Hi,
I'm looking for some suggestions for inexpensive overhead storage in a 2 car garage with ~15 foot ceilings. There's room in front of the cars for a functional area (workbench, etc) that currently occupied by mobile metal shelving. I installed metal racks above the garage doors (Topp Rax by Advanced Overhead Storage - Home - Topp Rax by Advanced Overhead Storage) and am considering doing the same toward the front of the garage or cabinets or shelving or...the overhead storage over the garage doors is great but of course I need a ladder to get things down and I have to be careful how heavy I load bins, etc. Curious if there are other solutions that I haven't thought of...

 

Of course we can't see your garage, so pictures would help. With 15' ceilings, you may want to consider making a permanent flooring project using LVL for beams. Stairs could be built on one side if feasible. Let us see what you have, now front and back. http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...your-post.html

 

A buddy of mine built a "storage loft" in the garage. As there was no room to build stairs, he installed a "pull down attic stairs" for access.

 

Recently I did a storage project in my garage. I needed to maximize space but still have room for two cars, a small jonboat, a commercial lawn mower, tiller, and just a whole lot of other stuff.

I can't recall where I read it but if I have one thing that made all the difference it was the concept of keeping everything off the garage floor. It is surprising how much that concept will help guide your storage solution.

What I found to be cost effective and very sturdy was to use heavy duty shelf brackets that I lag bolted to the garage wall studs. The brackets are rated for a lot of weight. These brackets were placed on each stud I could find at a height that was manageable with a 6 foot step ladder but still provided room underneath to park vehicles. I then used 2x8's as the shelving material. The shelves span the entire perimeter of the garage from one set of doors to the other.

There is about 3 feet of room between the garage ceiling and the shelves I put in. I then used storage totes to hold items and put the totes on the shelves.

I also built what I call cubby boxes that hang on the wall and attached them to the bottom of the shelving. I used 3/4 plywood and made them the same depth as the shelf above. To add reinforcement, I did use a router when building the cubby boxes and used rabbet and dado methods of woodworking.

For walls where there was open space I constructed a frame of 1x1s and affixed it to the studs. I then screwed pegboard over that frame and organized garden tools on it.

For other items that I needed access to but wanted off the floor, I used a series of hooks as well as tree stand steps (the ones that screw into trees). Bikes hang upside down from the ceiling rafters, extension cords hang on the wall, ladders hang on hooks below the shelving, sports equipment and other assorted stuff goes into the cubby boxes I built that hang from the shelving.