant. The height should correspond to the height of the person who will use the shelf. Its upper edge should not be higher than a person’s height.

To make this convenient design, follow the given algorithm of actions:

1. First, decide on the dimensions that are convenient for you and suitable for the dimensions of your garage.
2. Make a shield. The material that is suitable for this purpose is plywood.
3. Using a jigsaw, cut out the shelves with side walls.
4. When using long self-tapping screws, assemble the structure and attach it to the shield. This will be a place to store small jars with bolts.
5. For future placement of tools, attach threaded hooks to the shield. Try to think about a place for each tool in advance. This will allow you to rationally position the hooks.
6. To fix the structure you created on the wall, attach brackets to the back. Fix directly to the wall.

Following the given algorithm, you can quite easily create such a convenient shelf in your garage, on which everything will be in its place.