I don’t know if I’ve ever talked to someone who said they really had more storage space than they could use. Closets often bulge to the seams until the garage inevitably ends up sacrificing its vehicular storage capacity for our ever increasing collection of stuff. If the garage is the only storage option, it can be used much more efficiently than just stacking stuff in the corner. One solution I have found, especially for items not accessed on a regular basis, is to use overhead storage. This gets things up and out of the way allowing the precious floor space to be reclaimed.

A search for pre-manufactured overhead storage products did not turn up anything useful for my situation. There are some solutions, but none were anywhere near the size I was looking for. I wanted a single shelf to run across the length of the back wall of my garage. Most store bought suspended shelves are too small and too square, and I needed something over 24′ long, but only about 20″ deep so I decided to make it myself out of steel and medium density fiberboard (MDF). Plywood or OSB could also be used, but the MDF has a nice smooth splinter-free finish that doesn’t need to be painted.

I ordered 1″x1″x1/8″ steel angle and 1″x1/8″ steel plate to construct the frame. You can buy this steel at a home center, but the local stores weren’t stocked with the 20′ lengths I wanted (I think 8 or 10 feet was the max.). I was fortunate enough to be able to order it at work through one of our steel suppliers, but I’m sure if you look around you can find a source. Steel is available unfinished as well as in a galvanized zinc finish (the zinc plated steel I saw was also a much lighter gauge). The zinc doesn’t require painting and won’t rust, but it is much more expensive. I used the unfinished steel and painted it. The MDF was purchased at Lowes in 4′X8′x3/4″ sheets and ripped to width to make the shelf. For fastening the steel framed together I used 1/4″ diameter bolts available at any hardware store. The shelves were fastened to the frame with 6-32 machine screws which are also readily available. The entire assembly was screwed to the ceiling with 1/4″ lag screws.

The dimensions of the steel frame were determined by the width of my garage, the size of boxes I would be storing, and the depth of shelf I wanted. I ripped each 4×8 sheet into (5) approx. 19″ wide x 4′ long pieces. These dimensions maximized the shelf depth while minimizing waste.

Here’s a typical section showing where the steel was used.

After taking careful measurements I cut the steel using a cut off wheel attached to an angle grinder. A side note: be careful and wear proper protection when using power tools. An electric drill and bit made for steel were used to make holes for all the connections. Rip the MDF to width with a table saw or circular saw & straight edge. Drill all holes and test fit everything before continuing. You don’t want to realize you need another hole when you’re up on the ladder trying to put it together and everything is already nicely painted. When everything fits together easily mark each piece so you can put it back together after you take it apart to paint, making sure the marks will still be readable after it’s painted. I etched small nicks in the steel with the cut off wheel.

After all the fabrication is done, clean the steel to removed any oily residue providing a good bonding surface for the paint. Also, remove any burrs or rough spots with grinder. Allow the steel to dry thoroughly, and begin with a steel primer. I topped mine with two coats of satin black enamel which produced a nice clean finish.

With the length of shelf I made it was easiest to assemble it piece by piece. Make sure when attaching it to the ceiling that each screw is anchored into a ceiling joist. Use a stud finder to locate solid wood. As with any time you drill holes in walls, floors, or ceilings, be careful not to puncture any wiring, plumbing, gas, etc…

I don’t have any shots of the installation process, but here’s one before anything was put up.

I ended up building two shelves in my garage as you can see below. One was in front of the soffit and one below. I can walk under the lower shelf without hitting my head while still being able to reach it without a ladder. It has added a significant amount of storage space while allowing the floor space below to remain available. Note: the shelves are finished in this picture, but the garage reorganization process is not, hence, the other stuff in the photo.