The walls of a garage represent prime real estate. Unfortunately, most homeowner completely ignore the walls of there garage. There are often instance when tools are piling up in the corners of the garage.
Other times, the owner store their tools in plastic bins stacked on top of the rickety shelf within the garage. However, there is one area within the garage that is often ignored: the vertical space above their tools. Homeowners generally see this area as empty and this makes the garage feel smaller then it is.
This limited feeling within the garage lead to homeowners taking longer to find what they are looking for and to place their tools back into their garage. Smart wall storage systems can fix all of these issue for homeowners. These systems will make order within the garage, protect their equipment, and provide homeowners with hours every year that they would of otherwise spent searching for their tools.
There is no need to overhaul the garage and there is no need to invest a lot of money into smart storage solution for the garage wall. A few solutions will go a long way to helping to maximize the vertical real estate within the garage. These eight solution will help fix the problems that homeowners face within their garages.
All eight solution are budget-friendly and can work with any skill level or type of garage wall. Furthermore, they can be used within any budget. Start with the solution that will help you store the tools that you use the most.
By doing so, you will see the benefit of organizing the garage. Pegboards are one of the most classic solution to creating organization within a garage. The perforations in the pegboard allow for the installation of hooks to store tools.
These pegboards can hold many type of hand tools. The pegboard allow each item to have a spot within the wall. This greatly helps to make it easy to find any tools that are within the pegboard.
Painting the pegboard a light color can allow the tools to create shadow on the pegboard. These shadow will make it easier to find your tools even in the garage with the lights off. Installing the pegboard on furring strips on the wall will allow room within the pegboard for deeper item, such as cases for your power tools.
Cheap pegboards will sag under the weight of the items that are hung on the pegboard. To avoid this, purchase a 1/4 inch thick pegboard.
Eight Smart Ways To Organize Your Garage
1. Slatwalls
Slatwalls are another great solution to maximizing the vertical area in a garage.
The horizontal slot on slatwalls allow for the installation of numerous heavy-duty hooks. These hooks can be easily moved left or right to accommodate for different tool. The slatwall will hold all type of items and will create an industrial look in the garage.
Additionally, the slatwall will hold the weight of larger items such as ladder hooks. Although the initial cost of installing a slatwall is higher than the cost of installing a pegboard, the feature of a slatwall will allow it to provide value to the garage over time. Another great system that can be installed within the garage are French cleats.
2. French Cleats
These allow for the installation of shelves and cabinet that will hold the tools of choice within the garage. The angled cut on the edge of the boards will allow for the mounting of these shelf on the wall and on the backs of the tools that will be stored on these shelves. These system are strong enough to hold heavy items like a miter saw.
Furthermore, the section of these shelves can be moved without making any hole in the drywall. Woodworkers have used these type of systems for centuries. Use hardwoods on these systems to ensure that they will not fall down.
Another great system for the garage is magnetic tool strips.
3. Magnetic Tool Strips
These strip hold wrenches, pliers, and all type of hand tools. Additionally, the magnetic properties of these strip will allow for homeowners to quickly find the tools that they need without having to look for them.
This tool strip is perfect to be installed above a workbench so that both of the homeowner’s hand can stay free while using the workbench. Make sure that all of the tools in the garage have magnetic properties. Tools like carbide bit should not be stored on magnetic strips as they will lose their edge.
Overhead rack will allow for homeowners to make use of the vertical area above their tools. Tools like ladder, pipe, lumber, and seasonal item can all be stored on the overhead rack. Overhead racks will allow the floor of the garage to remain clear of all item.
4. Overhead Racks
Furthermore, they will reduce the visual clutter within the garage. If the ceiling is finished, add plywood to the ceiling before installing the overhead rack. This will ensure that you can attach the rack securely to the ceiling without any hunting for the joist within the ceiling.
Bike hook will allow for the hanging of the homeowners bicycles from the garage wall. This will free up floor space within the garage for other item. Furthermore, bikes can be rolled out of the garage quickly.
5. Bike Hooks
The best bike hook have foam padding on them to avoid any scratch to the bikes. The best bike hook will also have ratchet strap on them so that they do not fall off during earthquake or high winds. Make sure that the hook are installed such that the bikes’ pedal do not hit the hood of the car.
However, make sure that the hook are installed low enough that the homeowner will not need to use a ladder to access the bikes. Shadow board can be used to cut out the silhouette of the tools to be stored on the board. Shadow board can be used on pegboards or slatwalls.
These shadow board will allow the homeowners to immediately understand which tool are within the shadow board. Additionally, it will make it easy to understand which tool is missing from the shadow boards. It will take a little time to create the shadow board.
However, the time will be paid for within the first month that the shadow board are installed in the garage due to the avoidance of purchasing duplicate tool. Mobile tool board on casters can be used to store the most used tool. The mobile tool board will make it easy for the owner to roll them to the location of the project.
6. Mobile Tool Boards
For instance, one side of the mobile tool board may have all of the electrical tool while the other side have the pipe wrench. When the project is done, the tool board will roll back in to the garage and into a charging station. These mobile tool board will be useful for homeowners who work in the driveway, the yard, and the garage.
Ensure that the tool on the mobile tool board do not become too heavy. Finally, grid panel can be purchased and installed in the garage to store additional item. The heavy steel construction of grid panel will allow the storage of power tool, air compressor, and even small engine.
7. Grid Panels
The grid pattern allow for specialized hook to be installed on the grid panel. Additionally, the grid panel will be powder coated so that they will not rust in the garage. These grid panel are a great solution for storing outdoor tool and garden tool within the garage.
Smart storage solution for the tools within the garage will do more than just make the garage look neat and organized. These solution will protect the owner’s tool and their investment in their garage. Furthermore, they will save the homeowner time every single day that they enter the garage.
Most importantly, these storage solution will transform the garage into a place that people enjoy using. Start small if the thought of organizing the entire garage make you overwhelmed. Start with the wall that you face when you enter the garage.
Focus on making that one area look organized. Once you experience the benefit that organization bring to the garage, the rest of the garage will begin to organize itself.
