Cali always has to be the star of the show! I’ve been wanting to do this for awhile in my home but I wasn’t quite sure how. Definitely going to try and do this now! 1:59
I walked around Home Depot wondering what may be best garage organization plan and was Steel strut wondering what thats for and potential and because of this video I am likely going to go with this plan
Very creative use of unistrut, David. Thanks for sharing! I’ve got a shelving project coming up in my garage pretty soon so I’m looking at a bunch of different ideas
1. You can look up unistrut loading. You actual load will be about double the listing because it will be splt with the support along the wall (in fact with the load pushed against the wall, the wall will carry most of the load). P1000T (1-5/8 square, slots like he has here) can handle 238 lbs (476 ttl) at 12', 289 (578 ttl) lbs at 10', 357 lbs (714 ttl) at 8', and for shorter spans WTF are you putting on this? 2. I prefer to mount the unistrut with the holes down so I can hang things from the holes (shop lights, etc.). 3. Don't worry about it being "Bouncy." Unistrut is a channel (U shaped) and not a square tube so it will easily flex, but it isn't going to fail. 4. if the end of the unistrut is against drywall or similar (here presswood), cut out a small hole and put the unistrut into the wall cavity about 2". This will ensure that if the beam shifts it will always be resting on the wall 2x4 cross support. 5. For downcomers I've always used leftover unistrut, but if you don't have enough scrap then use 2x4 or 4x4 lumber. Drill a hole in the side of the unistrut and bolt to the downcomer. Overhead connect to a ceiling joist with 2 bolts. 5a. 2x4 or 4x4 choice depends on direction ceiling joists run, want 4" side facing both unistrut and ceiling joist. With wood allow at least 2" of wood past the bolt hole. 5b. If you are concerned about putting too much weight on 1 joist, if you have access can bolt between 2 4x4 and lay across several ceiling joists, or double up the joists to make a wider beam. This is probably overkill if you are connecting to 2x8 or larger joists. 5c. If you are going through drywall and don't have an attic overhead, cut an access panel and frame in with molding like an attic access panel. 6. Overhand the shelf over the unistrut a little. In addition to protecting against shifting, this better supports the shelf allowing you to use thinner plywood shelfing. I recommend 2" to 8" overhang. 7. Don't forget the middle of the garage. If there is enough space above the garage door, use unistrut to add shelving down the middle. Allow 1" clearance above the garage door highest point when moving for sagging. use 4 pieces of unistrut to put on either side of the garage door opener channel. Pus a small piece of wood down either side of the channel so you don't accidentally push an item into it. 7a. Test your clearance with a string by opening and closing the garage door BEFORE installing the unistrut. 7b. You will need to cut out around the garage door opener. 7c. You will probably block the garage door light. Buy an outlet adapter that fits into a light socker to put in the garage door opener socket, and run an extension cord to a light fixture elsewhere. 7d. At the back of the garage door when open, drop the middle shelf lower and continue the shelf to the wall. Set this height about 2" higher than the garage door opening. Use 3 pieces of unistrut and set the plywood shelf sideways so it rests on all 3 pieces of unistrut. 7e. continue across the garage door wall to the sides, up to 4' deep. 8. Get the most space out of the shelves depth. On the sides come out to about 2" less than the edge of the garage door opening, or 4 feet, whichever is less. You will need to notch around the garage door guides. Test your clearance with cardboard in place of the shelf, and again BEFORE bolting down the shelf. 8a. Across the back wall area install 4' deep shelves. 9. I recommend height of at least 6' 8" from the garage floor unless you are installing taller cabinets underneath (height of a standard doorway). You might consider mounting the back wall shelves opposite the garage door opening about 2" higher than the garage door opening so you never lose the ability to put in higher and longer vehicles. 10. If you are going around all 4 sides plus down the middle, make the space between the middle and side shelves at least as wide as the deepest shelf. if you have to narrow a shelf for this, narrow the middle shelves since they are mounted the highest. For example, your garage is 20' wide, your side shelves are 2'6" deep for 5' total. Your 2 middle shelves should be 3'9" deep and the space between these and the outside 3'9" 11. Don't narrow your shelves just to save on plywood. If you are exceeding 2' on both sides, then rotate the plywood to have 4' wide sections still cut to the maximin width. You aren't adding a lot of plywood sheets to the total job (maybe 1 or 2 sheets). 12. I you want to hang stuff below the unistrut, connect piping, etc. look up the unistrut catalog for additional fittings. 13. Paint the wood white if you have a white ceiling. The shelving will be less noticeable, and the white color will help with lighting. All of this said, if you are on a budget, don't use unistrut everywhere, because it is expensive. Use it in places where you want a long span without supports. Use it in places where a shelf dropping would be disasterous, such as down the middle of the garage. Along the walls you're paying a lot of money and only gaining about an inch of height.
Awesome video. U are an inspiration but I have a question. How did you install the rod to the ceiling. This was the only thing that was unclear on the video. Thanks
At 1:39 in the video I show some wood blocks that I nailed into the joists and rafters. I then drilled a hole through the wood block, ran the rod up through the hole, and on the topside used a washer and double nut. I tightened the two nuts together to lock them. Sorry I didn't go into a lot of detail here. It was boiling hot up in the rafter bays, I just wanted to get down.
DavidPoz ... thanks brother. I am doing my own powerwall soon and I have spent countless hours researching. Your video by far is the most user friendly and easy to follow.
they do make a fastener that allows you to anchor a rod directly into wood. it's called a Sammy. they make one's that have a wood lag on one side and a 3/8 female rod coupling on the nut side. they also make them to go into concrete and sideways into wood. very handy
I nailed a 2x6 on top of the ceiling joists. Then drilled a hole in the blocking lined up with the rod. Rand the rod up through the hole, then used a big fender washer and doubled nuts on the top.
Awesome video. Scoured all over TH-cam to find a nice overhanging garage shelving system. This hits the spot in regards to ease and aesthetics! Do you mind letting me know the size wood trim you used on the wall? It looks like a 2x2.
There are a couple different ways. One is to use a "Hanger Bolt" like this: amzn.to/3h6KBNB Plus a coupling nut like this: amzn.to/3urnvF9 . You would need to find your ceiling joists or rafters, pre-drill a hole, then drive in the wood-screw half of the hanger bolt. Then you thread the coupling nut on half-way, and your threaded rod into the bottom half.
where did you go to buy the Uni Strut and all that threaded rod? I want to do something like this in my garage which has low head room, and I think it will work nice having only 3/8 rods coming through the ceiling, I should have just enough room for plastic totes and not hitting my head on the shelf, which is why I don't want a 2x4 for support, I thought about using wire planneling for the shelves and angle iron for the support
Lowes, it is located in the electrical aisle with the metal conduit. I've also seen it at home depot, and my local Electrical supply houses carry it as well. It is very common in commercial work.
they are anchored to the wall, so no movement pulling things off. Yes, they are solid. My one mistake was going too long of a span at first, so I added one more rod, but showed that in the video.
@@DavidPozEnergy Hello. I saw the question about whether the front of the ply would warp. It's been almost a year, any warping? I'm about to start on this project this coming week during the 4th of July holiday. I imagine, since you had carriage bolts keeping it down, it should hold up. If anything, adding carriage bolts every couple of feet would do it. I'm curious what you'll find though. Thanks for the video - it's awesome. Perfectly edited down.
I checked with my buddy about any sagging. Nope, no sag. To quote him, he said "they look the same as the day you installed them". He does have the shelves full, but mostly he is using plastic totes. Maybe the totes help distribute the load so it's not concentrated on the front lip?
If you find a supply store for electrical or HVAC that sells to commercial/industrial you can find longer pieces of unistrut, I think 20' or 22'. That would be nice to avoid splices.
He's a bright, articulate guy with a creative alternative for DIY shelving.
Cali always has to be the star of the show! I’ve been wanting to do this for awhile in my home but I wasn’t quite sure how. Definitely going to try and do this now! 1:59
I walked around Home Depot wondering what may be best garage organization plan and was Steel strut wondering what thats for and potential and because of this video I am likely going to go with this plan
Thanks. I learned something today for adding some unistruts for ceiling lights in my house
Very creative use of unistrut, David. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve got a shelving project coming up in my garage pretty soon so I’m looking at a bunch of different ideas
Such a beautiful job it looks amazing 4:32
Was looking to see if you gave the the rod's size. 3/8 . Great use of the Unistrut. I love the detail you give. Important info! Good Job.
Thanks
I love this idea! I will be adding something similar to my garage! Thanks for sharing!
I wish you would have shown how you fastened the threaded rods to the joists
Thanks a lot for this video. Exactly what i wanted too see! Great job
OMG - this is so great. I've been looking for a clear and concise way to create some for my bathroom. You Rock! 4:34
They were perfect
heya nice install of diy shelves
Great idea
thank you very informative
Great job!!!
I would recommend 2m span ..depending on weight you have up there...1.8 sounds fine
first .... wow , this was one of your best videos
Thanks. I don't have a background in video stuff, so it takes a painfully long time to edit.
1. You can look up unistrut loading. You actual load will be about double the listing because it will be splt with the support along the wall (in fact with the load pushed against the wall, the wall will carry most of the load). P1000T (1-5/8 square, slots like he has here) can handle 238 lbs (476 ttl) at 12', 289 (578 ttl) lbs at 10', 357 lbs (714 ttl) at 8', and for shorter spans WTF are you putting on this?
2. I prefer to mount the unistrut with the holes down so I can hang things from the holes (shop lights, etc.).
3. Don't worry about it being "Bouncy." Unistrut is a channel (U shaped) and not a square tube so it will easily flex, but it isn't going to fail.
4. if the end of the unistrut is against drywall or similar (here presswood), cut out a small hole and put the unistrut into the wall cavity about 2". This will ensure that if the beam shifts it will always be resting on the wall 2x4 cross support.
5. For downcomers I've always used leftover unistrut, but if you don't have enough scrap then use 2x4 or 4x4 lumber. Drill a hole in the side of the unistrut and bolt to the downcomer. Overhead connect to a ceiling joist with 2 bolts.
5a. 2x4 or 4x4 choice depends on direction ceiling joists run, want 4" side facing both unistrut and ceiling joist. With wood allow at least 2" of wood past the bolt hole.
5b. If you are concerned about putting too much weight on 1 joist, if you have access can bolt between 2 4x4 and lay across several ceiling joists, or double up the joists to make a wider beam. This is probably overkill if you are connecting to 2x8 or larger joists.
5c. If you are going through drywall and don't have an attic overhead, cut an access panel and frame in with molding like an attic access panel.
6. Overhand the shelf over the unistrut a little. In addition to protecting against shifting, this better supports the shelf allowing you to use thinner plywood shelfing. I recommend 2" to 8" overhang.
7. Don't forget the middle of the garage. If there is enough space above the garage door, use unistrut to add shelving down the middle. Allow 1" clearance above the garage door highest point when moving for sagging. use 4 pieces of unistrut to put on either side of the garage door opener channel. Pus a small piece of wood down either side of the channel so you don't accidentally push an item into it.
7a. Test your clearance with a string by opening and closing the garage door BEFORE installing the unistrut.
7b. You will need to cut out around the garage door opener.
7c. You will probably block the garage door light. Buy an outlet adapter that fits into a light socker to put in the garage door opener socket, and run an extension cord to a light fixture elsewhere.
7d. At the back of the garage door when open, drop the middle shelf lower and continue the shelf to the wall. Set this height about 2" higher than the garage door opening. Use 3 pieces of unistrut and set the plywood shelf sideways so it rests on all 3 pieces of unistrut.
7e. continue across the garage door wall to the sides, up to 4' deep.
8. Get the most space out of the shelves depth. On the sides come out to about 2" less than the edge of the garage door opening, or 4 feet, whichever is less. You will need to notch around the garage door guides. Test your clearance with cardboard in place of the shelf, and again BEFORE bolting down the shelf.
8a. Across the back wall area install 4' deep shelves.
9. I recommend height of at least 6' 8" from the garage floor unless you are installing taller cabinets underneath (height of a standard doorway). You might consider mounting the back wall shelves opposite the garage door opening about 2" higher than the garage door opening so you never lose the ability to put in higher and longer vehicles.
10. If you are going around all 4 sides plus down the middle, make the space between the middle and side shelves at least as wide as the deepest shelf. if you have to narrow a shelf for this, narrow the middle shelves since they are mounted the highest. For example, your garage is 20' wide, your side shelves are 2'6" deep for 5' total. Your 2 middle shelves should be 3'9" deep and the space between these and the outside 3'9"
11. Don't narrow your shelves just to save on plywood. If you are exceeding 2' on both sides, then rotate the plywood to have 4' wide sections still cut to the maximin width. You aren't adding a lot of plywood sheets to the total job (maybe 1 or 2 sheets).
12. I you want to hang stuff below the unistrut, connect piping, etc. look up the unistrut catalog for additional fittings.
13. Paint the wood white if you have a white ceiling. The shelving will be less noticeable, and the white color will help with lighting.
All of this said, if you are on a budget, don't use unistrut everywhere, because it is expensive. Use it in places where you want a long span without supports. Use it in places where a shelf dropping would be disasterous, such as down the middle of the garage. Along the walls you're paying a lot of money and only gaining about an inch of height.
Pretty cool, thanks again for sharing :-)
This is a great idea! I would like to have seen more detail regarding the wood blocking. That said, I really like this idea.
Awesome video. U are an inspiration but I have a question. How did you install the rod to the ceiling. This was the only thing that was unclear on the video. Thanks
At 1:39 in the video I show some wood blocks that I nailed into the joists and rafters. I then drilled a hole through the wood block, ran the rod up through the hole, and on the topside used a washer and double nut. I tightened the two nuts together to lock them. Sorry I didn't go into a lot of detail here. It was boiling hot up in the rafter bays, I just wanted to get down.
DavidPoz ... thanks brother. I am doing my own powerwall soon and I have spent countless hours researching. Your video by far is the most user friendly and easy to follow.
they do make a fastener that allows you to anchor a rod directly into wood. it's called a Sammy. they make one's that have a wood lag on one side and a 3/8 female rod coupling on the nut side. they also make them to go into concrete and sideways into wood. very handy
Since your doing two shelves they have double sided unistrut
I would have used pulleys so you could lower the shelves to a comfortable reach height. 3:29
Would any unistrut work?
Is this cheaper as a DIY vs. buying from Costco (SafeRack brand $180 2'x8' kit)?
I think buying the Costco Saferack 2 x 8 kit for $169 is less expensive over all
how does the ready rod attach to the rafters?
I nailed a 2x6 on top of the ceiling joists. Then drilled a hole in the blocking lined up with the rod. Rand the rod up through the hole, then used a big fender washer and doubled nuts on the top.
Awesome video. Scoured all over TH-cam to find a nice overhanging garage shelving system. This hits the spot in regards to ease and aesthetics! Do you mind letting me know the size wood trim you used on the wall? It looks like a 2x2.
Very close to that. I ripped a 2x6 in half. It's about 1.5"x2.4"
@@DavidPozEnergy thanks David!
How can I attach the all thread to finished drywall ceiling?
There are a couple different ways. One is to use a "Hanger Bolt" like this: amzn.to/3h6KBNB Plus a coupling nut like this: amzn.to/3urnvF9 . You would need to find your ceiling joists or rafters, pre-drill a hole, then drive in the wood-screw half of the hanger bolt. Then you thread the coupling nut on half-way, and your threaded rod into the bottom half.
where did you go to buy the Uni Strut and all that threaded rod? I want to do something like this in my garage which has low head room, and I think it will work nice having only 3/8 rods coming through the ceiling, I should have just enough room for plastic totes and not hitting my head on the shelf, which is why I don't want a 2x4 for support, I thought about using wire planneling for the shelves and angle iron for the support
Lowes, it is located in the electrical aisle with the metal conduit. I've also seen it at home depot, and my local Electrical supply houses carry it as well. It is very common in commercial work.
In my town, Lowes had the struts cheaper than Home Depot.
How did you attach the threaded rod to the blocks?
I drilled a hole and ran the threaded rod through the block, then added a washer and nut on the backside. Thanks for watching.
I was just going to ask this same question thanks for the info!
Do they “sway” at all when pulling stuff off or on? Or are they solid?
they are anchored to the wall, so no movement pulling things off. Yes, they are solid. My one mistake was going too long of a span at first, so I added one more rod, but showed that in the video.
DavidPoz thank you for responding.
It's called a trapeze
Will the front of that plywood shelf - since it's unsupported - warp with time?
Hi Fredochs, It might. Send me a reminder is a year and I'll check them and let you know.
@@DavidPozEnergy Hello. I saw the question about whether the front of the ply would warp. It's been almost a year, any warping? I'm about to start on this project this coming week during the 4th of July holiday. I imagine, since you had carriage bolts keeping it down, it should hold up. If anything, adding carriage bolts every couple of feet would do it. I'm curious what you'll find though.
Thanks for the video - it's awesome. Perfectly edited down.
I checked with my buddy about any sagging. Nope, no sag. To quote him, he said "they look the same as the day you installed them". He does have the shelves full, but mostly he is using plastic totes. Maybe the totes help distribute the load so it's not concentrated on the front lip?
So how can someone add a rod to an already finished ceiling?
There is an adapter that has a wood screw on one side, and machine threads on the other.
what size unistrut did you use? can you provide link.. P & T
It is 1 5/8" square by 10 feet long. www.lowes.com/pd/Superstrut-1-5-8-in-x-1-5-8-in-Silver-Electroplated-Half-Slot-Channel-Strut/1000192655
If you find a supply store for electrical or HVAC that sells to commercial/industrial you can find longer pieces of unistrut, I think 20' or 22'. That would be nice to avoid splices.
This channel had 666 likes and I am going to give it one more like to rid of that nasty 666
I think I can do this. Less wood works for me.
Btw, thank you for sharing this.
I now have a new project...
Good luck.
you could park a car on strut ? what do u mean weight and I would never splice something like that .. why not use a step bit and make your own hole?
Hi Joshua Drexler, The shelves are plenty strong for the storage they hold, but I would not want to park a car on them LOL.
2x4's are inexpensive.
Not today
If you're not going to show people how you hung the primary support mechanism, the video is basically worthless.