The average two-car garage has the
upper regions of three 24-ft.-long
walls ready and available for big-time
storage. Add a continuous 2-ft.-deep
shelf on all three walls and you’re talking
about a huge, accessible storage platform
without taking up any floor space whatsoever.
This project will work on just about
any garage on the planet, although you
may have to customize it a bit for your
garage. (More on adapting it later.) We
show this project in a garage with finished
walls, but the assembly techniques will
also work on garages with open studs.
While these shelves aren’t sturdy
enough to store your anvil collection,
they’re plenty strong enough for off-season
clothes, sporting goods and camping
gear. In short, just about anything you’d want to hoist up onto an 8-ft.-high shelf
and out of the way. In general, keep the
weight under about 30 lbs. per linear foot.
The 23-in.-high apron under the shelf
is a great place to drive nails and hooks for
hanging garden tools, cords and hoses —
all that other stuff that clutters up the
garage. Add a closet rod between a couple
of braces and you have a convenient place
to hang jackets, raincoats or other clothes.
Cutting and installing the parts for an
entire garage will only take you a weekend.
As for skills, it’s a project any weekend
warrior can tackle. If you can handle
a circular saw, a screw gun and basic hand
tools, you’ll have no problems. For the
cleanest look, use a miter saw to cut the
trim. And to speed up the job, use a brad
nailer for most of the nailing.
Planning your shelves
There are no magic heights or
widths for your shelves; you'll
want to customize them for your
garage and needs. The best strategy
is to build a 3-ft.-long mockup
of our shelf and hold it against
the walls in various positions to
test the fit. It just takes a little
effort and may help prevent headaches
later. Then you can decide
what height and size the shelves
need to be to clear obstacles.
Some rules of thumb for sizing
and positioning:
• Choose shelf heights that'll
allow for enough space between
the ceiling and the shelf for the
tall items you plan to store.
• Make sure that shelves and
braces will clear obstructions
like garage doors, garage door
tracks and service doors.
• In foot traffic areas (near car
doors, for example), keep
braces above head level and
back from doorways, so you
don't bump into them.
• If you have an SUV or a pickup
truck, make sure the braces
won't obstruct the doors.
• If you need to build narrower
shelves, just shrink the plywood
braces and shelves by
the same amount.
FIGURE A High shelving plan
Click Image to enlarge.
Position shelves in all unobstructed zones along the ceiling.
Customize by varying heights and adding shelves, racks and
cabinets for special items.
Choosing the materials
Our shelving system, made from oak plywood
and solid oak trim, costs about $55
per 8 ft. of length. If you choose 3/4-in.
CDX (construction grade) plywood and
pine trim, you’ll whittle down the cost to
about $40 per 8-ft. section.We prefinished
everything with two coats of polyurethane.
If you choose to finish your shelves,
roll the finish on the full sheets of plywood
and brush the finish on all of the
trim boards before cutting. That’ll take
scads less time than finishing it later.
Measure the overall length of shelving
you intend to build and then use the
dimensions in Figure B to help calculate
the materials you need.
FIGURE B Shelf construction details
Click Image to enlarge.
Lay out the walls
and mount the
aprons
Rip each sheet into one
23-in.-wide apron and one
24-in.-wide shelf. Use the
factory edge of a “freehand”
cut shelf as a saw guide for
straight cuts on the other
shelves and aprons (Photo 1).
Snap a line on the wall to
mark the top of the apron
and then mark all of the
studs with masking tape.
Take your time with this
step; it’s important that the
apron nails anchor into solid
framing, since they support
the entire weight of the shelf.
To be sure, poke nails through the drywall
(just below the line, where holes will be
hidden) to find the centers of studs. Start
the first apron somewhere in the middle
of the wall, making sure that both ends fall
on the centers of the studs. Then work
toward the corners where the freehand
crosscut ends will be hidden. If you’re
working alone, partially drive a couple of
“stop” nails at the chalk line to help align
the apron (Photo 2). That’ll eliminate any
guesswork. Prestart a couple of nails at
stud locations before hoisting the apron
into place so you can tack it to the wall
while supporting it with one hand.
1. Rip 24-in.-wide shelves and 23-in.-wide aprons from
each 3/4-in. sheet of plywood. Use a factory edge
as a straightedge guide.
Click Image to enlarge.
2. Snap a chalk line to mark the top of the apron and then
mark the stud locations. Hold the plywood apron even with
the line and nail them with 16d finish nails, four to each stud.
Cut and mount the braces
Cut the triangular braces from 20-in.
squares (Photo 3). You can cut the diagonal
freehand because the trim will hide
minor cutting flaws. Use two 1-3/8-in.-
wide spacers to center and support the
brace while you’re screwing the 1x4 brace
cleat to the back side (Photo 4). Drill
1/8-in. pilot holes into both pieces and
countersink holes in the cleats to prevent
splitting. Use three 2-1/2-in. screws, one
about 2 in. in from each end and one
more centered. For the best appearance,
run the wood grain the same direction on
each brace.
Drill four pilot holes in the cleats, two
1-1/2 in. from the top and two more 3 in.
up from the bottom. Then screw each
brace assembly to the apron (Photo 5).
Use finish washers under the screws for a
polished look. Position them directly over
each apron seam and then place one more in the center so no shelf span is more than
4 ft. Make sure they’re flush and square
with the top of the apron.When shelving
turns a corner, center a brace exactly 24 in.
from one wall (Figure B). This brace will
support the front edge of the shelf on the
adjoining wall as well as a shelf end.
3. Rip 20-in.-wide lengths of plywood and cut them into 20-in.
squares. Draw a diagonal line and cut the triangular braces.
Use a sharp blade to minimize splintering.
Click Image to enlarge.
4. Rest the braces on 1-3/8-in.-thick spacer blocks, then
mark the center of each 1x4 cleat. Predrill 1/8-in. holes
and screw them together with three 2-1/2-in. screws.
Click Image to enlarge.
5. Fasten each brace to the apron, flush with the top,
with four 1-5/8-in. screws. Space the braces at the
ends and middle of each full sheet.
Click Image to enlarge.
6. Nail the shelves to the apron and to the braces with 2-in.
nails spaced every 8 in. Make sure joints meet at the center
of the 3/4-in. braces.
Nail on the shelves
and add the trim
Lay the shelves in place so joints fall over
the braces and nail them to the braces and
the apron with 2-in. brads spaced every 8
in. As with the apron, start somewhere in
the center of each wall so you’ll have factory
edges abutting each other at joints
and the saw cuts will be hidden at the
ends. Angle the nails slightly at joints so
they hit the center of the braces.
Add trim to the raw plywood edges for
a nice finished look. Trim also strengthens
the assembly and stiffens the shelves. Cut
the brace trim to fit with opposing 45-
degree bevels at each end. Then glue and
nail them to each brace with 2-in. brads
(Photo 7).
Starting at one end of each wall and
working toward the other, cut the shelf
edging to fit (Photo 8). Overlap plywood
joints by at least 2 ft. for better support.
The plywood will be a little wavy, but it’ll
straighten out as you nail on the trim.
Click Image to enlarge.
7. Cut the 1x2 brace trim pieces to fit with opposite 45-degree bevels
at each end. Glue and nail them to the braces with 2-in. brads.
Click Image to enlarge.
8. Cut the 1x2 edge trim to length, and glue and nail
it to the front edge of the shelf with 2-in. brads.
Editor’s Note
You can easily customize this shelving
to fit special items like golf
clubs, hanging clothes or anything
else that’s best stored in a cabinet
or on open shelving. Just assemble
a cabinet box like the one we show
here so that the sides fall over the
wall studs. Go as narrow as 16 in.
or as wide as 4 ft., but make sure
you can attach the cleats directly to
wall studs. Attach those cleats to
the back of the cabinet with 2-in.
screws placed every foot just as
you did with the braces, and then
screw the assembly to the wall.
The cabinet sides replace the
45-degree braces and supports the
shelf. A simple unit like this one
takes no more moxie than the
shelves required. If you’re interested
in drawers or fancier cabinetry
work, you’re only limited by your
cabinetmaking skills.
