72″ × 84″ garage shelving unit plans

Parts

Cut list

Kerf 1/8″ included. Every cut runs edge to edge.

Steps

• Tape measure
• Speed square
• Pencil
• Drill/driver
• Clamps
• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection
• Dust mask
• Circular saw and a straight edge (or have the store cut the sheets)
• Stud finder
• Level
• Sander, 120 and 180 grit

Underlined words have a short explanation: hover or tap them. All of them are on the glossary page.

1. 1Before you start

   Read every step once, start to finish, before you buy or cut anything. Each step names the parts it uses by letter; the parts list gives their sizes.

   Set up somewhere flat with good light. A pair of sawhorses with a sheet of plywood on top makes a fine work table.

   Wear safety glasses whenever a tool is running, hearing protection for saws, and a dust mask for sanding and for cutting treated wood or sheet goods. Tie back long hair and loose sleeves. Keep children and pets out of the work area.

   • Tip At the store, pick straight boards: hold each one up to your eye and look down its length. Skip boards that bow, twist or have big knots near the ends.
   • Tip Measure twice, cut once. Most mistakes are a misread tape, not a bad cut.

2. 2Cut and label the parts

   Cut every part on the cut list. Cut the longest parts first: if one goes wrong, it can still become a shorter part.

   To mark a cut, hook your tape on the end of the board, make a small V with its point exactly at the measurement, and draw a square line through the point with a speed square. Put an X on the waste side.

   Cut on the waste side of the line, so the blade's kerf (about 1/8″) comes out of the scrap, not your part. Cut sheets with the good face down when using a circular saw: the blade splinters the top face.

   Write each part's letter in pencil on a face that won't show, and stack the parts by letter.

   Sand the faces before assembly while they're flat and easy to reach: 120 grit, then 180.

   ✓ Lay the parts out and count them against the parts list. Measure a few: if one is off by more than 1/16″, recut it now.

   STOP. Let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood, keep both hands clear of the blade's path, and never reach under a board you're cutting. Support long boards on both sides of the cut so the blade doesn't pinch.

3. 3Build the shelf frames

   Each shelf is a ladder-shaped frame: two rails (C) on edge with cross pieces (D) between them. Make 4 identical frames.

   Mark the cross piece positions on a pair of rails at once, from the left end: 0″, 23 1/2″, 47″, 70 1/2″ (the left edge of each cross piece).

   On a flat floor, stand the rails on edge 21″ apart outside to outside, set the cross pieces between them on the marks, tops flush, and drive 2 screws, 3″, through the rail into each cross piece end.

   • Tip Screw two scrap blocks to the floor (or clamp them to a workbench) as a corner jig: push each frame into the corner and every one comes out the same.
   • Tip Sight along each rail and put the crown (the slight upward bow) up, so the load flattens it.

   ✓ Each frame measures 72″ × 21″ and its diagonals are equal within 1/8″.

4. 4Mark the legs

   Lay all 6 legs (A and B) side by side, bottoms flush against a straight board, and clamp them. Square a line across all of them at each frame-top height: 7 1/2″, 32 3/4″, 58 1/16″, 83 5/16″. The top of each frame lines up with a mark; the frame hangs below it.

   Draw an X below each line so you never set a frame on the wrong side of a mark.

   ✓ Every leg has the same set of marks: hold any two together and the lines meet.

5. 5Screw the frames to the back legs

   Lay the 3 back legs (A) flat on the floor, one at each end and one in the middle, marks facing up, 72″ apart outside to outside.

   Stand each frame on its back rail between and across the legs, its top edge on the marks, the rail ends flush with the outside of the end legs.

   Drive 3 screws, 3″, through each leg into the rail, in a triangle so they don't all split the same grain line.

   ✓ Measure the diagonals of the whole back (leg tops to bottoms): equal within 1/4″.

   STOP. Get help for the next step. A shelf unit lying on its back is heavy and awkward to stand up.

6. 6Add the front legs

   With a helper, tip the unit up onto its back legs so the frames point up. Lay the front legs (B) across the front rails at their marks, ends flush with the outside of the frames.

   Drive 3 screws, 3″, through each front leg into each front rail.

   Stand the unit upright in its spot, and check it with a level on the front legs, both directions. Slip shims under a low leg if the floor slopes.

   ✓ The legs are plumb front to back and side to side, and the unit doesn't rock.

7. 7Lay the shelves

   Set a shelf (E) on each frame, flush with the ends. It fits exactly between the front and back legs, so you may need to tap it down with a block of wood and a hammer.

   Drive 1 5/8″ screws down into the rails and cross pieces every 8″.

   • Tip Sand or plane any splinters off the front edges: you'll be sliding bins over them.
   • Tip A coat of paint or poly on the plywood makes spills wipe off.

   ✓ Each shelf is tight, flat and screwed to every cross piece.

   STOP. Don't load it until it's anchored to a wall stud (the next step). Then put the heaviest things on the lowest shelves, keep each shelf under 200 lb, and never climb the shelves to reach the top.

8. 8Anchor to the wall

   Slide a stud finder along the wall behind where the piece will stand and mark the studs.

   Fix the anti-tip kit's bracket to the back or top of the piece, then screw its other end into a stud with the screws supplied.

   Do not load the piece until it is anchored.

   STOP. Confirm the wall type first. Drywall on studs: use the studs. Plaster or masonry: use the kit's matching anchors or ask a pro.

9. 9Finish

   Ease every sharp edge and corner with 120-grit sandpaper so nobody gets a splinter.

   Sand all over with 180 grit, always along the grain (the direction the wood fibres run). Scratches across the grain show through stain.

   Wipe off the dust with a barely damp rag and let it dry.

   Paint, stain or a clear coat (water-based polyurethane is the easiest). Apply thin coats with the grain, let each dry fully, and sand lightly with 220 grit between coats.

   Let it dry for the time on the can before using it.

   • Tip Try your finish on a scrap of the same wood first: stain looks different on every board.