I don't know about you, but we don't have never enough space for storage.
To tidy up all our mess, we need a castle!
We live in the countryside in a "normal" sized house, but these days we're hoarding, hoarding...
And we end up with more and more objects, and more disorder!
It's no use sorting and tidying up our house... The objects keep piling up!
Fortunately, I finally found the solution:hang sliding storage boxes from the ceiling of the garage . Watch:
The advantage? All our belongings are grouped together and easily accessible at all times!
All you need to do is find large storage boxes strong enough to hang from the ceiling.
And when you need it, hop! Just lower a box from the ceiling and everything is there, within easy reach.
You can easily find large storage boxes for cheap in DIY stores.
For my garage, I used large storage bins with lids, which are about 75 cm long.
They are the perfect size for our ceiling, as I was able to arrange them in rows of 2 boxes.
In addition, I have chosen very solid boxes, which can contain up to 175 kg each.
To be able to hang them safely, I chose storage boxes with a very wide and solid rim.
Finally, the lids and edges of the boxes are pierced with small holes, which allow them to be securely closed with zip ties!
And for the rest ? Fastoche! A few wooden planks, we cut, we fix to the ceiling, and voila! Here is the tutorial:
- 12 large storage boxes
- 4 wooden boards 2.5x10x3 (thickness 2.5 cm, width 10 cm, length 3 m)
- 4 wooden boards 5x10x3 (thickness 5 cm, width 10 cm, length 3 m)
- 16 lag screws (diameter 8 to 10 mm, length 200 mm)
- 16 washers (diameter 8 to 10 mm)
- 40 "terrace" screws (length 100 mm)
- fixing glue
- tracing cord
- optional:clamps
Here, the idea is to cut your boards to the right length :i.e. depending on the length of your boxes.
The boards should be long enough to hang 2 storage boxes on, with about 3cm of clearance on each side.
Cut all boards to the same length.
Once all your planks are cut to length, you can start building the rails.
Here, the idea is to assemble the boards so that they form a T-shaped rail , as in the photo above.
Here's how:
- Lay a board 5x10 thick (the thickest) on its edge (that is, the side that is 5 cm).
- Apply a line of fixing glue on the entire upper part of the board.
- Lay a board 2.5x10 thick (the thinnest) on top of the 5x10 board, so as to form a T.
- Use the "terrace" screws to screw the 2 boards together.
- Take care to screw the 2.5x10 board into the 5x10 board.
- Space the screws about 3 cm apart. If necessary, you can use the clamps to keep the 2 pieces tight together.
- Repeat these steps for all the boards, until you have 8 wooden rails.
The next step is to mark the position of the joists (joists) of the ceiling.
It's important , because it is in the joists that you must fix the rails to the ceiling.
In order not to be mistaken, the easiest way is to draw a line on the joists.
For example, in my house, the ceiling joists are spaced 60 cm apart.
This is how I drew my line:
- To find the center of the joists, measure where you think it is and make a mark.
- Then, using a hammer, drive small nails into the ceiling to be sure to find the exact center.
- Do the same at the other end of the joist, much further away from where you plan to attach your tracks.
- Using a tracing cord, trace a line along the joist.
Note: if you draw all the lines at the same time, you risk making a mistake... and ending up with lots of marks on your ceiling.
Instead, start from one side of the ceiling. Draw a single line and attach the first rail.
Before attaching the tracks, measure the exact location where your tracks will intersect the ceiling joists.
For example, in my house, the rails crossed each joist in 3 different places.
- Position your rail so that it crosses the joists at 3 points:once in the middle, and the other 2 towards the ends of the rail.
- Hold this position and mark the joists at the 3 precise places where they cross the rail.
- With a 6mm drill bit, pre-drill the ceiling joists.
- Align the track perfectly with the holes in the ceiling.
- Using a marker, mark these locations on the track, as you did on the ceiling joists:1 hole in the middle and 2 at the ends of the track.
- Drill the holes in the rail with a 6 to 8 mm drill bit (depending on the diameter of the lag bolts).
- Put washers on the lag bolts and push them through the holes in the rails, as in the picture above.
Note: to avoid making a mistake, check your measurements several times! Make sure that the holes in the rail are perfectly aligned with the holes in the ceiling.
Now attach the first rail to the ceiling.
Align the holes in the rails and the ceiling, then screw the lag bolts firmly.
Note: I managed to put the rails in place on my own, but it's much easier if you have someone to help you.
To do this on my own, I first half-screwed one end of the rail into the joist, so that the rail held in place on its own.
Then I used a second ladder to secure the other end of the rail.
Be aware that properly tightening the lag screws in the ceiling requires a good deal of elbow grease.
Can't get the screws to tighten properly with a ratchet?
There is a little trick! You can improvise an extension to increase the lever arm using a large piece of pipe.
After attaching the first rail, measure the distance needed between each rail to slide the storage boxes on.
Here's how:
- For example, assuming like mine, your storage boxes are 52cm wide.
- Adding 1cm of play means that you need exactly 53cm between each rail.
- Measure this distance starting from the first rail.
- Make a mark, taking care to stay straight on the line of the joist (the line drawn with the tracing cord).
- Measure exactly the same distance for the 2nd screw and the 3rd screw. Make a mark.
Note: again, check your measurements several times to make sure your rails are perfectly spaced and parallel.
- Fix the 2nd rail following the drilling and fixing steps of the previous points.
- Do a test:slide a storage box between the rails to be 100% sure you have the right spacing.
- Finally, repeat these steps to add the rest of the rails, one by one.
There you go, your storage boxes hanging from the ceiling are already finished!
Now you have gained tons of space to store your things :-)
Awesome, don't you think?
Thanks to the lag screws, the rails are firmly fixed in the joists.
To test the strength of the rails, I hung on them. And even putting all my weight on it, they didn't budge.
Be aware that once filled, each box weighs approximately 20 kg.
So, not bad for a Sunday handyman, don't you think?
In the end, I'm super satisfied with my little DIY project!
It's still more fun to do things yourself than to buy an expensive storage unit for the garage...
Know that in total, I spent about 5 hours on this project.
But I think with a little help from a friend with the cutouts, the drilling and the fixings, this project only takes 2 or 3 hours.
Indeed, I lost a lot of time going up and down my 2 stepladders, to be sure to take exact measurements.
Little by little, my wife and I perfectly arranged all our belongings in the boxes!
And once our garage was perfectly organized, we added large labels to the sides and bottom of the boxes.
That way we know what each box contains at a glance!
