post written by Doug
So here’s the deal – the kids got a ton of toys for Christmas, plus we already had way too many toys in this house. There was just nowhere to put them all. So after an impromptu trip to Menards (their lumber is decent and their prices are good) and an evening of work, we finally have a place to put them.
You might think that I’m the bad dad because I store their toys in the basement, but trust me, there is no possible way they can play with every toy at one time. So I built this:
Tools Required:
- Power Drill
- Circular Saw
- Jig Saw (hacksaw would work)
- Tape Measure
Material Needed:
- 17 – 8ft long 2x4s
- 3 – 4ft x 8ft sheets of plywood
- 1 – Box of 2.5” drywall screws
- 1 – Box of 1” drywall screws
Total Estimated Cost – $60
Total Estimated Time – One Evening
To start, lay out 2×4’s as shown below:
First, you lay out boards “1” and “2”. These will need to be cut to 6½ feet lengths. Then you lay boards “3” and “4” on top. Before drilling them together, you will need to make sure they are square.
To make it square, you measure diagonally from one corner to the next. It should measure the same diagonally each way. In this case it is 123.69” (~12ft 3 11/16in).
You can also pull out a formula from 8th grade algebra to determine the appropriate diagonal length:
a = 8’ = 96”
b = 6.5’ = 78”
c = 123.69” = ~12ft 3 11/16in
If you skip making it square, you will have issues with your shelf not being level. I didn’t use an actual level when making this; I just made sure everything was square. This was the best method for us since our basement floor is not level to begin with.
Drill boards “1”, “2”, “3”, & “4” together in the corners using the 2.5” screws. Be sure to stagger the screws as shown below so to help prevent the wood from splitting. Then drill boards “5” and “6” to the frame using the same stagger method. You can use the spacing I used, or make up your own spacing. The spacing of the boards will end up as the height of the shelves. Since we have some larger toys to store, I made some larger shelves.
Once completed, this is half of the frame for your shelf. You will need to make another of these; only boards “1” and “2” will need to be on top this time.
Now you will need to do a bit of cutting. You need to cut most of the remaining 2×4’s into 19.5” pieces. You will need 16 of these in total. You will drill 4 of them to the frame (as shown on left); then attach the other part of the frame (as shown on right).
Then you add the 19.5” supports at the remaining 3 levels and add an additional vertical support in the back:
Now you add the plywood shelves at each level. If you used my dimensions, it should be very easy – just cut the plywood in half, and nook out a few spots for the vertical supports beams (see picture on right).
The reason I used 8 feet wide is because the plywood is 8 feet long (no cuts). The reason I used 2 feet deep, is because the plywood is 4 feet wide (only one cut). If you would like to add plywood on the top, you will need to purchase another sheet (I chose not to because we’re already at our ceiling height).
Screw the plywood down using the 1” screws. I used 8 screws per shelf.
At this time you should have 1.5 sheets of plywood remaining. Screw them to the back using the 1” screws and you have this:
(this is Ann talking now)
While we had previously stored toys in the tops of our closets and in the linen closet, they were taking over, and we had no where to store the big toys besides shoving them up into the attic for an extended vacation.
I love the storage this shelf gives, especially for some of the bigger toys. I was able to tackle the bins, baskets, and closets bursting with toys and really clear out the old to make way for the new.
What do you think?
Where do you store your kids’ toys? Do you have a system? I’d love to hear what works for you!
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I think this is a great idea! I plan to print this post and hand it to my husband, hoping he will make shelving for my storage shed!
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awww Doug I don’t think you’re a bad dad! In fact my dad built my sister and I shelves like this and we also stored our over abundance of toys in the basement when we were younger. Thanks for the super simple tutorial – might have to get my hubby to build me some :)
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Awesome shelves!! I wish we had a basement that I could put shelves and put toys… But they are all just out in the family room… Oh well, next house! :) But I like that they are fairly easy and cheap to make on our own! :)
Awesome tutorial! I appreciate the pictures with the measurements. Unfortunately, my eyes glazed over with the 8th grade algebra I failed. I love those shelves, and since I lover power tools, I should try making something like this!
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Great tutorial! I wish I was handy, but I’m sure my hubby would love to do this!
Can we see a picture of the toys on it?! :)
I LOVE that. we need something like that to put all our toys that don’t get used as often/ I’ll have to talk my husband into it :)
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Thanks for the help. Finished my shelving this weekend. A few changes I made were that I used 10 foot boards instead of 8 foot and I cut my plywood down to 22.5 inches so then I wouldn’t have to cut out any notches. They fit snug inbetween the front and back supports. Instead of using plywood on the back I kept it open and put shelving on the top.
Excellent, excellent, excellent! Total cost was $99 (incl tax) at Home Depot, including the screws. HD made all the cuts (for free), so the only remaining cut to be done was small notches in the plywood. I finished the entire project in less than 3 hours, primarily because most of the cutting was already done.
Excellent plans- thanks for posting. I’ve been toying with the idea of making shelves in the basement for some time. I think this will do the trick!
I do think there might be a small error. 123.69 inches = 10 feet 3 11/16 inches, not 12 feet. Was concerned when my tape measure was 2 feet off and wondered if I cut wrong!
Thanks again.
I had the same confused look on my face!
Thanks for correcting this! I edited the post to reflect this. I’m guessing he was tired from building the shelf. :)
I love these shelves and have been planning to build some to store my growing collection of storage totes, can you tell me the dimensions of the shelves? I need to know what the measurement is from the surface of one shelf to the bottom of the shelf above to make sure the totes will fit, thanks for posting this, they’re just what I was hoping to find and the pics are great!
Nevermind..found your measurements up top
I built this today. Got all of the wood from Lowes and had them cut all the pieces there, I just had to cut the notches. Only thing I found was that all the suppies cost double what you said. I guess the price of the wood was a more expensive where I went. Besides that, it turned out great!! Thank you!
I just built these today, and I noticed mine were much more as well. My supplies were 95$ (see my other comment). However, I hear the cost of a sheet of plywood up until a few months ago was around 9$, and now it has doubled due to supply and demand over the recent hurricanes. Bummer.
I made these today-thanks for the plans!!
The pricing for mine was much higher, around 95$, and I didn’t even buy as much plywood. I hear the price of plywood has doubled due the the hurricanes (and I’m in the Midwest). Still, I have looked and what I would get for 95$ at Lowes would have been a measly 6X4 instead of the 6.5X8 (double in length). And mine seems much more sturdy. So I still think it’s a great deal. Plus I loved being able to adjust the height of the shelves based on needs.
Some changes: I only bought 2 boards of plywood, and I did not put a backing on the unit. I did put the last piece of plywood on the very top, because my basement has high ceilings. It was nice to get that extra level, and that way no wasted plywood. Also, instead of notching out the plywood around the 2X4s, I cut 5″ off each piece to slip the pieces in (pics will go up on my blog). For the other 2 units I will make I will have Lowes do this cutting-wayy easier that way.
One thing…when you go over squaring corner to corner above, you have 123″ listed as 12 foot and change, and it should be 10 and change. I got hung up on that part, but no biggie.
Love it-thanks!!!
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