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There are lots of ways to
create more storage space
in your garage, but you
won’t find another system that’s as simple,
inexpensive or versatile as this one. It begins with a layer of plywood fastened
over drywall or bare studs. Then
you just screw on a variety of hooks,
hangers, shelves and baskets to suit your
needs. That’s it. The plywood base lets
you quickly mount any kind of storage
hardware in any spot—no searching for
studs. And because you can place hardware
wherever you want (not only at
studs), you can arrange items close
together to make the most of your wall
space. As your needs change, you’ll
appreciate the versatility of this storage
wall too; just unscrew shelves or hooks
to rearrange the whole system.
We used three types of storage hardware: wire shelves, wire baskets, and a variety of hooks, hangers and brackets (see below). Selecting and arranging these items to suit your stuff can be the most time-consuming part of this project. To simplify that task, outline the dimensions of your plywood wall on the garage floor with masking tape. Then gather all the stuff you want to store and lay it out on your outline. Arrange and rearrange items to make the most of your wall space. Then make a list of the hardware you need before you head off to the hardware store or home center.
WIRE CLOSET SHELVES are sturdy and inexpensive,
and they don’t collect dust like solid shelving. They come
in lengths up to 12 ft. and you can cut them to any length
using a hacksaw or bolt cutters. Standard depths are 12, 16
and 20 in. A 12-in. x 12-ft. shelf costs about $10. You’ll get
more shelving for your money by cutting up long sections
than by buying shorter sections. Brackets and mounting
clips (Photo 4, below) are usually sold separately.
WIRE BASKETS are perfect for items that won’t stay
put on shelves (like balls and other toys) and for bags of
charcoal or fertilizer that tend to tip and spill. They’re also
convenient because they’re mobile; hang them on hooks
and you can lift them off to tote all your tools or toys to the
garden or sandbox. You’ll find baskets in a variety of shapes
and sizes at home centers and discount stores. The large
baskets we used cost about $10 each. You can use just
about any type of hook to hang baskets. Heavy-duty mirror
supports fit our baskets perfectly.
HOOKS, HANGERS AND BRACKETS handle all the
odd items that don’t fit on shelves or in baskets. Basic
hooks ($1 to $4) are often labeled for a specific purpose,
but you can use them in other ways. Big “ladder brackets,”
for example, can hold several long-handled tools. “Ceiling
hooks” for bikes also work on walls. Don’t write off the wall
area below the plywood — it’s prime space for items that
don’t protrude far from the wall. We drove hooks into
studs to hang an extension ladder.
Money, materials and planning
The total materials bill for the 6 x 16-ft. section of
wall shown here was about $200. Everything you
need is available at home centers. We used 3/4-in.-
thick “BC” grade plywood, which has one side
sanded smooth ($27 per 4 x 8-ft. sheet). You could
save a few bucks by using 3/4-in. OSB “chip board”
(oriented strand board; $16 per sheet) or MDF
(medium-density fiberboard; $23 per sheet). But
don’t use particleboard; it doesn’t hold screws well
enough for this job. Aside from standard hand tools,
all you need to complete this project is a drill to drive
screws and a circular saw to cut plywood. You may
also need a helper when handling plywood—full
sheets are awkward and heavy.
This project doesn’t require much planning; just decide how much of the wall you want to cover with plywood. You can cover an entire wall floor-to-ceiling or cover any section of a wall.We left the lower 3 ft. of wall and upper 18 in. uncovered, since those high and low areas are best used for other types of storage. To make the most of our plywood, we combined a course of full-width sheets with a course of sheets cut in half. If your ceiling height is 9 ft. or less, a single 4-ft.-wide course of plywood may suit your needs.
Cover the wall with plywood
When you’ve determined the starting height of the
plywood, measure up from the floor at one end of
the wall and drive a nail. Then measure down to the
nail from the ceiling and use that measurement to
make a pencil mark at the other end of the wall.
(Don’t measure up from the floor, since garage
floors often slope.) Hook your chalk line on the
nail, stretch it to the pencil mark and snap a line
(Photo 1).
Cut the first sheet of plywood to length so it ends at the center of a stud. Place the end you cut in the corner. That way the factory-cut edge will form a tight joint with the factory edge of the next sheet. Be sure to place the rough side of the plywood against the wall. Fasten the plywood with 10d finish nails or screws that are at least 2-1/4 in. long (Photo 2). We used trim screws, which have small heads that are easy to cover with a dab of spackling compound. Drive screws or nails every 12 in. into each stud. If you add a second course of plywood above the first as we did (Photo 3), you’ll have to cut the plywood to width. You can use a circular saw, but a table saw gives you faster, straighter cuts. Some home centers and lumberyards cut plywood for free or for a small charge.
With all the plywood in place, you could go ahead and mount your hardware. But we took a few extra steps to dress up our wall: First, we added 3/4-in. cove molding along the lower edge of the plywood. This gave us a neater look and covered up the chalk line and screw holes left by the support blocks. We also framed the window trim with doorstop molding to hide small gaps between the trim and the plywood. Then we caulked gaps between the sheets of plywood and filled screw holes. Finally, we primed the plywood, lightly sanded it with 100-grit sandpaper and painted it.
Click Image to enlarge.
1. Snap a level chalk line to mark the bottom edge of the plywood.
Locate studs and mark them with masking tape.
Click Image to enlarge.
2. Screw temporary blocks to studs at the chalk line. Start a few
screws in the plywood. Rest the plywood on the blocks and
screw it to studs.
Click Image to enlarge.
3. Set the upper course of plywood in place and screw it to studs.
Stagger the vertical joints between the upper and lower courses.
4. Fasten the back edge of shelves with plastic clips. Set a level on
the shelf and install the end brackets. Then add center brackets
every 2 ft.
5. Acrylic photo frames make
great label holders. Just slip
in your labels and hot glue the
frames to wire baskets. Frames
cost about $2 each at office
supply and discount stores.
Handy hooks
When you’re out shopping,
you might find elaborate hangers
designed to hold specific toys and
tools. These specialty hooks are
neat, but you don’t have to spend
$10 or more just to
hang a bike or garden
tools. With a little
ingenuity, you can
hang just about
anything on simple
screw-in hooks that
typically cost about
$1. You can place
hooks anywhere on
your plywood wall.
If you don’t put them
on the plywood, be
sure to locate them
at studs.
Hang ladders on
hooks below the plywood
for easy access.
Drill a hole at a
45-degree angle and
turn in a screw hook to
hang a bicycle by the
front wheel.
Editor's note: Now’s the time
to add outlets
I have a gripe with the
National Electrical Code. It
requires only one outlet in a
garage — and a single outlet is
all most builders install. That’s
an insult to all of us garage
dwellers and our beloved
power tools.
If your garage has bare stud walls, adding outlets is easy anytime. But if your walls are covered, our plywood storage wall makes adding outlets or extra circuits easier because you can cut big holes in the drywall to run wire and cover up the damage with the plywood. No patching needed.
Since the plywood itself will be covered with shelves and hangers, place new outlets below it for easier access. If you have an existing outlet that will be covered with plywood, cut a hole in the plywood about 1/8 in. larger than the junction box and add a box extender (see photo). All garage outlets must be either GFCI outlets or connected to a circuit that’s GFCI-protected, so you may need to replace your existing outlet with a GFCI version.
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