Custom Garage Cabinets: What You Are Actually Paying For
When you buy through a link on Cozy & Tidy, we may earn a commission. It does not change the price you pay, and it does not decide what we recommend. How it works
Part of the garage organization guide.
Custom garage cabinets cover three different things, and they are not the same purchase.
One changes the cabinet itself, one changes the layout, and one changes the finish. Only the first one changes the cabinet. And whichever of the three you are buying, one figure governs the job: the depth your open car doors leave you. A deeper cabinet eats the space your car door needs to open, and no quote can take that measurement for you.
- Three thingsBuilt to your measurements, a layout drawn for you, or a finish
- One figureThe depth your open car doors leave. It governs the whole job
- FreeThe layout service at the maker we read. The cabinets stay standard
- On the boxThe weight a shelf carries. Read it there, not off how solid it looks
Check what is inside that wall. Scan with a detector that finds metal and live wires while the power is still on, then turn that circuit off at the panel, then drill. If anything in your garage runs on gas, a water heater, a furnace or a dryer, a gas line may run in that wall too, and that is not something to find with a drill: when you are not certain what is behind the spot you picked, have the holes placed by a licensed professional. The full list of checks is in the garage guide.
A tall unit is a tip-over question. The instructions that come with it name what it anchors to. Your wall may be wood framing, concrete block or drywall, and the fixings are not the same, so follow the instructions supplied with the unit for the wall you actually have. If you are not sure what your wall is made of, that is the point to call someone.
The weight it carries is printed on the packaging or in the maker’s instructions. Check it there rather than guessing from how solid the shelf looks, and read it for the exact unit, because shelves in the same range differ.
Take the two figures that decide the quote. The free Garage Fit Planner is a printable you fill in at the garage. Page 2 is the clear run of wall, page 3 is the depth your car leaves you, and those are the two figures a custom quote starts from. Five pages, and every published figure on it carries its source. Get the free planner
Custom garage cabinets: the depth is not yours to choose
Yours
Depth is the figure that governs a garage. Unless you are paying a workshop to cut to your own size, the depths on offer are the ones the range publishes, so this measurement decides which of them you can take. Open the car doors, in the spot the car actually parks, and measure what is left between the wall and the furthest reach of the door.
What to settle before you order
Step 1
Measure the wall and the depth
The clear run of wall, and the depth your open car doors leave you. Those two figures decide the rest, and planning a garage cabinet layout walks through the full sequence.
Step 2
Decide what goes behind a door
And what stays on an open shelf. Price the two options for the same length of wall before you choose: closed storage and open shelving are rarely quoted the same. Then pick your grade, which how to judge a garage cabinet covers.
Step 3
Count the tall items
A ladder or a long tool decides whether you need a gear locker in the run, and garage closet systems covers closed storage in a garage.
Heavy gauge steel, built as a set
Armadillo Tough sells preconfigured garage cabinet sets and individual units in what the maker describes as heavy gauge steel.
The three things sold as custom garage cabinetsonly one of them changes the cabinet
| Sold as custom | What changes |
|---|---|
| Built to your measurements | The size of the cabinet box |
| A layout drawn for your garage | Which units go where |
| Color, handles, countertop | The finish |
Built to your measurements. A workshop cuts the cabinet box to a size you give them. It is the version that asks the most of your budget and of your patience, so get the quote and the lead time in writing before you commit.
A layout drawn for your garage. The units are standard. Someone arranges them around your door, your window and your car, and tells you how many of each to order. Armadillo Tough offers this as a free service called Design Studio.
A finish you choose. Color, handle, countertop material. The cabinet underneath is the catalog cabinet.
When a modular set does the same joba plain run of wall rarely needs more
If your garage wall is a plain run with nothing in the way, a preconfigured set covers it. The measuring that matters is the length of that wall and the depth you can give up.
If a water heater, a panel or a window breaks the run, the layout service is the part worth having. The cabinets can still be standard.
A full run of closed cabinets with a continuous countertop is the usual shape of the finished job, and the depth of it is set by what the open car door leaves.
Frequently asked questionsfour, including whether custom is worth it
Are custom garage cabinets worth it?
If a water heater, a window or a panel breaks up your wall, the layout is the part that earns its keep, and Armadillo Tough draws it for you free through Design Studio. Cabinets cut to a made to measure size are the expensive version, and a plain wall rarely needs them.
What depth should garage cabinets be?
Open the car doors and measure what is left. Off the shelf, the depths on offer are the ones the range publishes. The measuring sequence covers it in full.
Can I fit garage cabinets myself?
It depends how the unit arrives, which ready to assemble and the alternatives explains. Tall units get anchored to the wall whichever way, and the instructions supplied with the set tell you which fixings suit your type of wall. If you are not sure what your wall is made of, that is the point to call someone.
How much weight will a garage cabinet hold?
Read the limit printed on the packaging or in the maker’s instructions for the exact unit. Shelves in the same range differ.
Compare the preconfigured sets
Sets arrive matched, in heavy gauge steel, with the pieces already chosen.
Saved in this browser, on this device. No account, nothing sent to us, and it goes if you clear your browsing data. See what you saved
