Overhead Garage Storage Racks

Why do you put the second most valuable thing you own outside while storing your mostly useless junk in the garage? LOOK UP and envision a new deck hovering over your car hood holding all that stuff on the garage floor! Coolers, seasonal decorations, extra household supplies, records and even kayaks can fit on an overhead rack.

Closet Tailors of SW Florida uses a 4' x 8' (different sizes available) rack that hangs 24"-44" from the ceiling to sometimes double the usable floor space. See more pictures at http://www.closettailors.com/capecoral . Pricing is $325 each including installation. Add them to a custom garage cabinet system to MAX YOUR SPACE!

Two of the most tiresome times of the year are when we pull out all of the X-mas decorations and when we put them back. Whether you drag them out of the attic, down the staircase, across the garage or out of a black bag (my folks just cover their tiny tree with a garbage bag), easy access to buckets and bins is crucial.

I solved that with an overhead rack in the garage. You need pretty close to a 9' ceiling to allow the 2' minimum drop, but most garages are near that height these days. My tree, buckets of ornaments, hard to box up decorations and holiday plates/silverware/glasses all end up stacked in one space.

Take a look at some pictures on my biz website knowing that I only service a small area of SW Florida: http://closettailors.com/capecoral . If you are out of my area, check out this site as they are my supplier for the racks: www.onrax.com .

So where do you put those IRS mandated hold on to seven year records? Yes, there are attics, closets, sheds and possibly cellars (eh..maybe not..mold is devilish on paper). One place that is perfect, simply because it is out of the way and generally free of most pesky issues, is over your head!

Yes I mean over your head in the garage. I dare say 90% of garages have NOTHING using the space over the hood of the car. That's not unusual as the latest racks have been on the market for just a few years. Professional organizers and garage specialists now install them for nearly the same as you can purchase them retail.

You can find similar products at hardware big box stores, but spend the extra $$ strictly for improved weight load. Limits of 250 lbs is not unusual and you can get there pretty quick over a 4' x 8' deck. My favorite source is Onrax ( www onrax.com) with an 800 lbs rating. They include all hardware needed, simple instructions and make it pretty idiot proof. I would suggest a good hammer drill and a 3/8' bit to pre-drill anchor holes. You can get away with a ratchet wrench, but will wear yourself out on the bolts. Oh yeah, this is a TWO person job...just trust me and you will save yourself a lot of frustration. A dead blow hammer will treat the steel gently.

For more info and pictures of real world garage rack installs, see http://www.closettailors.com/capecoral under the "gallery".

I'd like you to walk out into your garage and look up. Assuming you have a car in there, is there 24" between the ceiling and the hood of you car? The answer is an obvious yes...

Even if you have an eight foot ceiling, there is room to hang an overhead rack of some size (2' x 2', 2' x 6', 4' x 4',...) and you have just created NEW storage space out of thin air! I'll be installing three of these at the end of the month and that is like giving my client a 10' x 10' floor they could stack up to three feet deep.

Check with your local garage specialist, closet company or order them online from www.onrax.com .

Garage storage, especially overhead, is some of the most underutilized space in a home. As a professional storage expert, I always look UP when I go in a garage as there is a high likelihood of available space above the cars or garage door.

My rack has holiday decorations, paper towels, a weedeater hanging from it and is a favorite place for my cat to climb up and sleep! Expect to pay around $300 usd for an installed 4' x 8' rack that holds 500 lbs.

Seasonal decorations store well on overhead racks. Take your bins, label with season (Halloween, Xmas, New Years, etc.) and stack them up! The Onrax brand can support up to 800 lbs though I wouldn't go so far as to weigh everything.

Use your best judgment knowing that boxes of tax records weigh more than boxes of ornaments!

Listen it's this simple... If you car is not parked in the garage because you have stuff strewn all over the floor, look up where the car hood might be and see if there is empty ceiling. If so, take all of the stuff at your feet and envision it up there while your car is parked INSIDE!

Since most people think two dimensionally, overhead garage racks use the space floating right in front of you. Use a sheet of plywood (4' x 8') as a measure and think 2'-4' from the ceiling - that's a LOT of space to store goods.

More and more people are now using their garage as an extension of their house and an extra storage system for all their belongings. Thus, there is no longer room enough for family vehicles and other tools, for which it has been originally designed. When you catch yourself in such a situation, then it is advisable that you invest in some overhead garage storage. With the help of some equipment, you can address the problem effectively. This storage system maximizes the space for further use and frees up your wall and floor the family car and things that it was specifically designed.

By making use of your ceiling to store seldom used items and light objects, your garage floor will then be free from clutter. Another advantage of this innovative solution is its accessibility. All you need is to attach your shelves into your ceiling and a ladder. If climbing on a ladder sounds like a problem to you, then you could opt for a pulley system that is mostly composed of a "4x4" platform. You could just easily load it and lift it up without the risk of falling from a ladder.

Still not sure what to put on your overhead garage storage? Consider these seasonal items such as your holiday decors, old documents, camping supplies, old clothes, folding chairs, memorabilia and potentially hazardous equipment that you'd like to be out of your children's reach..

What are the things to consider if you want to install this storage system? Carefully consider your specific requirements, the structural capacity and design of your garage and most importantly, the materials need to carry out such a plan. You need to make sure that your garage is able to handle the extra load or you will end up messing more things up. The material composition of your ceiling will determine how capable it would be in handling additional loads. If it is made with wood or roofing material, then keep in mind to limit it to lighter objects.

Do you want your ceiling storage to occupy the whole area or just a part of it? If you have a high ceiling, then its advisable for you to utilize the whole area for a maximum storage capacity. If you want just a part of it, then choose carefully which spot you want to install it.

Considering all these factors, you are now ready to install your overhead garage storage. You can do it yourself by buying readily available supplies from a home improvement store or better yet hire a professional if you are still unsure of your skills in getting new things done. The most common style is the heavy-duty metal frame rack. This type of ceiling storage system can hold from light to moderate loads. This means that those old documents, camping supplies and seasonal clothing, but definitely not with your bike and folding chair altogether! Another type is with the use of plastic racks that are much cheaper and convenient. It is available in various sizes and shapes. However, if want to make sure of its durability, the first type is much more reliable to use.

Now you are ready to have that excellent overhead garage storage installed! Be sure to sort things out first and do not just get too excited with the idea of getting extra storage and freeing up your garage's floor for parking. Careful and considerate planning always drives success so take things one at a time and you will enjoy your new ceiling storage system much longer.

Our site provides information on bedroom closet organizers, walk in closets and various other types of closet designs along with garage storage systems. Let us provide all your storage information.
By Naomi Smith

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Naomi_Smith

In SW Florida, especially for hurricane season, every house has some form of window protection. Overhead racks are the perfect storage place and, with a minimum of 18" from ceiling, many times we can install them above the garage door. Up, out of the way and sturdy enough to hold up to 600 lbs of wood, metal or plastic protection.

So get those panels off the ground to free up valuable floor space and start using that empty space high above your car. Call us at 239.209.4616 to see how much space Closet Tailors can free up in your garage!

Overhead Garage Storage Rack Installation

I would like to offer a few pointers on the installation of overhead garage storage racks. I have learned the hard way, having installed over 5000 racks from 11 different manufacturers. I will cover the basics of installation that will work on any garage overhead shelf you should encounter.

Locating the Truss for Hanging Ceiling Racks

I cannot stress enough, that the most important job that you will do is to locate the center of every truss in your ceiling to insure a secure mounting for your overhead garage shelves. If your garage ceiling is un-finished, the job of centering the truss is a lot easier. I am assuming that you are working on a finished ceiling with the trusses hidden by wall board.

I have no problem using a stud finder to locate the truss, but I would like to tell you about a simple method to use in conjunction with the finder. This method will remove all doubt as to your position on the truss you wish to mount the garage racks to. Let me back up for a second. All ceiling mounted shelves or racks will require you to drive screws or lag bolts through some type of ceiling mount into the roof trusses.

Making Sure You Find the Center of the Truss for Strong, Safe, Overhead Garage Storage Racks

It goes without saying that if you don't hit the center of each truss, you could have a very weak connection and a possible failure of the hanging ceiling racks.

When drilling across the face of every truss I place a stick pin into the wall board at the center. Stick pins are a great way to layout a shelf on the ceiling and mark the spots for pilot holes. Another must do! You must always drill pilot holes before driving any lag or screw into a truss. If you fail to do this, you can expect to split the roof truss and weaken the mount.

I highly recommend that you layout the mounting points of your overhead shelf using stick pins to mark the drill points. This allows you to trial fit all of the connection points before you commit to hanging the first section.

You are going to find sections of the ceiling where the trusses are in odd spots. You will find this sometimes when you are trying to mount a rack in a corner with a hip roof. You will sometimes find trusses going two different directions in a very small area. You will find trusses to be either 16" or 24" apart. In some cases TGI trusses in a garage with a second story overhead will sometimes be 20" apart. This is why researching the truss locations in advance is so important. Once you have mounted your overhead garage rack secured to the ceiling you are ready to start putting your extra storage items up and out of the way.

Jeff Moffat is the owner OverheadShelf.com a company dedicated to the business of overhead storage or ceiling mounted storage. His website has extensive video tutorials, as well as written instructions on how to safely mount a suspended overhead garage rack.

Moffat has been involved in the overhead garage storage industry for many years and has become one of the leaders in the industry. Through research and testing, Jeff has developed overhead garage storage that encompasses and surpasses the best qualities of all the racks on the market.

For more helpful information on overhead garage storage visit http://www.overheadshelf.com. You will find stress test, installation and earthquake videos along with easy to follow step-by-step printable installation instructions.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Moffat