Garage storage makeover

[lcooksey88]

With the goal of increasing storage space and providing a functional workspace, this garage makeover uses Pinnacle storage products such as peg boards to mount and display various tools.

• The project
• More inspiration for your garage

The project

Love our garage makeover! The goal was to increase storage space and most importantly create a functional space for everyone! 

The shelving is the Rack It 1000kg which we adjusted to our heights then used FJ Laminated tops as the bench.

Behind the shelving we screwed a 9mm plywood sheet off, painted it black, ran a support bar along behind it for extra strength then mounted the peg boards & overheads to the ply (Pinnacle slimline).

Worked out really well in the end.

To hang the cleaning tools on the wall, the Oates 5 Handle Storage Holder was used. I just trimmed it down with the grinder to fit our space. 

For the peg boards, we used the 900x450 Pinnacle ones. Cut them down slightly to fit in our space, screwed them off to ply board that we screwed to the racking and placed a support bar at the back of the ply also onto the racking. To complete it, we also painted the ply black. We completed the same process for the sides also. 

 

 

 

 

 

More inspiration for your garage

Get more ideas for your garage, shed or workshop by checking out our Top 10 most popular storage projects and the Top 10 most popular garage and shed projects.

[pstq]

Once upon a time garage storage was made from scrounged old furniture and used timber. It's hard to justify now with the price of hammer lock shelving.

That scooter stand is cute. Why so many drills?!

[MitchellMc]

Hi @pstq,

Let me tag @lcooksey88 so she can fill us in on the answer. She's beating me by one drill, though my selection is nowhere near as impressive.

Most of the drills seen are for different purposes. That's not to say one single drill couldn't do all that work, but they do their specific jobs much more efficiently than any one drill. I suspect she might have purchased the AEG 18V 6.0Ah 4 Piece Combo Kit With FUSION And FORCE. This includes an 18V impact driver (5), 18V hammer drill (1) and 18V impact wrench (4). You might be familiar with the different jobs these tools do, but if not, head over to How to choose the right drill for the job. I don't cover the impact wrench, but that is predominantly used for nuts and bolts. There's then a standard 18v drill/driver (2) which is the workhorse of the lot, good at doing everything and similar to what you'd see with most people's kit. Then those higher-powered drills are complimented by a 12v hammer drill (3) and a 12V impact driver (6). Great for tight spaces and fiddly work.

In all, a truly enviable and complete kit to have. Some might consider these tools a luxury, and they are, but they do make life easier, more proficient and they must be a dream to use.

I'll be keen to hear from @lcooksey88 about her awesome collection.

Mitchell

[leoperkins]

It looks great @lcooksey88. I have a number of Rack It shelves and I am just about to replace my hand built timber standing desk with the the Rack It 1000kg 1938 x 1830 kit, with a few mods as well. 

I am just wondering what lighting kit you used on the main bench? I have a number of Rack It Benches I want to task and ambient light and the setup seems to work well for ambient lighting. 

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @leoperkins. It's sensational to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about this fantastic project.

Hopefully, @lcooksey88 can answer your question on what lighting was used. If you are something for ambient light, you might like to check out our range of LED strip lights. Most of them come with an adhesive backing which would allow you to stick them in a similar position to @lcooksey88. For a bit more oomph, have a look at our work lights. However, bang for buck linear fluorescents are likely to be your best bet. The slimline options would be a great choice.

We'll be keen to follow along with your build. Please keep us updated and reach out if you have questions.

Mitchell

[Matty13]

Great project @lcooksey88, what an awesome outcome. 

I am also looking to install a LED light strip on my Rack It shelving, so any information regarding the placement of the LED would be much appreciated. The ambient light output in your pictures is exactly what I’m after. 

Thanks

[EricL]

Hello @Matty13

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's fabulous to have you join us, and thank you for joining the discussion.

Let me tag @lcooksey88 to make them aware of your question. There are quite a few LED Strip Lights systems you can choose from and they come in different lengths to suit your needs. The new systems come with a lot of features from having their own remote, ability to adjust lumen output, and can be linked to your phone via wifi. If you need more light, some sets can even interlock together to provide added brightness.

The best spot to place your LED lights is of course over your workbench. However, attaching your light system to a mobile piece of timber allows you to move the lights forwards or backwards of the workbench. It is a handy option if you don't want the light fixed permanently to your RACK IT Shelving. 

Please keep us updated with your project, we look forward to seeing your new work light installed.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[MikeTNZ]

@lcooksey88,

Was the coating on the floor original? or did you install that yourself?

If it was the latter, what did you use?

This whole thing looks great, you have every reason to be proud of it!

Cheers,

Mike T.

[Joolz007]

Hi, A great garage makeover.  Love the scooter holder!

[mnewgin]

Hi. Can I ask what is the thickness of the timber benchtop you used? I’m looking to replace the standard 9mm MDF to something thicker but realised that the Rack-it beam only has a 9mm “lip” to hold the Rack-it MDF board. 

[EricL]

Hello @mnewgin

Let me tag @lcooksey88 to make them aware of your question.  A good alternative to 9mm MDF is SpecRite 1800 x 405mm 18mm Timber Panel Hevea FJ Laminated. It all depends on how long your storage rack is. But the good thing about the timber panel is that it will only go past the lip by about 9mm. Not too obvious when compared to thicker timber panels.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[mccrystal]

 @mnewgin - I'm not sure what @lcooksey88 used, but I used some 12mm ply from another project to good effect - there is a small lip on the edge that can collect sawdust, etc but it also helps protect the shelving from copping accidental abuse (other than that its a bit of a shambles, next project is shelving underneath to help sort it all out)...

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @mccrystal. It's wonderful to have you join us, and many thanks for jumping into the conversation.

Using 12mm plywood sounds like a good option, and I trust @mnewgin appreciates your advice. 

How high is the lip? Perhaps you could glue and pin nail some Porta 6 x 6mm 2.4m Moulding Tasmanian Oak Quad along the front edge. That should help prevent dust and debris from getting caught and give a slightly smoother transition onto the benchtop.

We'll be looking forward to hearing about your projects and plans around the house and garden. Please reach out anytime you need assistance or have something to share.

Mitchell
 

[Nellis]

Love the lighting around the pegboard,  can you tell me what you used?

[EricL]

Hello @Nellis

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. Thank you for joining the discussion.

Let me tag @lcooksey88 to make them aware of your question. There are so many choices for LED lighting and it's important to be aware of their features. Some LEDs are for illumination only and are not bright enough to work under. So make sure to look at the lumen output to make sure you're getting the correct one. Some systems come with a lot of features from having their own remote, the ability to adjust lumen output, and can be linked to your phone via wifi.

I recommend testing the position of your LED light to make sure you get maximum illumination on your table before permanently fixing it in your work area.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[Ratracebill]

Hi, love the garage makeover, but a bit of an amateur just starting out. So I'm a bit confused about the material list posted which had a Wire Shelf Starter Kit 2135h x 1938w x 645 

The overhead cupboards @ 1350 & 900mm and the mobile storage @ 1500 & 520 mm pictured suggest an internal width over 2250mm. How is that achieved if the starter kit is only 1938mm wide - is there a wider beam combination?

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Ratracebill. It's a pleasure to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about this amazing project.

I'm not sure if @lcooksey88 ever put together a material list for this project, but I did put together the following from my best guesses:

• Rack It 1000kg 1938 x 2135 x 645mm 3 Wire Shelf Starter Kit, two Rack It 1000kg 897mm MDF Shelves and four Rack It 1000KG Shelf Support Braces. These additional pieces allow you to change the wire shelf at the top to MDF.

• A Rack It 1000kg 2135mm Upright, six Rack It 1000kg 972mm Beams, three Rack It 1000kg 897mm MDF Shelves and six Rack It 1000KG Shelf Support Braces. These are used to create the left-hand side shelving.

• Five pieces of Pinnacle 900 x 450mm Matte Black Metal Pegboard

• Rack It PRO 900 x 910 x 600mm 2 Door Cabinet

• Pinnacle 810 x 1500 x 500mm Matte Black XL Mobile Storage Unit

• Pinnacle 810 x 520 x 500mm Matte Black 4 Drawer Mobile Storage Unit

• Pinnacle 265 x 1350 x 230mm Matte Black XL Slimline Cabinet

• Pinnacle 265 x 900 x 230mm Matte Black Slimline Cabinet

• Laminated timber panel. This is used as the work surface.
  
   

Taking a look again, you could be right, and it would more likely be the Rack It 1000KG 2400mm Wide 3 Shelf High Unit that she's used.

What do you think? Hopefully, @lcooksey88 might be able to let us know for sure.

Mitchell

[fastcars]

Hi

I am looking to execute a similar setup. I however want to mount a vice on the. bench top and to do that 

a) I want a more robust Bech top, probably 30-40mm pine is fine

b) fixing the bench top to the RackIt rails in a secure fashion without drilling the rails (supports) looks ... hard. If I had all the tools I could fashion some fastenings. A strip of 3mm flat steel slightly bent at one end and drilled with a bolt hole at the other to wedge the bench top to the supports using the top flange of the front RackIt rail.  

I would want the vice leading edge to to over hang the front of the bench for handling long objects. Hence the over hang of the bench top at the front by ~40mm, so front bolt of vice is under the overhang.

Any other ideas/Improvements?

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @fastcars. It's brilliant to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about this wonderful project.

Let me tag @lcooksey88 so they are aware of your comment. As this project is from some time ago, they might have encountered things they would have changed or other improvements.

With your vice, just be aware that the front rail might impede you from installing the mounting bolts in the bench. So, you need to select a vice where the leading edge is proud of the bench but that also has the mounting bolts in the plate set far enough back to clear the metal rail.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell
 

[mich1972]

Love, love , LOVE !!!! Love it all !!!!!!!