# Lumber storage for a garage shop



## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Hi all, I would like to solve my lumber storage issue once and for all and was hoping I could get some good suggestions. I have pretty much ruled out establishing racks on a wall. The only wall available has windows.

I have been thinking of making a rolling cart with one half shelves and the other half sheet good storage. Any advise, suggestions, examples, or plan recommendations would be most welcome.


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## dennis (Aug 3, 2006)

I'd just put it all on the table saw under the peacock.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

I don't know about the peacock, he said something about moving to Idaho in the near future.

: ^ )


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## bbrooks (Jan 3, 2007)

I guess a lot would depend on how much wood you have on hand. If it weighed more than say 500 lbs, you would have a tough time building a cart for it, not to mention moving it when you needed too.

The carts I have seen so far were mainly designed for sheet goods. It would not be difficult to adapt them to hold lumber as well. The lumber would probably have to be stacked in the middle, to avoid overweighting the cart to one side.

I would try to find an area I could build a lumber rack in. Maybe you could move the tools and such around to allow this to happen. Just a thought.


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## BassBully (Mar 8, 2007)

The rolling cart is a good idea.

I would also suggest positioning all of your wall cabinets so the tops are at the same position. Then, you can lay boards on top of the cabinets. This could potentially give you at least 12" of space all the way around your shop.

If you have a storage shed, you could obviously put wood in there. However, if there's not enough room, you could build an "addition" onto your shed that is enclosable. Something where you can lay boards flat and slide them in and out from an access door. This could also be built on the side of your house. Put a small inclined roof on it so water is shed away.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

I would hope I could keep it under 500 lbs. I have to share the garage space with my wife and kids. This means I might get one and a half walls. Good idea relative to using the space on top of cabinets. Been storing some small items there, but they could be moved.

I'm thinking of a cart that has perhaps 3 sections. Center is for full sheets, one side is for partial sheets and the other side has shelfs. I was thinking of using a commercial rack such as those you would find at woodcraft to hold the lumber.

Overall demensions are perhaps 8' long 30" wide and 60" tall. This would allow me to use the 55" shelf brackets.

There was an interesting sheet good roller in Woodsmith #167 (pg. 5) that could be placed in the end areas where sheets roll in and out. It is basically a 1" PVC pipe with a 1/2" black pipe in the center. Looks cheap, easy, and useful.

What do you all think?


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

did you see the WoodWhisperer's shop? He has something like a room divider set up that holds his plywoods etc. Not sure what your shop space is like or if this works but you might be able to play with the idea to get a double-service out of it.


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## bbrooks (Jan 3, 2007)

Some shops say to stand the plywood up on end to store. Other people say build a cart and store it on its side. Both claim it prevents warping, but storing it flat is the only way I know to do that.

I guess a lot depends on your space. If you could store your sheets upright in a corner, then your cart could be used for storing your lumber only. Might be a help.


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

The WoodWhisperer clamps his upright sheets. 
(I hope I got that right, Mark).


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## bbrooks (Jan 3, 2007)

Maybe he will weigh in with some comments, or maybe even a podcast on the subject.


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## Muddler (Mar 4, 2007)

what about a ceiling mounted rack?


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## bbrooks (Jan 3, 2007)

That would work if you do not have too much wood to put up. You would not want to weight it so heavily that it breaks the joists.


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

Or comes tumbling down on those items below.


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## oscorner (Aug 7, 2006)

Overhead would be good if you're not dealing with full sheets of 3/4 ply or MDF, otherwise you'd probably be crushed trying to get them down. I currently have mine stored on the side. It works well as long as the ply can be stacked tightly. If it is allowed to lean it will bend.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

I've ruled out overhead in my case. We are already storing some other stuff there and I am worried about the weight. I think I will build a rolling cart and perhaps use some shelves high on a couple of walls and perhaps the tops of the cabinets.

I'm trying to keep the amount of lumber on hand to a reasonable amout. Hopefully, I can be successful.

I've been going through all of my old magazines looking for plans. Hopefully I will get started soon.


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

Not sure if you can open this (and I know that you don't want wall storage) but for anyone doing research, this might be of interest). I hope it opens for you.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Thanks. It opened for me.


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## clarkcustoms (Mar 12, 2007)

I went to my local big box lumber store,lets just say it has a" Ho"at the beginning a "de" in the middle and an "ot" at the end and asked if by chance would they happen to have any shelving units that had accidently been run into by a way ward fork lift driver,wouldn't you know they did have some of their heavy duty adjustable shelves out back that had been bent up do to an employee with lead in his/her foot. I picked them up for the price of scrap,took them home,straightened out the bent legs and put some locking casters on the legs and I now have a heavy duty roll around lumber storage units with adjustable shelves. The best part is as long as there's no shortage of forklift drivers with heavy feet and low common sence there will always be a supply of shelving units thats needing repair.
Sincerely,
Jim at
Clark Customs


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

that's a super tip!!!!


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Cool. You will have to post some photos it you have time. Hopefully, it will not start a run on them.


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## Drew1House (Mar 18, 2007)

I have been thinking about storage in the garage quite a bit lately… one thing I looked at a lot was a lift. Someday I suspect Ill get one (they are expensive but relative to the cost of the structure itself a $2700 lift could be worth it. Park project car on top of it and the 4 wheelers underneath. That being said I have been thinking about taking and making a set of storage shelves underneath the area we park on. Make it so the car comes in the garage and drives up a 2 foot ramp that sits on top of storage. This may take some welding but it could be done. I have been thinking about it for a month.

Drew


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

I think Drew likes playing with big toys!! 
Sounds like great ideas you have.


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## DaBull (Mar 28, 2007)

ShopNotes #55 has a great design and plan as well as a cutting diagram for a rolling storage rack. Unfortunately it can't be downloaded . August Publishing will fax it (not recommended) or snail mail it. It has room for sheets, shorts and longs as well as a provision for a panel cutter.


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## DaBull (Mar 28, 2007)

Just as a PS to the above: You can see a picture of the rack as well as just the cutting diagram at www.shopnotes.com/issues/055/extras/roll-around-store-all/


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Thanks DaBull. This really fits the bill.


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## BigJohn (Sep 6, 2007)

I have a .pdf file of issue 55 if anyone wants it. Just let me know.


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## Tangle (Jul 21, 2007)

Gosh Wayne, it's hard to find a space to comment. Take a look at my shop photos. I have a stationary rack like you describe. It has space for sheet goods with racks for lumber on the side and on top. You might not be able to see the rack. It's always pretty full.


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## Tangle (Jul 21, 2007)

I just looked a the pic and yuou can't see the rack.


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## edp (Jul 23, 2007)

With space being such a limited commodity for me I have learned to plan carefully. I do not store any sheet goods other than decent sized drops frpm completed jobs. When I am ready for sheet goods, I go get them. Solid stock is another matter. I buy my Oak in 600 bdft lots because that is what my F150 will carry comfortably, and I can get that amount planed to thickness over a weekend. This I stack outside under a black tarp, elevated about 14" off the ground. Been doing it like this for years with no problem. My shop space I reserve for tools and assembly.

Ed


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## Tangle (Jul 21, 2007)

Wayne,
I just thought of something else we do. We stack sheet goods on two sawhorses in the saddle shop next to my layout table. we now have a finishing bench that is 8 foot square. we just throw a tarp over the sheet goods. It becomes a real solid bench.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Thanks. Great ideas. I think I am going to have to completely redesign my shop. The stuff in it is out of control. I'm hoping to get some time to work on it when I take vacation in a couple of weeks.


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## Frank (Nov 19, 2006)

Hi Wayne;
--why not own a piece of NH real estate….

I was talking to a friend on Saturday and he was mentioning a barn and carriage house, in very good condition that he is wanting me to take down and I can have for free….or any can have for free. So all you need to do is tear it down and number the beams and wood….ship to Sacramento, CA and you've got a 'big wood closet' for all your wood storage, plus you now have bragging rights to owning a piece of NH real estate….LOL

I know we laugh at this, but the barn and carriage house are both in very good condition. I would be thinking about taking this one down and still am considering, however I also have a major cabin renovation going on at this moment also….oh well.

Take care and enjoy your week in the redwoods….
Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

I would love to own a piece of NH real estate. Unfortunately, I have a small lot in the suburbs that has no room for additional buildings. I'm hoping to move back to the country one of these days. Thanks. Redwoods are still two working weeks away.


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## HokieMojo (Mar 11, 2008)

Wayne,
Did you end up making something? Just wondering what you decided on.
-JC


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

I was wondering the same thing as JC


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## brunob (Dec 26, 2006)

When I was in my garage, I had overhead storage. I used a lift salvaced from an old tent/trailer camper (free). Cables, crank and lift mechanism.


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## GMman (Apr 11, 2008)

I was thinking the same thing as Jim


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## Sawkerf (Dec 31, 2009)

Solving the wood storage problem is the dream of every man,woman, and child that has ever spent more than an hour in a wood shop.

If you come up with a plan that truely solves it "once and for all", let me know. I'll invest in your idea and we'll both get rich.

Until then, I'll just keep leaning it against the wall, piling it up on the workbench (which is ALWAYS in the way), and laying it on the floor. Laying it on the floor seems best for me. It keeps me alert as I move around the shop. - lol


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

I'm still leaning the wood against the wall. My garage shop is a huge mess and I have not been getting much woodworking done lately. I need to get all of the household stuff that has seemed to migrate from the house into the shop.

Any tips on wife management?


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## dvhart (Feb 22, 2010)

@WayneC, I struggle with that as well. Any big items that are in the way in the house end up just outside the garage ^H shop door for me to deal with when I get a chance to go work in the shop. Some things that have helped: provide easy access to extra storage (I added plywood above my joists so there is a reasonable storage area above the garage). I am planning on adding storage for costco sized grocery items (soda boxes, etc) so they don't sit on the floor in front of the freezer which has baby bouncers and 50lb dog food bags on it. Good luck to you!


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## alanealane (Oct 1, 2007)

Wayne, in my basement shop, the only wall I had available for a rack also had windows. So instead of using the wall itself to support my lumber, I built my own "wall" out of 2×4 and 2×6 dimensional lumber. I basically framed a wall with its 'studs' 24" on-center. To get it to stand by itself, I put a 12" to 18" horizontal 'foot' that goes in the same direction as the shelf brackets at the bottom of each stud.  At the end of each of those feet, I installed a self-leveling foot that allowed me to compensate for the unevenness of my shop floor (whoever poured the floor made it slope steeply away from the walls). I went to the lumber store and got their heavy-duty shelf track and brackets. They work extremely well.

It's not really a movable rack, but it doesn't really take much more floorspace than an wall-mounted lumber rack would, and I've got about 1200 lbs of lumber and veneer on it with room to spare. The rack doesn't hinder any light coming through the windows either.

Just another idea amidst many other good ideas here…

I hope everything turns out well for you!


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## Sawkerf (Dec 31, 2009)

This was originally posted almost three years ago, has been viewed more than 16,000 times, and drawn 40 replies - none of them giving a "once and for all" solution.

I'll keep waiting…......................but I ain't gonna hold my breath!! - lol


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

I'm not sure there is a "once and for all" solution. I have seen a number of nice projects. I did slap this together one Saturday morning out of need.


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## 8iowa (Feb 7, 2008)

Here in Gainesville, I only have 1/2 the garage. (194 sq ft) Any kind of horizontal storage for lumber is just not practical. Either you take up too much floor space with boards stacked according to type, or have a single stack where the board that you need is of course always on the bottom. Needless to say, it is not a good idea to have your lumber in direct contact with a concrete floor.

I'm using a corner in the garage, about 3' x 3', for vertical storage. I plan to build a floor rack to hold boards a little more efficiently. In a small shop, storing just about anything on it's smallest footprint is a necessity.


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

I have a lumber storage problem too.At the moment I have all or most of my wood stored in my shop. This means it takes up valuable space ,so I need really to build a seperate small building for it to allow me to get some more needed space back in my woodshop for new machines I have my eyes or mind on .Alistair


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## bobkberg (Dec 26, 2009)

I guess I'm similar to everyone else…I don't store large sheets - just buy them as needed. I built a rack out of the 1 1/2 by 1 1/2 steel framing and keep the large stuff up there. I have a rack on the ceiling for long skinny stuff (moulding, etc.) and there's always something that won't fit anywhere….


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## Konomigon (Jul 26, 2009)

I store lumber lumber under my workbench. I also make a free standing lumber rack thats kind of like a tall skinny workbench. It's about 8 feet long by 4 feet tall and about 30 inches deep. The rack is too tall for working, but makes a great storage space for bench top tools not in use.


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## HokieMojo (Mar 11, 2008)

it looks like it works for you. I bet it is heavy though. I have a lot of trouble moving my lumber rack at this point.


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## CL810 (Mar 21, 2010)

I don't know if this will work for you but it helped me.

http://i982.photobucket.com/albums/ae307/JACL810/WoodShelves.jpg

The front lower section handles 4' x 4' sheets while the top 3 shelves will handle wood 8' long. The lower back 3 sections are for scrap. All sides are pegboard and I lined the inside with 1/8th masonite so boards wouldn't hit the framing.


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## CL810 (Mar 21, 2010)

H


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## wasmithee (Jan 10, 2011)

Here's a post of the one I built:
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/42798


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## rieferman (Jan 12, 2011)

When I built my miter saw countertop, I cantilvered it off the wall in such a way that I have 8.5 feet of run underneath it for lumber stacking. Then, above the bench, I used 12 inch lengths of pipe into holes in 2×4's lagged to the studs to hold more lumber. My opinion is that a lumber shelf should hold no more than 3-4 boards, so I spaced the shelves about every 8 inches or so. More lumber on one shelf means buried pieces near the bottom that basically become land locked.


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## orinmed1 (Feb 27, 2013)

For my sheet goods and boards I built a rack 5 feet wide (5ft for baltic birch) and 8 feet long. I Have my shop in my basement and I have 12 foot ceiling. I used an atv winch with a inverter to go from 120 to 12V and attached it with a series of pulleys to raise and lower the rack as I need lumber. When it is lowers I have two bars the extend to the closest wall 3 feet or so to stabilize the rack and keep it from swaying. When I am done, I fold the stabilizing bars back and raise it up tight to the ceiling again. Works pretty awesome. I swiped the idea from my dad who made stairs that folded down to get up in the attick of his garage. As he grew older using a rope to raise and lower the stairs got to be too much so he attached a cheap harbor freight winch…..and bingo….life was easier. I try not to put more than a 350 pounds of lumber on the rack…..based on the opinion of a friend who is a structural engineer. I figure he knows what he is talking about so…..I listen. Good luck.


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## PaulHWood (Mar 26, 2012)

overhead, but I have a 9-'0" ceiling in the garage

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/122833

plywood, not mobile because I wanted to stand them up and when I did that, it won't roll around the garage do to garage doors. used the side for hanging jigs, etc

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/122825


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## dschlic1 (Jan 3, 2013)

I purchased three heavy duty shelving rails from the big box store and a dozen shelf brackets. Screwed the rails to the concrete block wall of my garage, placed the brackets about every three inches, instant (sort of) lumber rack. Rails are three feet long, so go from floor up to about three feet. Most windows are higher than three feet. Should be doable.


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## 716 (Nov 22, 2015)

I bought these from Lowes a couple of months ago. They were selling them for $20 or so so I bought a lot and spaced them more dense than recommend. Cannot be happier!
Rockler seems to have them on sale from time to time too. If not in a hurry wait till Father's Day or Black Friday


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