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Top 20 DIY Garage Shelves: Make Your Garage More Big

You may have tools and equipment that are littering your property or the garage. If you don’t use them regularly, then you need a safe place to store them. Garage shelves offer ample storage space. You can keep items that you don’t use that often or just to organize your property.

Purchasing premade garage storage units may be expensive. Those shelves may also fail to fit in the limited space available. For that reason, you may need to go through the DIY way. In this article, we have put together a list of DIY garage shelve ideas.

1. Inexpensive DIY Industrial Shelving

Man Placing Bin on Shelf

If you need some tidiness in your garage, then you can go with this easy-to-make shelf. No specialized expertise is required, and you can complete the construction in under one hour. When done, you will have a perfect and stylish garage shelf to keep all your tools in one place.

You will need studs, screws, wood, wood saw, measuring tape, nails, harmer, and other necessary tools. Measure the available space in your garage where you want to erect it. Cut the wood into sizes. Use screws and nails to join together and hook them onto the walls.

For this cheap-to-make garage shelf to serve you for long, make sure you properly screw and hammer every part in place. Get a plan and how-to here.

2. Floating Garage Shelves

Floating Garage Shelves

Here, we present a DIY garage shelving solution that will help you clear up the floor space. By design, this garage shelf hangs on the wall. About 4-6 feet wall height is left below the lowest compartment of the floating shelf.

To make this stylish garage shelf, you need to have all the construction materials and tools ready. You then begin with the installation of both ceiling and wallboards. You then erect the support and install shelves on them.

The good this is that you can personalize your floating garage shelves as you wish. You may go for clear or tinted glass or any material of choice for the front faces. Follow the how-to guide to building this stylish shelf.

3. Overhead Garage Storage Unit

Overhead Garage Storage Unit

Just like the floating garage shelves discussed above, overhead garage storage units allow the floor space underneath to be useful. You can pack all your stuff and tools that you rarely use on the shelves. The downside of this overhead unit is that a ladder may be needed to access them.

You need plywood, framing studs, drywall screws, wood glue, coupling nuts and bolts, power drill, and connector clips. All these items are available in your local hardware. Once you have everything ready, you can follow this guide to make your overhead garage shelves.

4. Freestanding DIY Garage Shelf

Freestanding DIY Garage Shelf

This DIY garage shelf can form part of your home remodeling or project. With no specific skills for the job, you can erect your freestanding DIY garage shelf without any headaches. You only need to get all the materials and tools needed ready to work.

Everything you need to build it is listed at Instructables. You can use the specific measurements provided there to save time, or you can take the dimensions of the available space in your garage.

5. DIY Plywood Shelving Plan

Plywood Shelving Plan

If you are not experienced in woodwork, then this is the perfect DIY garage shelf to get you started. It is super-easy to make, and all the dimensions and a step-by-step guide are available. It is also easy to customize anything from the given design to match your personal needs.

Measure the space on your garage where you want to build it and estimate the quantities needed. Get a full material list and instructions on how to make it from this page. You can also refer to this video tutorial for graphical information.

6. Garage Wall Storage Idea

Garage Wall Storage Idea

It takes considerable organization skills to tidy up a messy garage. Since we often keep our tools and equipment and anything that we rarely use, it can get congested. DIY garage wall storage unit is the best way to arrange everything within your garage perfectly well.

The cost of building this garage wall storage unit is a bit higher than all other shelves discussed in this article. But you get the best and most spacious shelves for storing anything and everything, and its construction is not very hard. You only need to know how to proceed to have it ready.

7. Garage Corner DIY Shelves

Garage Corner DIY Shelves

The DIY garage shelves will make you utilize the corner space in your garage. It is a simple project that does not require and carpentry skills and experience to tackle. Just get all the materials you need and anchor everything in place, as explained at kenarry.com. Save time and space while making your garage tidier.

8. Clutter to the Gutter Garage Shelves

Clutter to the Gutter Garage Shelves

Did you know that rain gutters are useful in ensuring that you create extra space in your garage? It is an inexpensive way of organizing personal things.

It may sometimes take you up to hours to locate your spray hidden in a cabinet. Clutter to the gutter garage shelves is your solution. It makes it a breeze to spot everything you need. Get a handyman instruction guide to start the project.

9. Hooked Garage Shelves

Hooked Garage Shelves

Hooked garage shelves leave a functional area on the floor. With it, you can keep other items that would otherwise make the garage untidy. It is a unique type of floating garage shelves. But this time, the shelve itself is held in place with a hook and a chain.

Given the elevated height of hooked garage shelves, you may need a ladder and only store things that you rarely use. Get a list of materials and instructions on how to make it from the Cavender Diary.

10. Rotating Garage Corner Shelves

Rotating Garage Corner Shelves

Get stylish and decorative with rotating garage corner shelves. If you need to make maximum use of the corner space, then this is the best choice. This particular shelf does not have to be in the garage. It can double up as a decorative element that can be the focal point of any room.

The construction of rotating garage corner shelves is easy, provided that you are very accurate in taking measurements. Follow this guide to make it.

11. Ladder Garage Shelves

Ladder Garage Shelves

Keeping ladders out of the way is a very challenging task. Many people prefer leaning them against the wall, but that is not safe enough. The scratches that they cause on the walls are uncalled for.

Using ladder garage ceiling shelves, which takes the design of a floating shelf, assures you safety. It is simple but very functional.

12. Lockable DIY Garage Storage Unit

Lockable DIY Garage Storage Unit

This lockable garage storage unit will help you keep dangerous tools and substances out of the way. The lockable cabinets offer a safe place for storing paints, pesticides, chemicals, sharp tools, etc. You can paint it to be anything that matches your wall color. Full plan and instructions are available here.

13. Scrap Wood Wall Brackets

Scrap Wood Wall Brackets

Storing corded equipment such as vacuum cleaners or even foldable chairs can be a problem. Do not create a death trap in your garage by just leaving them lying on the floor. This scrap wood wall bracket is all you need to organize everything into place.

It requires fewer materials and time to make. You will need two pieces of 1by4 lumber to create the brackets on the wall. Cut each board into sizeable pieces of about 7-inch long at an angle of 30 degrees on both ends. Use screws to attach these pairs on the wall stud, giving considerable distances between each pair.

14. Plywood Garage Ceiling Shelves

Plywood Garage Ceiling Shelves

To keep light and medium-weight items in your garage, you need these plywood garage shelves. You can make any unused space under your garage ceiling useful for keeping stuff such as plastic bins. The list of requirements and instructions on how to are available on familyhandiman.com.

15. Wall-Mount Yard Tool Organizer

Wall-Mount Yard Tool Organizer

Yard tools are prone to causing accidental injuries if not safely kept after use. Do not make your garage such a dangerous place on your property by building this DIY wall-mount yard tool organizer.

You need two pieces of 1by4 wood, a drill, screw, and screwdriver, and proceed as follows:

  • Drill holes of appropriate diameter on the first piece of wood. Choose the right separation distance depending on what your yard tools are.
  • Screw the remaining wood on the wall to support the other piece with holes.

16. Fold-Up Garage Workbench Shelves

Fold-Up Garage Workbench Shelves

DIY fold-up workbench makes the best use of your garage space. It acts as the workstation for your home projects and storage unit at the same time. When not in use, the bench is folded give more room in the garage for other purposes. Click on this link to learn how to build it.

17. Sliding Pegboard Storage Unit

Sliding Pegboard Storage Unit

Take your workshop tools storage to a new level with this DIY sliding pegboard storage unit. It consists of a series of pegboards enclosed together in a wooden box. With it, you will no longer report any missing or misplaced tools. Learn how to build it yourself by watching this video tutorial from the Familyhandyman website.

18. DIY Garage Cord Rack

Garage Cord Rack

Cords, though not sharp, are common causes of injuries in a garage. We use cords for various purposes that we cannot do away with them, but we can be more cautious when storing them after use.

DIY garage cord rack is designed to keep your cords safe and available whenever you need them. Learn how to make it and keep your garage organized and safe for all users.

19. DIY Garage Recycling Tower

Garage Recycling Tower

How do you sort out your garbage? Have you turned your garage into a damping site? Familyhandyman.com has a DIY stacked recycling tower to help you keep everything organized. It has compartments for holding bins, which are used to sort the garbage.

The construction of this rack may require skills and carpentry experience, but you can crack it using these steps on this website. You will find all the materials and measurements you need to make it.

20. DIY Lattice Rack

DIY Lattice Rack

Storing miscellaneous pipes may not be easy. We have seen many people just stacking them on the wall, but that is not creative. By using the DIY lattice rack, you can safely keep the conduits. The pipes can stay there until you put them into use.

Constructing a lattice rack in your garage is not a tedious process. Get inspiration from this YouTube video on how to erect it.

How to Build DIY Garage Shelves

Building a DIY garage shelf is something that you can do. Just find time on weekends or when off from work. You only need to identify the design that brings a solution to your specific problems. After that, gather what you need and follow the construction steps.

Create more storage space in your garage when you need it. You don’t need to have experience in handling DIY projects. For your garage shelves, you only need to be keen to follow each step keenly.

The following are the DIY garage shelves building tips that will help you minimize materials wastage and save on time and cost:

  • Get to know the exact number of shelves that you need.
  • Sketch your garage shelves with accurate measurements to come up with a material list and quantities needed.
  • Use studs sparingly to avoid escalating the cost of your DIY project.
  • Prepare your mind psychologically for the project. Do not work when you are exhausted.

Conclusion

DIY garage shelves are the most cost-effective way of organizing your garage space and keep everything in order. With the ideas presented in this article, you don’t have an excuse if your garage will still be untidy. Shelves are ideal for proper garage organization and keeping safety measures.

Let us know in the comment section which of these ideas offers you the best solution to your storage problems. You may also share with us the ideas that you feel we have missed in this post. We will be glad to hear from you.