Wall Mounted Garage Shelving: Check the Wall Before You Order
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Part of the garage organization guide.
Wall mounted garage shelving frees the floor, which is what a garage runs out of first. The condition is a wall you can fix into, and that is the thing to establish before you order.
The whole point of fixing to the wall: nothing stands on the floor, and nothing has to be moved to sweep.
- 1what runs inside the wall, before anything else
- 2what the wall is built from, which decides the fixings
- 3the longest run with nothing in the way, page 2 of the planner
- 4the load rating for the unit, printed with it
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.
Look at what is on the wall first. A socket, a switch, the breaker panel, a faucet or a water heater all mean something runs inside it. Cables and pipes are not always where you would expect. Keep your holes away from anything you cannot account for, and if the wall carries the panel or the water supply, have an electrician or a plumber place the holes for you.
Then establish what your wall is built from, since a fixing has to reach something solid behind the surface. The instructions supplied with the shelving cover the surface you have, and the fixings for masonry are not the fixings for a stud wall. Buy the right ones for your wall.
Load. Every shelf puts its load into the wall. The rating for the unit is printed on its packaging or in its instructions, and it assumes the fixing was done as specified.
Page 2 of our free Garage Fit Planner is the longest run of wall with nothing in the way, measured from obstruction to obstruction rather than corner to corner. It is the figure that rules a shelf in or out. Five printable pages.
The run that decides which wall mounted garage shelving fits
What to measure
The longest stretch of wall with nothing in the way, taken from obstruction to obstruction rather than corner to corner
A window, the breaker panel and the water heater each cut the wall into shorter pieces, and the longest piece is your real limit. The same obstructions are the reason for the checks above: anything fixed on the wall means something runs inside it.
Where to put each shelf
1
Hand height for what you use weekly
Above that for what you use seasonally. The height is worth settling before you drill rather than after, because brackets fixed into the wall leave their holes behind.
2
Weight stays low, whatever the frequency
A heavy box is harder to lift down than to lift up, and you are doing it off balance.
3
Keep shelves clear of where the car doors swing
Take that one standing in the garage with the doors open, not from a drawing. Anything that could be knocked off belongs outside the swing.
4
Leave the wall behind the bench clear
Or you lose the use of the bench. Planning the bench itself is covered separately.
Armadillo Tough sells wall mounted shelving alongside free standing units and ceiling racks, which is the easiest way to compare the three in one place. See the shelving
What to establish, by wall typethree walls, three questions
| Your wall | What to establish |
|---|---|
| Studs and drywall | Where the studs run |
| Masonry or block | That you have a drill and bits for it |
| Finished and insulated | What is behind the finish before drilling |
What wall mounted garage shelving gives you, and what it asks backthe floor, against a change of mind
The floor. Nothing stands on it, nothing has to be moved to sweep, and the car door swings over an empty floor.
A continuous line. Fixed at one height along a wall, shelves read as one run instead of as separate units.
Less forgiving of a change of mind than a free standing unit. Moving a bracket means a new hole.
Frequently asked questionsfour answers
Is wall mounted garage shelving better than free standing?
It frees the floor, which is what a garage runs short of. Free standing moves and needs no fixing, which suits a wall you cannot drill, as long as you keep to low units. For a tall one, the instructions that come with it name what it anchors to. The three mountings are compared separately.
How do I know if my garage wall can take shelving?
Establish what your wall is built from. The fixings differ by wall type, and the shelving’s instructions list the wall types it is approved for.
How high should garage shelves be?
Weekly things at hand height, seasonal things above. Keep anything that could be knocked off clear of the car door swing.
Can I move wall mounted shelving later?
Not easily. Brackets fixed into the wall leave their holes behind, so decide the height before you drill rather than after.
Measure the wall you can actually use
Page 2 of our free Garage Fit Planner is the longest run of wall with nothing in the way, measured from obstruction to obstruction rather than corner to corner. It is the figure that rules a shelf in or out. Five printable pages.
Compare wall mounted with the alternatives
Free standing, wall mounted and ceiling racks come from the same range.
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