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Hi, I'm going to build some shelves and storage in my garage, it's a single car garage but it has a very high ceiling.
I'm thinking of something like the below image, I would get some pine timber (i'm thinking 45x90mm, as long as possible) and set them up as posts, two on the concrete side, two on the gyprock side, and two in the centre, i only need the shelves to be about 50cm deep to be able to still fit the car in
I need to know the best way to attach the wood to both the concrete side and the gyprock side, which screws and which drill bits do I need to get
Also just some general advice on the design, which wood would work best for this and any other tips
Cheers, Julian
Hello @julian27845
Thanks for sharing your question about your garage shelves. If you are anchoring into the concrete wall, I suggest just putting a single piece at the bottom of the shelf, it won't be necessary to put legs on it. You can do the same thing on the other side on the condition that that you drill into the stud frame of the gyprock wall. The actual floor support that's needed is the centre of your shelf which also serves as the support for the other shelves going down.
For the concrete wall, I suggest Ramset 12 x 125mm Hex Nut Dynabolt and for the gyprock side, I suggest Zenith 10G x 100mm Gold Passivated Countersunk Rib Head Chipboard Screws - 50 Pack. You'll need a masonry bit the same size as the Ramset Dynabolt and for the chipboard screws, you'll need a timber drill bit that's slightly smaller than the body of the screw itself. It's more practical to purchase full drill bit sets rather purchasing on a per piece basis. In this manner you can change sizes immediately.
Let me call on our experienced members @Dave-1 and @Nailbag for their recommendations.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
Good Evening @julian27845
I like your thinking 
For some reason garages just need that type of storage!
The wall that the door is on, is that a gyprock wall with studs?
Im actually thinking that you only need to fasten the shelves to the studs in that wall. The stands you have designed will lock it solid and the fastening of the shelves to the wall will stop it falling towards the car.
Some long timber screws through your post against the wall into the stud itself will hold it nicely. (think of how bookclubs are suggested to be secured so it cant be pulled forward) One thing I realised is that with time no matter how strong you think the timber of the shelf (the thin bit that you place things on) will sag, better to put more noggins across thn less to stop that future sag.
If you want to make it even more secure you could put in some right angled brackets for the posts nearest the car but really I dont think it will need them with the attachment to the studs.
Dave
Thanks both, I have a follow up question, I like the design in this video where they attach a long piece of timber to the back wall as the frame, and then he attaches "spacers" which do a couple of things, they help keep all the shelves level, and they also take a lot of the weight
My question is if I go out and buy 3m long 90x45 pine timber, would it work ok if I attach two of these end to end against the back wall to make a 6m tall shelf (I really want to take advantage of the high ceiling), so I would basically make a 6m frame against the wall, then attach the spacers all the way up to the top, this should work ok for the back, but i'm not so sure how this would work at the front, since the x2 3M pieces won't have the wall to support it, I would have to figure out a way to get them attached strong so they balance ok on top of each other, what do you think? or is there another way I can build a shelf like this as tall as possible?
Cheers, Julian
Link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeMjxGD6UvY
Good Morning @julian27845
Watched the video and yeah that shelf looks solid, Tho I wouldnt build it that way it sure seems to be strong enough.
As to the long span I would suggest a nope, every time I have seen a set of shelves, even purchased ones with a long span they have a sag. Bugs the living daylights out of me lol If you do go the way the shelf in the video has been built you could always put a front leg in the middle type deal. I really wouldnt go for spans over 1.6m, 1.8m max as there will be a bow at some time during its life, you know when you have those weighty things that need to be off the floor and there is an empty spot on that shelf so you shove it there, forget about it and a year later you look and go mmmmm...
I built a shelf very much like yours in my old place on sloping soil under the house. I had 4 vertical posts 70mm by 35mm Non structual pine with cross beams between the 500mm legs that the rails 70mm *35mm non sytructual pine rested on. These I bolted together (back in 2007 I didnt know of torqued drivers) I think I used particle board across the width and a bit of an overhang each side plus width wise as well. The over hang was 300mm at either end of the timber. The bolts I put through were 10mm size I think and I did 2 diagonally per join. There was no lateral movement. I did fasten the top of the back posts to the joists under the house as well.
It stood for 3 years before I sold the house and could still be standing today
Hi @julian27845,
It sounds like your 6m span is to the ceiling, whereas @Dave-1 might have interpreted it as the width, where bowing would be an issue.
In order to achieve that height, you'd need to splice the two 3m lengths together with a grafting piece of timber on the outside which you'd screw through, or use one of the spacers on the inside to screw through. However, a 6m shelf is very high, and I would recommend consulting with a professional carpenter to ensure your construction techniques are adequate. A shelving unit that high has the capabilities of being loaded with quite an amount of weight and we'd hate to see something like that come crashing down.
By the way, we do sell 6m lengths of 90 x 45mm pine and can organise delivery to your home.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
Afternoon @MitchellMc and @julian27845
Mmmmm I Might have it wrong wont be the first time.
Lets see if I have the dimensions right
The width of the rear of the garage is 6m
The height of the rear of the garage is ?m but you want to go high (rem anything over shoulder height enters into a strain on the upper body to use activley without a step of some kind)
The shelf width (deepness) is ?m
The distance from the wall to the door and the width of the door would be handy as well
Dave
"two of these end to end against the back wall to make a 6m tall shelf " Unless that was a typo, it sounds like a very high shelf.
Mitchell
Sorry I thought i replied to this yesterday, yes you're definitely right I went overboard with the height, I have revised it down to a 4m tall shelf now per below
Cheers, Julian
Morning @julian27845
Whoops I was wayyyyyy out lol Thank you @MitchellMc for the catch.
Your idea would work
"My question is if I go out and buy 3m long 90x45 pine timber, would it work ok if I attach two of these end to end against the back wall to make a 6m tall shelf (I really want to take advantage of the high ceiling), so I would basically make a 6m frame against the wall, then attach the spacers all the way up to the top, this should work ok for the back, but i'm not so sure how this would work at the front, since the x2 3M pieces won't have the wall to support it, I would have to figure out a way to get them attached strong so they balance ok on top of each other, what do you think? or is there another way I can build a shelf like this as tall as possible?"
The only thing I could suggest to do to make it easy to build is to build it freestanding first then attach to the wall. You could also screw a diagonal brace (steel strapping or timber piece under the shelves themselves between the legs)
Dave
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