How to Build Your Own Garage Shelves | DIY Garage Shelves

The dimension of shelf width is hotly debated, but we settled on a depth of 16 inches. It’s deep enough to support tool cases and standard boxes, but shallow enough that you won’t lose stuff in the back and have to reach too far. Our shelves are cut from 1/2-inch oriented strand board and measure six feet in length. We used a circular saw to cut our shelves, but if you bring your measurements to Home Depot or Lowe’s, they can make the cuts for you on their track saw, which will save you a step.

We decided on using three support brackets for each shelf. We may have been able to get away with using two, but having the extra support means we won’t have to flinch when loading up the shelves. Using our miter saw, we cut three lengths of 2-by-4s to build the support brackets: six pieces at 12 inches, six pieces at 10 inches, and six pieces at 8 1/2 inches.