I've been wanting to tackle this project ever since we moved in and it kept getting pushed to the end of the priorities list. Our goal with the one car garage is to epoxy coat the floor and create a space for all of our tools; basically turn it into more of a workshop. Right now it's a mess because we have no great storage system for all of our holiday/seasonal junk. So this weekend we finally had some time to start on our storage shelving unit and we ended up being able to complete it! Minus painting it if I ever get around to that. :)
The hardest part about this project was definitely trying to keep everything level with the sloping garage floor and the imperfect sheetrock. I swear that sheetrock is like one of those wavy circus mirrors -but instead of making you laugh you want to cry.
This tutorial is modified from Ana White's SUPER helpful garage shelving tutorial. She's pretty much the khaleesi of all things DIY and if you haven't checked out her many tutorials, you're really missing out! So much inspiration but I have to hold myself back sometimes from thinking, 'Hm, why build a basic bench when I can build an entire outdoor furniture collection complete with storage seating underneath, and why stop there? Let's build a whole new damn deck first!'. Gotta reign it in girl, you ain't no khaleesi.
Anyways, here we go!
Some Thoughts:
-You can modify the height/depth/space between shelves/etc. of this plan to fit your garage and storage needs
-I purchased bins from Costco and built my shelves around them so I knew it would fit my needs. I also wanted to store my trash bins under the left side of the shelves so I planned around that. Keep in mind what you'll be storing and if you need to increase/decrease the space between one of the shelves.
-I used 2x6 boards for the shelving but you can also use 2x4s or even plywood
-Make sure you secure your shelves to the wall to prevent them from tipping/falling over
Tools Needed
Saw (I used a table saw, you can also use circular)
Drill
Sander
Tape Measure, Straight Edge, Pencil
Eye and Ear protection
Supplies Needed
2 - 8' long 2x4s PER Leg Support (I had 4 leg supports, so I bought 8)
4 - 2x6 - length of shelf PER SHELF (I bought 24 2x6 @ 20' long because I had 6 shelves, 8' long each)
2x4s to attach shelf to the wall (*this is optional, you can also just mount the shelf directly into the wall studs)
Wood filler
2.5" self tapping wood screws
2.5" screws
Approximate Total Cost: $175
Measure + Build Shelf Supports
Mark out placement of shelf supports on each of the legs. Attach the legs to the shelf supports with your 2-1/2" self tapping screws.
I measured the bins that would be going on the shelves and decided on the space between shelves according to that. I attached my top shelf support 1.5" below the top of my 2x4 so the shelves would fit flush on them.
Attach Shelf Boards to Leg Supports
Attach 1 of the shelf boards to the top front of your leg supports with screws. That way you'll have the basic shape of your shelves together and you can stand it up to attach the rest of your legs. I attached the outer boards first, flush to the inside of the leg boards. Once your shelves are upright, use a level to make sure the boards are all straight and that you're attaching your shelf boards square to the leg supports.
Attach Shelving Unit to the Wall
This is where it got a little tricky for me - our garage floor slopes and the wall is no where near straight so I used shims behind a few of the leg supports to make sure the shelf was flush to the wall. Also, we have an electrical outlet right where the middle leg support was going to be attached to the wall, so instead I attached 1x4s horizontally along the wall and then attached the shelves into the 1x4 boards. Depending on where your studs are, you can skip this step and just attach the shelves directly into your studs.
Finishing It Off
Use wood filler to fill in the holes and let it dry. Sand off filler after it's completely dry in the direction of the wood grain and vacuum off all sanding residue prior to any staining/painting.
