Over the last week or so I designed and built freestanding storage shelves in our basement. Inspired by this video, and other similar ones, I decided that I would give it a go.

The basement had become a mess of stuff, about 70% of which was worth keeping. So we started by re-organizing what we wanted to keep and the rest we discarded/donated/gave-away.

On the 23rd I drew up the plan, and we went and bought the first set of materials from a neighborhood building material store, which has amazing people. Then came the holiday, so I didn’t start to build until the 26th.

A photo of a basement wall with outlines for a shelving unit sketched on it. A black storage bin with a yellow lid sits on the concrete floor.

The first set took a while to make as I was new to it and wanted to make sure I got the measurements right as we had already got the plywood cut at the store. On the 27th I put the first shelf together.

Wooden storage shelves in a basement, holding yellow-lidded plastic containers, rolled-up fabric, boxes, and folded items. To the left, there are suitcases and folded tables. The background features a concrete wall and a window.

The design allows for expanding on either side, so right away I built an extension. This time it went really fast, even with a drive to the store to get more materials.

This second set had only two shelves that were half as deep so we didn’t block the window, and also Jenni could place her paddle board bag vertically to easily pick up or drop off. I noticed that the there was a sag on this shelf, so later I added a strip of wood for additional support.

Wooden shelves in a basement with various storage items. Black and yellow plastic bins line the left shelf. A rolled-up fabric item sits on top. A large blue and black backpack, clear plastic bins with tools and supplies, and smaller blue bins are also visible.

On the 28th I built yet another extension. This time I didn’t have enough plywood for three levels, so for the time being it only has two, but hey, those box fans fit nicely in there.

Wooden storage shelves in a basement with various items organized on them. Black and yellow storage bins, a wrapped blanket, a large backpack, stacked boxes, a covered item, clear plastic bins with contents, a power tool box, and two box fans.

Yesterday I completed another extension and that should be good for our current needs. From one end to another these shelves are 15 feet (~ 4.5m)

Wooden shelving units in a garage storing various items, including black storage bins with yellow lids, a rolled-up item, a large backpack, plastic boxes, a box, etc.

I will observe how it performs, and have ideas to add more structural support if needed.

I’m really happy with how these turned out, and with our efforts, the entire space looks and feels so much better already.

P.S. As I was building this I also organized my basement shop that I hadn’t used in a long time, including installing these wall-mounted shelves to hold lumber.

P.P.S The end posts are also 2x4s, but they look like 4x4s in the photo, likely due to distortion from the use of an ultra-wide lens.