Durable wall cabinets for garage/barns?

[Bob_Skurka]

I'm building a new garage with a small workshop area and want to put in some DURABLE cabinets.

I looked at COLEMAN cabinets, they are made out of a lightly laminated particleboard type product, I suspect they might last a couple years, but not much more than that?

I checked Sears for their CRAFTSMAN cabinets, expensive and reasonably well made, but not really heavy duty.

Lowes is now bringing in GLADIATOR cabinets, those are a few bucks more then the Craftsman units, they are very stylish but really didn't impress me as being all that heavy duty. The metal was very thin. The price was very high. I'd rather pay for substance than style.

I saw some plastic cabinets that looked to be at least as durable as the press board style COLEMAN units, and they were very inexpensive, I'm just not sure if they would sag from the weight of a shelf full of nails, screws and other heavy objects.

At this point I am thinking of using wall mounted wire shelving. I found some heavy duty wire units that are similar in design to closet shelving that they put into new home. It actually seemed to be much more substantial than the GLADIATOR cabinets and was also far lower in cost, but they only offer open shelves, hooks, etc and sometimes it is nice to lock things up behind a cabinet door.

Does anyone have any suggestions on wall storage for a garage? I'd like it to look good if possible, but I'm really a lot more interested in it being heavy duty and functional. I really thought I would buy the Gladiator stuff until I opened the door and looked inside.

Suggestions please.

 

[Spiffy]

With my preference to overkill, industrial racking would be a good route [assuming you can find it in your price range]. Though usually not too many options, it's stout enough that you can make doors out of wood or whatever and it looks pretty nice.

I have seen the plastic ones do fine, but it's not my "thing".

I have some of the "mid-priced" adjustable height wire racks in the house, and they work great, but I wouldn't put doors on them.

What about buiding full height cabinets right into the walls?

options....options /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[hobbyfarm]

Bob,
Did you look at <font color="magenta">Tool Dock? </font>
I don't know if they make wall-mounted types though. You might try Grainger's.

 

[EddieWalker]

If your want traditional type cabinets at a reasonable price, Home Depot sells the Mills Pride assemble yourself line of cabinets. The white ones have a baked on finish that is very durable. When you put several up together, they create a very sturdy structure.

For metal shelving, I like the ones the sell at Sams club. They have casters, you can adjust the height of the shelves, or make to units out of it at half the height.

Of course, the cheapest, and strongest method is to build out of 2X4's and either plywood or OSB. For under $50 you could have an shelf 8 feet long, 8 feet tall and two feet deep.

 

[Jagmandave]

I'm looking for a set of metal kitchen cabinets, like those our house used to have in the 50's. They would be perfect if I can find some. In the 70's, when the whole US went thru the "Mediteranian" phase, everybody took them out and put wood ones in, don't know if there are any left in the world, but.................

 

[GerardC]

Check SAUDERS line.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Hobbyfarm . . . Tool Dock is great stuff, I've looked at it in the past and plan to get a couple pieces for the woodworking tools, but they don't have wall cabinets. I'm really looking for wall cabinets to hang over tractor implements that are going to be parked along the wall.

EddieWalker . . . I'll look at those, I had not really considered that option, but it might be a good one. Probably would be the best looking choice too. Thanks for that tip!

GeraRd . . . the Sauder stuff is pressboard/partical board with glorified contact paper over it, it works in a climate controlled room to hold up a TV set, but I would not want to trust it to hold up to the weight of spare tractor parts when I restore them they end up in pieces and sometimes they end up stored for quite a while before I get to them again. I've got lots of spare Oliver parts stored now but currently no tractor to put them on and some of those are pretty heavy little boxes!

. . . I checked Grainger, they don't have much of a cabinet selection, I also checked Rand equipment, they have a couple choices of welded steel cabinets that look like they could take the weight of a tank. Pricing is in line with Gladiator, I think I may have found my solution for the heavy cabinets I need. For over the workbench the Mills Pride might work really well.

Thanks all.

 

[bczoom]

Bob,

You said you found your solution but let me throw this out for others who may be considering the same.

The best place I found for shelves... Furniture sales at a hospital. For free standing shelves the stuff from the pharmacy department in particular is very nice stuff. Adjustable shelves, glass sliding doors... For wall hung shelves, they're used all over the hospital so there is normally a huge number available.

Another option is to check out any decent sized store that is going out of business or relocating. When a K-Mart went out of business around me I purchased a bunch of their 10' tall x 4' wide x 18" deep warehouse shelving (metal framing with 1" particle board shelves). I also purchased about 80 linear feet of the store isle shelving. I cut the frames in half vertically (up the middle) so instead of being isles, they can be mounted to a wall. Again, very strong shelving.

Brian

 

[rtimgray]

If you really want some cabinets that will last, forget about stuff you find at box stores and go industrial. I've found that for medium-duty industrial applications, Lyon metal shelving and cabinets are pretty good and reasonably priced. Almost everything can ship UPS. Go to www.lyonworkspace.com and see what they have - I don't know too much about the website because we have a local industrial sales house that calls on our plant and I usually just go through the salesman. However, they are pretty good stuff, reasonable prices.

If you really want to buy something and forget about, check out www.strong-hold.com. These are some of the best quality cabinets that I've come across. We use them in our heavy duty applications (storing heavy forktruck parts, very similar to tractor parts) for years and have had no problems. Plus, they are made right in Louisville, KY. Problem - you pay for that quality.

I know that you've got some kind of business, so you ought to be able to find some salesmen of this kind of stuff in your area that can get you a pretty good discount.

If this isn't what you're looking for and you want functional, not pretty, then I second the suggestion of using 2x4s and plywood, and for cheap you can make some very good shelve. Hope this was helpful. Good luck.

 

[hhw]

Three years ago I built my 60 X 40 steel garage. I included a 14 X 60 X 8 attic. I then began the process of finishing the interior, over time. I decided to conduct some storage experimentation. The chronology is as follows:

First I built floor to ceiling shelving everywhere. That was OK but, dust accumulation became an annoyance, as did the lack of proper work benches /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Next I removed the first floor shelving and converted it into frames for two sturdy work benches. I bought a couple plastic cabinets to try out. They were OK , but the shelves were small and it seemed like you couldn't get much in them, and the dust was still a problem for the tools on the shelves of the work benches. Dust was be coming an annoyance in the attic /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

OK, here's where I get focused on my attack /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif I close in the workbenches and build doors. Problem solved there /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif I look into the Coleman cabinets for the first floor. I too am concerned about the longevity issue. But, I opt to purchase to tall cabinets, four base cabinets and two bench tops. On the way home, at a busy intersection, the fact that I forgot to secure the load correctly became an issue and I deposited a base cabinet and a tall cabinet in the middle of the intersection as I made a left turn /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif I pulled into a small parking area and entered the intersection to retrieve my cabinets. They are heavy, ya know. All traffic had stopped, nobody exited thier vehicle, they just laughed alot. However, a guy on a bicycle did stop and help reload the items. A somewhat embarassing few moments /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif Did I mention that there was a group of patrons at an outside cafe enjoying the show /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif Anyhow, I got the cabinets home, put them together and they appear to be working very well. After all, they survived the abuse of crashing from the bed of my F-250 /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

In the midst of all this I was still comtemplating the best solution to the dust problem in the attic /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif All problems were resolved by my loving wife. She instructs that a kitchen remodel will results in old kitchen cabinets for the attic /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Sooo, here's how the saga ends;

The first floor gets enclosed workbenches, coleman cabinets and an enclosed parts area under the steps to the second floor. Also got the old Jenn-Air from the kitchen and the fridge /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

My bride gets a complete new kitchen, we won't go into that project /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

The second floor gets the old kitchen cabinets and counter tops and a walk in storage area lined with cedar /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

All is well here at the complex now, no dust worries and wife has a new kitchen /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif The only thing I didn't use was the kitchen sink. But, that is because I didn't plumb to the garage, at least not yet. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif