garage shelves

[Tripicana]

i'm currently taking some welding classes in college. i get to plan a project and make it. i've decided the garage needs some shelves to clear out some clutter from the house and make more usuable floor space.

i've been thinking about making simple triangular brackets out of angle iron. ill use 4 brackets for a span of 12 feet. i'm thinking ill have two shelves on both sides of the garage.

now to my engineering question; when do i need to start worrying about overloading the walls?

i dont want legs eating away at garage space, so thats why i thought i'd bolt brackets to the wall.
should i think about some sort of post setup to carry the weight on the floor instead of the walls?

[dunhamjr]

assuming standard 2x4 construction, with everything properly nailed in top to bottom.

are you planning to store multiple engines and transmissions on each of these shelves?

if not, then you are probably safe.

people mount tire racks on a single stud (sometimes 2-3) and hang 2 tires off them, which could easily be 100 lbs just for 2 wheels.
http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/...torage+rack.do
http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/...urPicks&page=2

you are planning to mount against 4 studs.

[Tripicana]

most of the stuff is going to be crap like christmas decorations, camping gear, stuff in those big rubber totes. i do have a 1.6 diesel engine thats torn down to the bare block, that i would like to put up there too.

the deepest shelf will be 17 inches, and that will be up top along the garage door tracks, those shelves will probably have the lighter items.
the next lower shelf will only be about 14 inches deep, and thats the one i think will get loaded with heavier items.

i'm just worried about any long term problems/sagging from potentialy hanging 600lbs from a wall.

[dunhamjr]

most of the stuff is going to be crap like christmas decorations, camping gear, stuff in those big rubber totes. i do have a 1.6 diesel engine thats torn down to the bare block, that i would like to put up there too.

the deepest shelf will be 17 inches, and that will be up top along the garage door tracks, those shelves will probably have the lighter items.
the next lower shelf will only be about 14 inches deep, and thats the one i think will get loaded with heavier items.

i'm just worried about any long term problems/sagging from potentialy hanging 600lbs from a wall.

unless your isht is REALLY dense, putting some xmas decorations and camping gear on the walls shouldnt hit 600lbs.

the diesel engine is gonna be heavy. but its a 1.6 and if its bare block, then it shouldnt be an issue.

if you are worried though, a fix would be to keep the shelves up high enough that you can build a rolling dolly to set the engine on. something as simple as this would work.


you could also just double up the brackets on the section of the lower shelf that will hold the engine, so that instead of having brackets every 3 ish feet... you have one end/section with 2-3 brackets (and therefore studs) one right after the other every 16 inches.

also just an FYI. bolting into studs is going to be strong.

as an example, these fasteners will hold 75#'s mounted in drywall.
http://www.homedepot.com/buy/buildin...l#.UBF5qmFrNCY


the other thing to think about.... if you are worried about adding another 600lbs to a wall, then i would be worried about the whole house falling down.