Creating storage space in the garage

By Eva Neumann Dec 28, 2011, 23:01 GMT

Berlin - Architects never seem to include enough storage space when they draw plans for new homes. Often the builder and home owner don't discover this until years later when they have filled up their basement with stuff.

When that happens there's no use looking for space in the closets - they typically also are overflowing. This forces people to look in their garage for a solution. It's an ideal place to store spare tyres, garden supplies, tools and possibly even sports equipment. It can often provide additional storage space and still leave room for a car. But a garage doesn't offer endless room, which means clever storage systems should be used to maximize the space.

Shelves help maintain order, but not all materials are suitable for garage shelving units because the garage door is often open, exposing them to the elements. Free-standing plastic shelves are flexible and moveable, but take up a lot of space and can tip over if they are overloaded.

'Systems made of medal are very stable, weatherproof and easy to maintain and clean,' said Mareike Hermann of a do-it-yourself academy in Cologne.

Systems that can be affixed to the wall are easy to install, flexible, space-saving and customizable. The idea behind modular solutions is similar, but the shelf configurations of the hanging systems can be easily changed. Horizontal or vertical strips are fastened to the wall. These strips are notched to hold the arms that in turn hold the shelves, hooks, baskets or other containers positioned wherever the user wishes, said Daniel Fahlbusch, marketing director of the shelf system Elfa Germany.

The best place to install the shelves is on the garage's side walls. They should be positioned over the heads of the users, said Alexander Wiech of a publisher and household support service provider in Berlin. There's not as much space typically along the sides as there is at the back of the garage, said Neuhoff. Garages usually are only 3 metres wide. This is the width that's needed to comfortably open the doors. Therefore shelves should be built overhead with enough space left to stand under after getting out of the car.

In light of the limited amount of surface space in a garage the goal in the planning phase should be raising the stored items as high as possible. 'Flat objects that are seldom used can be stored in the rafters of the garage,' said Wiech. This includes large recreational items used only in particular seasons such as surfboards, canoes, skis, sleds, roof luggage racks for the car, ladders, sun umbrellas and snow shovels.

A solution for garages whose walls are made of concrete are systems that use wooden planks or boards to create an additional level. These can be held by cables attached to the rafters. Again, the shelves must be positioned so that there is enough headroom for getting in and out of the car and the amount of weight the shelves can hold must also be checked.

Such additional levels often cannot be built into a garage as easily as a shelf system. The system and the load-bearing ability of the garage must be taken into account and planned when the structure is built.

'Things like garden furniture, tools and workbenches and their equipment tend to accumulate quickly in the house,' said Eva Reinhold-Postina of an association of private builders in Berlin. Growing or changing needs should be kept in mind from the start of a building project onwards, she advises.