If you have decided to build your own wooden shelving system for the garage and decided where to locate it, your next task is to make sure you have all the necessary tools for the job before you start. Tape measure, hammer and nails, a spirit level, clamps, sand-paper, set square, a mitre saw and enough wood. You may wish to consider wood preservative and stain or varnish as well, but these can be looked at afterwards.

Begin by building the shelving system frame, cut two vertical posts to the required size. Now cut eight pieces that are a third of the length of the vertical posts. Next cut eight pieces, two thirds of the length of the vertical posts. Find the studs on the garage wall. Affix four of the two-thirds length pieces to these studs and space the, cut pieces out so that they are approximately 18 inches apart, not forgetting to use the spirit level to make sure they are horizontal.

Now construct two half ladders, one ladder should comprise of the vertical post and fix four pieces of timber that are a third of the vertical post’s length. These are the frames that go on either side. Then affix the half ladders to either side of the four pieces you previously attached to the wall. Clamp them then nail them together. Fix together the remaining four pieces of two-thirds length wood. Finally, cut shelves and nail them to each shelving frame. When finished, coat the shelving system with wood preservative.

A small commercial garage, especially in these tough economic times, is a very difficult enterprise to run successfully. There are several factors key to the survival of a business such as this.

The quality of service is important. The word of mouth factor is a powerful aspect and information about a good repair job that is reasonably priced will soon spread around the local area. MOT tests are a fact of life that have been with us for a good many years now and small garages benefit from offering their expertise in making sure a vehicle is roadworthy and if there are any repairs or fine tunings needed to offer these as well.

In order to keep up to date with the plethora of paperwork, from receipts for sales to invoices for items purchased, an efficient storage system is vital. The average small garage will probably have an office with a personal computer using a variety of software packages to keep on top of the stock-ordering, accounts’ balancing and word-processing tasks needed. Effective document storage and file storage should be ensured both as hard copy and stored electronically on removable media as well as the computer’s hard-drive.

The garage shelving and storage shelves should be robust and hard-wearing to cope with the rigours of their environment. Mechanics’ tools, engine parts and so on will be stored here. If possible, it would be advisable to store these expensive items in a lockable area of the garage.  A cage with a heavy-duty padlock is one idea.

You have it in mind, the next project that will improve your home and give you more storage room. Whether it is shelving in the kitchen or garage storage, whatever your plans are, there are always tips and tricks to help make the job run smoother.

Before you start, check your tools are in good working order. Tidying out the tool box is not such a bad idea. Have a magnet handy to pick up dropped small screws and pins that might be otherwise very difficult to see, especially on a carpeted surface.

If taking measurements is going to be part of the job, keep a small pad of sticky back notes, write the measurement on the note then stick it to the matching section of wood or door frame.

Talking of measurements, if you think a room is square but you are not certain, think back to those good days at school. Rather than measuring along all four walls just measure the two at right angles to each other. Make a note of the figures, then measure from one corner to the other. If, for example, you took measurements of three feet and four feet along the adjacent walls, the diagonal line across the room should measure five feet. If it does not then you will need to mark some points in a square before carrying on.

If you have decided to put up tiling in the kitchen or the bathroom, never tile over wallpaper, always remove the paper first.