# Storage Space Galore



## kenhouston (Jan 15, 2015)

Storage Galore.
My wife had piles of boxes stuffed in a room we (SHE) needed, so the boxes had only one place left to go, the garage. I was building a shop and didn't want to give up the space. We're talking a LOT of boxes. Attached is a photo of my solution, along with a detail of the component parts required. Materials are whatever plywood you feel like using and some standard electrical contractor items, available at most big box stores or an electrical warehouse supplier.

There was a beam running across the garage ceiling as a support for the floor joists of the game room above. The beam is a pair of 2×12's. Plenty strong. I lag bolted a 2×4 to the bottom of the beam, just because I needed a spacer which would allow more height for whatever I put on the shelf. I then lag bolted a 2×6 to the bottom of that. This gave me distance from the ceiling and support for the plywood shelf, and everything that was going to end up on it. This was the support for the back edge of the plywood. On the back wall I screwed a 1×2 cleat to the wall.

I then lag bolted electrical strut to the ceiling, 2 feet out from the beam, and suspended threaded rod with strut nuts. To the bottom of the rod I attached I-beam clips (pipe hangers) to support the front edge of the plywood shelf. Note: There are several style of these clips. The one in the attached picture was the best for my purposes. Others had odd angles that wouldn't align perpendicular to the plywood, or different positions for the two threaded holes. I ended up finding the ones I wanted at a fastener distributor in town, which was half the price of the off-the-shelf clips at the big box store.



















We have nearly 36 plastic "Sterlite" boxes up there. Each box is 12×18 x 24. Everything my wife stores is up there. And she was kind enough to put a big label on each one. We found some great deals on the boxes. You can pay an arm and a leg for these things if you don't shop and if you don't wait for a sale.

I still have 7 feet 1 inch overhead clearance under the shelves and have yet to find that to be a problem. In fact, on the bottom of the shelves I mounted several T-8 fluorescent light fixtures and haven't smashed a bulb yet.


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

It's amazing how much "stuff" we accumulate and store because we think we might need it some day but that day never comes.


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

Amen to that, Alaska Guy. My house is way too cluttered…


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

Why not build a small storage shed or even try to get rid of some of the stuff? In a work shop overhead space is also important.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## kenhouston (Jan 15, 2015)

Helluvawreck, I'd love a small shed but (1) I have limited area for one due to deed restrictions and (2) I'd probably end up using it to get the dust collector outside the shop. And asking her to get rid of some storage items is like asking me to get rid of some tools.

So far, the loss of overhead space hasn't been a problem. I'm a one piece at a time builder, making furniture for myself and family. The beam was there anyway so I already had kind of an obstacle up there. Works for my purposes and beats my alternatives - clambering around in a hot dusty attic.


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## CopperTree (Jul 3, 2015)

I've added similar storage shelves to my garage, and a few customer garages. They work great and keep a lot of stuff of the floor.

I use threaded rod, fender washers, and nuts up through the trusses for support and a 2"x4"/2"x6" beam at the front edge. It's a neat little system without much expense and the threaded rod is always adjustable.


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## kenhouston (Jan 15, 2015)

Nice work, and a great use of potentially wasted space.


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