Cheap Garage Cabinets

[IamAllThumbs]

A project I have been putting off for years is fixing storage options in my garage. It's a 2-car garage and we have 2 cars so "stuff" gets crammed around the walls.
I have 2 shelves along a wall (12 linear feet at a guess) and a bunch of wall mounted hooks on the opposite wall. Bikes hanging from a hoistable rack above the car hoods (8' ceilings, so need to duck underneath when the car are pulled out).
The stuff being stored is tools, cans of paint, canning supply's, sport stuff (e.g. a pile of snow shoes), etc... One advantage of redoing storage is that I will have to sort and likely toss some of that stuff.

I'm looking for affordable (well cheap) storage options. I found some wire racks at an auction but didn't get them because I didn't want small objects falling through and I think I want at least some of it to be enclosed.

I looked at Ikea cabinets as an option but they get expensive fast.

So far I think DIY cabinets like the ones below may be a good compromise, unless I find pre-assembled options (or assemble yourself).
https://www.familyhandyman.com/project/build-the-ultimate-garage-cabinets-yourself/
Being in Colorado you track snow and ice in the garage so it tends to get wet spots in the winter. What I like about the cabinets at the link is that they mount them on a ledger a few inches off the floor. Brilliant, why didn't I think about that?

Anyway, do you guys know of options? I think having a combination of tall cabinets and 1/2 height might be good.

 

[havasu]

I bought the metal cabinets they sell at Sam's Club. They are Seville brand, and look great around the upper edge of my garage.

 

[Flyover]

If you have time, and especially if you have access to cheap/free 2x4s and OSB (i.e. scrap from jobsites), I have found making your own shelving units to be both the most cost-effective and the most fun/satisfying method.

I build rectangular frames for the shelves (usually 18 or 24 inches deep and however long, reinforced every 2 feet or so with additional cross-pieces), screw them to studs with verticals holding them up on the front corners and center, then cut the OSB to size and slide it over the frames to create the shelf surface.

The other way is to build two or more right-triangle-shaped braces, where one side of the triangle is equal in length to the desired depth of the shelf, and then secure those braces to studs at equal height, with the aforementioned side sticking out away from the wall. Then just lay the shelf material on top. Those can't bear as much weight but save floor space.

Another option is buying (or reclaiming junked) old used shelving units, especially from companies that have been liquidated.

I had a neighbor whose job was installing high-end kitchen appliances and he sometimes came home with nice stuff people/companies were getting rid of during their remodels; he had a set of kitchen cabinets mounted in his garage that had come from an office kitchen.

I like to get creative with stuff like this.

 

[RedneckGrump]

Yeah, I was going to say the same thing @IamAllThumbs ... make your own shelves from scrap wood, or drive around and see if people in your neighbourhood are throwing old kitchen cabinets out... But I would just build my own, that way you get what you want...

 

[IamAllThumbs]

The open shelves with triangle bases is basically what I have now (2 levels) although they are only 1' deep. I want to move to something enclosed and maybe more configurable (movable shelves per unit).

I didn't think about recycled cabinets.

 

[Flyover]

If you want to use recycled cabinets but have them be moveable, you could do this: Get a piece of 1/2" plywood about 18" wide and however long. Rip a 6" strip but angle the blade to 45˚. Take the skinny strip you ripped and mount it like a cleat to your garage studs; take the wider remaining part and chop it up into lengths to match the width of your cabinets, then install them on upper half of the backs so they bite the cleat. They will also give extra strength to the cabinets.

 

[Hamberg]

Long shot but keep an eye out for anyone upgrading their kitchen (or ask around - real estate Agents are good sources for this) and see if they are going to be throwing out the old ones. We routinely save "better" cabinetry just for that reason. My basement laundry/craft area is done in "ex"cabinetry, the garage has a few base cabinets and I'm in the middle of doing my shed with the same!

 

[Eddie_T]

Some people use recycled cabinets to remodel their kitchen. They just give a facelift by purchasing matching doors.

 

[bud16415]

When we bought our home the kitchen had circa 1960 steel kitchen cabinets that looked awful. I took them down and the guys helping me were heading for the dumpster with them until I said put them in the garage. I cleaned them up painted them and made a low row of them on a side wall and then made a plywood workbench top for them. They are some heavy duty storage.



If you can find them snag them for the workshop. Regular kitchen stuff is ok but light duty in the garage.

 

[68bucks]

I have a bunch of metal shelves that I would love to give away. I'm cleaning out a garage and they are about to go to the recycling center. I know what you mean about enclosed storage, keeps stuff a lot cleaner. I built cabinets for my shop hence the excess of metal shelves. Lots of YouTube videos on building cabinets.

 

[DFBonnett]

Try a Habitat for Humanity ReStore.