Everyone needs “deep” storage, that is, a place for camping gear,
holiday decorations and seasonal toys and clothes. Not to mention all the other
stuff you want to tuck away for a few months and keep clean. This cabinet
system fits the bill. It’s spacious, inexpensive and easy to build. You can
also easily customize its size to suit just about any open wall space and your
storage needs. We tucked ours up against the ceiling to fill the little-used
space over the car hoods.
The cabinet is divided into 32-in. wide compartments
because they hang from every other garage stud. Sliding cabinet doors keep out
the dust while allowing wide open, instant access to your
stuff.
In this article, we’ll show you how to build this project
in four simple steps. Uncomplicated 2x2 and plywood construction makes assembly
a snap. In fact, two of us built the cabinets you see in this article in about
three hours. If you have a circular saw, a jigsaw, a screw gun and moxie, you
can build these cabinets in an afternoon.
Click Image to enlarge.
Click Image to enlarge.
Planning your cabinets
Like most overhead wall cabinets, these are hung from
wall studs. They’re built in place using the ceiling and wall surfaces for the
backs and top. This simplifies construction and saves on materials. If you
don’t have a finished wall behind the cabinets, begin the project by screwing
1/2-in. plywood or drywall over the wall studs. If your ceiling is open, add
drywall or plywood there as well to keep out dust.
Most garage walls have studs spaced every 16 in., so we
sized individual bays to fit over two stud spaces, or 32 in. If you have studs
that are spaced every 24 in., make the compartments that
wide.
We sized these cabinets to use 4x8 plywood sheets
efficiently. When planning your cabinet dimensions, consider:
Height: In most
garages, a 4-ft. cabinet against the ceiling leaves about 5 ft. between cabinet
bottoms and the garage floor. If you park long vehicles in the garage or have a
shallow garage, you may need to use the space under the cabinets for the fronts
of vehicles. If so, measure the height of the hood to make sure you’ll have
clearance when choosing cabinet heights. Also consider the heights of items you
may want to store beneath the cabinets. Motorcycles, bikes, storage cabinets
and wheeled tools are ideal candidates for that space. Two other heights that
efficiently use plywood are 32 in. (six panels per sheet) and 24 in. (eight
panels per sheet). Keep in mind that protruding cabinets invite head bumps. So
make sure walking patterns don’t pass too close to
corners.
Depth: If you
need to walk in front of the cabinets to access car doors, reduce the cabinet
depth. Park your car in the garage to determine the maximum depth that still
leaves plenty of room for foot traffic, and size accordingly. Depths of 16 or
12 in. will allow for six or eight panels per sheet respectively with little
waste.
Width: The cabinets don’t have to start against a
wall as we show, but they do have to begin and end on a stud. So locate and
mark all studs before deciding on how many compartments fit on the wall.
There’s a good chance you’ll have an odd 16-in.wide compartment at one end. You
can use those compartments for open shelving or build oversized sliding doors
to cover a standard opening plus the oddball. Be sure to consider access to
service doors near the cabinets. Too close and it might be difficult to
negotiate around cars to get into the house or back
yard.
Fig. A Assembly
Click Image to enlarge.
Lay out the cabinet footprint on the floor with masking
tape and park the cars in the garage before you start building the cabinets.
Walk around the garage and test access to the cars and service doors to make
sure your cabinet layout is garage user–friendly.
Selecting the materials
Just about any type of sheet material will work for your
cabinets. For a handsome, natural wood look, we used 3/4-in. birch plywood ($32
per sheet) for the end and divider panels and 1/4-in. birch plywood ($25 per
sheet) for the sliding doors. You can reduce the cost by using MDF
(medium-density fiberboard, $15 per sheet) for painted cabinets or even
construction-grade plywood ($15 per sheet) for down-and-dirty utility
cabinets.
The sliding doors glide on plastic track (see Buyer’s
Guide, p. 54) that’ll handle any 1/4-in. thick material. You can even choose
1/4-in. hardboard or Peg-Board for ventilated cabinets. If you select plywood,
plan to seal all the surfaces and edges of the doors to prevent
warping.
Four-step cabinet building
These cabinets are incredibly easy and quick to build,
because you only have to snap lines and freehand most of the cuts with a
circular saw or jigsaw (Photo
1).
Attach the end panels and
mount the wall cleats
Begin the cabinet assembly by attaching the first end
panel to the end wall (Photo
2). To make it easier, start screws in the panel and then hold it
against the wall, especially if you’re short on help. Angle the screws slightly
at the corner to hit the corner stud and add more screws into the first stud
near the corner. Attach the end panel at the opposite end by securing it to a
2x2 cleat that’s nailed and then lag-screwed to the stud. Cut all the cleats 3
in. shorter than the end panels to leave a 1-1/2 in. space at the top and
bottom of the panels for the ladders (Photo 4). It’s easiest to nail the
cleats to the wall first and then install the lag screws in the center of the
studs. Remember that they support nearly all of the weight of the cabinet and
contents.
Build and install the
ladders
You’ll be nailing the ladder parts together before
holding them up and fastening them to the end panels and wall. It’s easy to
split 2x2s, so predrill ends before nailing. Don’t assume the ladders will be
the same size, because walls and end panels can be out of plumb. Measure and
assemble the top and bottom ladders independently rather than making carbon
copies. Make sure the rung edges line up with the stud edges so the framing
will be aligned for the panels. Since 2x2s are generally only sold in 8-ft.
lengths, cut the rails to break at a wall cleat, and splice the sections
together by doubling the 2x2 rungs at that point. They’ll be wobbly, but as
soon as they’re fastened, they’ll be plenty sturdy.
Sight along the outside of the bottom ladder or string
lines along the outside edge to make sure the ladder is straight before
fastening the divider panel bottom (Photo 11). Otherwise the sliding
doors might slip out of the tracks or
bind.
Install the dividers,
bottoms and shelves
You’ll need to cut 1-1/2 in. corner notches at the top
and bottom of the back of the divider panels to clear the ladder framing
(Photos 9 and
10). Cut them a little on the big side so you won’t have to struggle
with wedging the divider panels into place. Place one on each side of the
cleats. You’ll have to add another cleat on the bottom of the plywood side to
support the cabinet bottom (Photo 13). Then you’re ready to
install the sliding door track (Photo 12). Cut
the cabinet bottoms to fit against the door track and notch the corners
wherever necessary to clear framing. Decide on shelving depths and heights,
then cut 1x2 cleats to match the
depths.
Install the sliding doors
and finish
Cut the 1/4-in. door panels to width so they overlap the
end and/or divider panels on both sides of the opening. Cut the panels to
length so they clear the bottom track by about 1/8 in. when you slip them into
the top track first. If you’re using plywood for the doors, cut them from the
backside to avoid splintering on the “show side.”
For a finish detail, we covered the exposed end panel
edges and the exposed 2x2 ladder edges with maple (Photo
17). Use any
wood type you’d like, but select 1x3s for the ladder trim and 1x2s for the end
panels.
Finish the cabinets with
latex paint or polyurethane. If you’re using plywood for the door panels, coat
the backside first, then flip them over and immediately seal the front side to
prevent the doors from
warping.
Buyer’s Guide
1/4-in. x 6-ft. track. Catalog No. KV241760, Woodworker’s
Hardware, (800) 383-0130, www.wwhardware.com.
Shopping
List
Lumber:
For every four 32-in. bays, you’ll
need:
End and divider panels, bottoms: Two 4x8 sheets of
3/4-in. plywood Shelving: One 4x8 sheet of 3/4-in.
plywood
Sliding door panels: Two
4x8 sheets of 1/4-in. plywood
Framing: Eight 8-ft. 2x2s
Shelving cleats: approx. 4 ft. of 1x2 per 24-in.
shelf
Hardware:
Lag screws: Sixteen 1/4 x 3-1/2
in.
Framing fasteners: 1 lb. of 16d
nails
Panel fasteners: 1 lb. of
2-in. screws
Shelving cleats and
cabinet bottom fasteners: 1 lb. of 1-5/8 in. screws
Track and trim fasteners: Small box of 1-in.
brads
Door track: One 4-ft., one
8-ft. (see Buyer’s Guide).
Finger pulls: Four 3/4-in.
diameter
1 Rip one 8-ft. long, 24-in. wide length of
3/4-in. plywood for the end panels and 22-1/2 in. widths for each divider
panel. Cut the panels to 4-ft. lengths.
2 Press one end panel against the ceiling and the
rear wall and screw it to the corner and first wall stud. Angle the back screws
slightly to catch the corner stud.
3 Locate the studs. Mark one edge with a 4-ft.
level, then nail the end panel wall cleat into the last stud, spacing it 1-1/2
in. from the ceiling.
4 Press the end panel against the ceiling and
wall, then screw it to the outside edge of the wall cleat with 2-in.
screws.
5 Cut the ladder rails to fit between the end
panels. Then carefully lay out the 2x2 rung locations using the wall studs as a
guide for spacing. Nail the ladders together. Screw splices together with 3-in.
screws.
Click Image to enlarge.
6 Tack a temporary cleat 1-3/4 in. below the
ceiling, rest the top ladder on it, and lift it into place. Screw it to the end
panels and then fasten it to any available ceiling framing and to the wall with
lag screws.
Click Image to enlarge.
7 Snap a chalk line 1-1/2 in. above the bottom of
the end panels, add another temporary cleat and screw the bottom ladder to the
end panels. Align the 2x2 rail to the chalk line and nail it to the wall
studs.
8 Nail the divider wall cleats to the studs, then
predrill three evenly spaced 3/16-in. pilot holes and bolt the cleats to the
studs with 3-1/2 in. lag screws.
9 Cut notches in the divider panels to clear the
back upper and lower ladder rails. (The divider panels stop just short of the
front ladder rails; see Photo 10.)
10 Lift the divider panels into position. Using
2-in. screws, attach them to the wall cleats and top ladder rungs
only.
11 String a line along the bottom corner of the
front rail. Straighten the rail to the line, clamp it, then screw the panels to
the rungs.
Click Image to enlarge.
12 Cut the tracks to length, then tack the bottom
track to the bottom rail with 1-in. brads. Punch the brads to the bottom of the
grooves with a nail set. Spread polyurethane glue on the top track and tack it
into place.
13 Cut 1x2 cleats and screw them to the bottom of
the divider panels to support the bottom panels. Cut the bottom panels to butt
against the door track. Screw them into place.
14 Measure the distance from the top of the
bottom track to the inside of the top track and subtract 1/8 in. to determine
door height. Cut the door from 1/4-in. plywood.
15 Test-fit all the doors and slide them to the
closed position. Mark the best finger pull placement. Then drill 3/4-in. holes
and press in the finger pulls. (A dab of polyurethane glue will keep them from
popping out.)
16 Lay out shelf sizes and spacing as desired,
then cut and screw 1x2 cleats to the inside of the cabinets and cut the 3/4-in.
shelves to fit.
17 Cut 1x2 end panel trim to extend about 3/4 in.
below the end panel. Nail into place. Cut and nail 1x3 trim for the top and
bottom rails.
Art
Direction • MARCIA WRIGHT ROEPKE
Photography • BILL ZUEHLKE
Technical Illustration • EUGENE
THOMPSON
