In case you ever thought that shelves would be perfect for your garage, you came to the right place. This article will go into detail when it comes to making a preparation for installing garage shelves. You won’t have to think much, at least not for this project, since the entire process will be explained and written in 10 easy steps. You will be able to do all the shopping and install your storage shelves with this easy to use garage shelf plan. Lets start.

First Step

Decide whether you would like to have closed or open storage for your items. In case you decide to go for open shelves, you will have access to all of your items in a second, but the appearance will not be so neat and clean. When it comes to closed shelving, you will not be able to see what kind of items are hiding inside your garage shelves, but you will have cleaner look and more organized storage. Decide between these two and your first step of shelving is done.

Second Step

You can take your pick between wire and solid shelf. Your choice will be determined by the items you have to store in your garage or your shed. Great thing about wire shelves is that they are cheaper, especially when you find discount price, and they offer air circulation. This means that you will be able to have enough room for all those items that need air, for whatever reason. On the other side, solid shelves and great for those small, tiny items that would usually fall down through the wire floor. So, if you have objects of different size to store, solid shelving should be your best choice.

Third Step

Measure the entire area. Your garage should be measured horizontally and vertically so you will be able to determine how much space you have for your new steel garage shelves.

Fourth Step

What type of objects you will need to store. Think about it. What are the sizes of all the objects you could possible store in your garage shelves. This is very important step since this will determine the dimensions of the storage units themselves. Take your time and don’t miss anything, otherwise you will have to go to hardware store and buy extra equipment and do some more work.

Fifth Step

The weight of the items you are storing should be determined before you can continue. How much is an individual item heavy and what is the weight of all the objects together? Also, bear in mind that the weight must be distributed to all shelves equally. If you choose to go with strong storage units, made of stainless steel, they still have their limits.

Sixth Step

Measure the width of every shelving unit. The usual measures are 36, 42 and 48 inches. Always pick a shelf that is a bit wider than the item you will use. This is how you will get maximum storage efficiency.

Seventh Step

Now comes the depth of each shelf. The usual numbers are 12, 18 and 24 inches. So, you have to consider what is the orientation of the items you will going to store. Some objects are wider while other are longer. Take that into account and design a shelf that will be as efficient as possible.

Eighth Step

This step is related to step number 5. You have to determine the weight that each shelf will have to carry. Do not calculate all the storage units weight capacity together. Measure the individual weight requirement of every steel garage shelf.

Ninth Step

The height is among the last things to measure. Discover how much vertical space you can have and how much space you have, considering the height of the ceiling and how tall are the items you want to store. Don’t forget that you can put shelves one above another if the items you have are not so tall.

Tenth Step

At the end, you have to calculate total weight capacity and dimensions. Now you will have the exact numbers when it comes to size and weight your steel shelves will have to carry. You will be able to make a good plan now and build quality garage shelves.

All you have to do now is to determine where is the best place to buy what you need. It is possible to find cheap material, as well as some luxury shelves for your garage. Don’t forget to check as many stores as you can, since you can find something really affordable and convenient. Internet stores are a good option too, they will allow you to browse through a lot of solutions, and the prices will be good too. I think there is a bigger chance to run into discount materials when surfing the net. But let’s leave that for some other occasion.