Shelving, Storage & Garage Organization · Cambridge

Shelving, Storage and Garage Organization in Cambridge

A bungalow closet built in 1955 and a two-car garage full of bins have the same problem. Nothing is on the wall. Getting it there, properly anchored, is a day's work.

Cambridge houses were not built with storage in mind. Century homes in Galt have small closets, if any, and basements with stone walls you cannot screw into. Post-war bungalows in Preston and Hespeler have one closet per bedroom and a garage, if there is one, that was sized for a 1950s car. Newer houses have the garage but it is full of hockey bags, bikes and bins on the floor. The answer in every case is to get things off the floor and onto the wall or the ceiling, anchored into something that will hold.

Garage organization

• Wall shelving. Heavy-duty brackets and shelving lagged into studs, or a French-cleat rail system so shelves and hooks can be moved later. Sized for totes, so the bins go up and the floor comes back.
• Overhead racks. Ceiling-mounted platforms for seasonal tires, camping gear and the things you touch twice a year, bolted into the ceiling joists, not into drywall. In a truss-roof garage the rack has to be anchored to the bottom chords the way the manufacturer specifies, and that gets checked before drilling.
• Slat wall and track systems. For tools, bikes, ladders, hoses and sports gear. Installed on a straight, level line with every screw in a stud.
• Bike and kayak hoists, ladder hooks, tire racks. Anchored for the load and positioned so the car still fits.
• Workbench. A solid bench built to the wall at the right height, with a shelf below and a pegboard or slat panel above, so it does not walk across the floor when you lean on it.

Closets

The single rod and shelf in a Preston bungalow closet wastes half its height. A wire or laminate closet system with double rods, shelves and drawers, cut to fit the actual opening and anchored into studs, roughly doubles what the closet holds. In Galt century homes, closets are often shallow and oddly shaped, and a custom-cut shelf and rod layout beats any kit. Sliding and bifold doors that have come off their track get put right at the same visit.

Pantry, laundry and basement

Pantry shelving cut to the depth of the space so cans are not lost at the back. A shelf over the washer and dryer, a hanging rod for shirts, a folding counter. Basement shelving on the block or poured walls where the framing allows, or freestanding steel shelving assembled and anchored to the wall so it cannot tip. In older Galt basements with rubble-stone walls, freestanding units anchored into the floor joists above are the right answer, because the stone will not take an anchor.

Mudrooms and entries

A row of hooks on a rail screwed into studs, a bench with cubbies underneath, a shelf above for hats and mitts. The difference between a back entry that works for a family and one where the boots live in a pile. In a Hespeler townhouse or a north Cambridge two-storey with a garage entry, this is a half-day job that changes the house every single morning.

Wall-mounted TVs, mirrors and heavy things

The same skill applies to anything heavy going on a wall. A TV bracket into studs or, on a Galt brick wall, into masonry anchors rated for the weight. A large mirror on a French cleat. A floating shelf that will hold books rather than sag. The anchoring is the job; the rest is cosmetic.

Anchoring, and why it is the whole job

Almost every failed shelf or rack is a fastener problem. A plastic drywall plug holding a shelf of paint cans, a rack screwed into the ceiling drywall between the joists, a lag bolt that missed the stud. Finding framing, using the right fastener for the load and the material, and pre-drilling properly is what you are paying for. Where a wall has wiring or plumbing behind it, that gets located before drilling. Any new outlet or light in the garage or workshop is a licensed electrical contractor's job through the ESA, not part of this visit.

Frequently asked questions

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