I finally admitted to myself that I’ll never get a vehicle in our one-car garage again, so I might as well build shelving to make better use of the space.

Weekends from the end of July to last week have been busy. This weekend was free, so I gave it a shot despite the rains from the nor’easter.

First I framed it out, working around the pre-existing shelf and cabinet. I originally planned on removing the cabinet, only to realize one of the previous owners had the existing shelf resting on top of the cabinet. Around it, then.

Then Charlie helped me measure, mark, and cut the slats, for which we used 1x2x8 furring strips cut into 32″ pieces. The idea to use slats instead of plywood came from Derek Hanson, who blogged about making some basement storage during his sabbatical. He wanted something that looks nicer than plywood, and I agree that the slats look great.

Charlie also enjoyed learning how to use the air stapler and how to use a spare board as a spacer. We used 1/4″ x 1 1/2″ staples.

Almost finished.

Finished and starting to load it up.

All loaded up with room to spare!

As you can see off to the right, I also put up hooks to hang bikes and various trailer hitch accessories (bike rack, storage rack, boat swivel.)

More organizing and cleaning to do, but off to a good start.