| In
This Article:
A "half ladder" is
built and nailed to a wall stud, then horizontal
"stretchers" are added to form another edge of the
shelf. Add some cleats for the back and side, apply some OSB
or plywood, and you've got yourself a quick'n'easy shelf unit. |
Related
Articles:
|
| Skill Level:
2-3
(Basic +) |
Time Taken:
3 Hours |
By
Bruce W. Maki,
Editor
Everybody Needs More Storage Space:
 |
In my own garage I had a corner that was not
very well organized. I badly needed some way to better utilize
the space, to store tools, equipment and miscellaneous
household stuff. |
The plan is to use the studs in the exposed garage wall to
support the shelves, with only one additional stud or post needed.
| I began by cutting the vertical post and the
front and side support "joists". The post was made
80" long. The front shelf supports ended up being
48" long (half of an 8' 2x4), though they could have been
perhaps an inch longer and still fit just fine. |
 |
The exact dimensions of each piece of lumber will depend on the
particular garage's stud layout, so what you might build will almost
certainly be of different dimension than what I built here. But the
principle is the same, and that's what I'm going to show.
 |
I began by assembling a "half ladder",
which was nothing more than the vertical post with the short
side supports nailed to it. |
| At the desired height of each shelf space (plus
1/2" for the shelf plywood) I made a line to mark the
bottom of the next 2x4 support. |
 |
 |
The "half ladder" assembly. It is much
easier to nail (or screw) boards together on the workbench. |
| The "half ladder" was nailed to a stud
about 4' from the corner. |
 |
 |
I deliberately planned the horizontal support
layout so this board would not interfere with the electrical
wire that ran through the wall. |
| I used Quick-Grip clamps to hold the boards in
place while I nailed them. This is especially helpful when
hand nailing or driving deck screws to attach 2x4's. |
 |
 |
After a few minutes the "half ladder"
was installed. Once attached to the wall stud it more
resembles a "full ladder". |
 |
I clamped the front support to the frame and
nailed it.
This method of fully overlapping the boards is perhaps the
strongest and simplest method I know for joining wood
together. |
 |
| After clamping each horizontal support in place,
I made sure it was level before I nailed it. |
 |
 |
This split is typical of what happens when nails
are driven close to the end of a board. Ardox (spiral or
twisted) nails are thinner than common nails and are less
likely to cause splitting. When I use deck screws in places
like this I pre-drill the holes, which usually eliminates the
splitting problem. |
 |
The front and side horizontal supports have been
installed.
The other side supports were simply nailed to the wall
studs. |
 |
| The back cleat: I clamped the ends to the
other supports and nailed the board to the wall studs. |
 |
 |
The completed frame. This was so easy, I can't
even call it work. (I know, I'm spoiled... the air nailer does
take a lot of effort out of this type of job) |
| I cut pieces of oriented strand board (OSB) to
fit on the shelf framing. Each piece was about 44" x
22", so I was able to get all 4 shelves from a single
sheet of OSB. I nailed the OSB to the frame, spacing the nails
about 4" to 6" apart. |
 |
The best length of nail to use would be 1-1/2" long.
Unfortunately the shortest nails available for my framing nailer are
2-1/2" long, which is not really a problem as long as the extra
length does not cause any problems such as splitting the 2x4
framing. As a general rule, one inch of penetration into the 2x4
framing is all that is needed to adequately hold the OSB.
 |
The finished shelf unit.
I gave it a little "stress test" and climbed on
the shelves. There was no deflection (or "give") to
the shelves at all. That makes me confident that this will be
plenty safe.
|
 |
It took no time to fill up the four shelves.
These shelves are very sturdy, strong enough to easily hold a
heavy air conditioner.
The bottom shelf spacing was designed to accommodate this
large round kerosene heater. I often custom-design such
storage spaces just for a certain item. |
 |
A Note On Fasteners:
I used a pneumatic nail gun on this project because... I have
one and it saves time. Granted, most do-it-yourselfers don't
have nail guns (what's the matter with you people anyway?) but
old-fashioned hand-driven nails work just fine, of course. I have
traditionally used Ardox (spiral) nails for framing. In fact I have
a hard time finding common nails around my shop because I just don't
buy them.
For the past few years I have done much of this type of framing
work with 3" deck screws. My favorite is the "Deck
Mate" brand sold at Home Depot. While expensive, the
square-Phillips drive works great, and the screws have a really
durable coating.
Money:
This shelf unit was quite cheap. It used seven 8' long 2x4's, and
one sheet of 7/16" OSB. These materials cost less than $20 at
current prices. I have never seen any store-bought shelf units this
sturdy for anything near this price.
Variations On A Theme:
There are two obvious variations that could be tried.
One is to use two wall studs to support one side of the
shelf unit. I have made such a shelf unit, placing it about 5 feet
from the corner of the garage. It uses two 2x4 studs to support the
opposite end, which sticks out about 3 feet from the wall.
The second variation is to make a shelf unit completely
free-standing. I built a free-standing shelf unit similar to
this but made the shelves removable so the unit could be taken apart
for moving. It wasn't as sturdy as I would have liked, until I
bolted it to the wall in the garage. There is a danger in building
free-standing homemade shelf units... the thing can fall over and
hurt someone. Any shelf unit that appears shaky or unstable should
be secured to a wall or other sturdy structure. Children like to
climb things, and a child could be seriously harmed by being caught
underneath a falling heavy shelf unit. Take a few extra minutes and
secure any wobbly shelf unit. Personally, I wouldn't have a shelf
unit that was not sturdy enough for me to climb on.
Longer Shelves:
If I was going to build shelves longer than 5' or 6', I
would use 2x6's for the front supports. The drawback of this is the
reduced usable shelf room because of the deeper "joist"
that supports the shelf.
Tighter Spaces:
I have also used 5/4x6 deck planks, ripped in half on a table
saw, to create 2-3/4" deep joists for supporting plywood/OSB
shelves. This saves 3/4" of headroom above each shelf, which
could be valuable sometimes. The last deck boards I bought cost
$3.77 for 8', and 2x4's cost $1.78, so half of the deck board costs
$1.89, a whopping 11 cents more than a 2x4. Considering the time
needed to rip the deck boards, I'm not sure it's worth the hassle.
|
Tools
Used:
- Hammer, Tape
Measure
- Speed Square
- Quick-Grip Clamps
- 2' Level, Torpedo Level
- Pneumatic Nail Gun *
- Power Miter Saw *
* Optional |
Materials Used:
- Lumber, 2x4x8'
- Nails
- Oriented Strand Board
(OSB)
|
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