Inexpensive Storage Shelves

Overview: I spent less than $30 on all material for this project. It took me 20 minutes to draw out what I wanted and two hours to build it.

Tools required: Saw, hammer, pencil, framing square, drill, wood glue, dowels, paper towels for the glue,eight 2" x 4" x 8' studs, one 4' x 8' plywood, and two 4' dowel rods.

You start out with eight 2"x 4" x 8' pieces of wood. You need to cut four of them in half which will be the bracing for your shelves. The other four pieces you need to cut to your desired height of the whole structure. I chose 6' 3" because I wanted to be able to bring them in and out of the room without having to take them apart.
Time Saving Tip: When you are purchasing your wood, you need to buy a 4' x 8' sheet of plywood that will act as your shelves. They do come in many different thicknesses. I used 1/2'' thick plywood and I am going to put all of my tools and food storage on them. You don't need much thicker than that. If you don't have a table saw you can have Lowe's or Home Depot cut the wood for you. I had Lowe's cut the plywood into four 2' x 4' sections. It was only two cuts for them and I knew they would match each other.

Then you need to mark your layout. This is a picture of the shelves upside down and looking at the inside. Leave space at the very top (1/2" for me) for your plywood to rest on while maintaining a flush surface on the top. I used wood glue and one nail per connection only to hold them steady for later installation of the dowel rods.

Time Saving Tip: Draw out your design beforehand so that when you are ready to put everything together you aren't trying to figure out what the heights of the shelves are going to be which may take you a long time. When you are designing your structure, measure the objects that will be placed on your shelves. This will help you decide your different heights.

Here is a view of the holes that I drilled at each connection. These hole sizes match the exact width of the size of the dowel rods I purchased.

I bought two 4' lengths of dowel rods. I then cut them into 3" lengths. I needed eight of these 3" lengths per side so for the whole structure I needed twenty four of these 3" cut pieces. I then covered the dowel piece with glue and hammered it into the hole. I made sure that the face was flush and wiped off any excess glue.

After I completed both sides (75 minutes of work), I let both sides dry over night. The next day, I got my wife to help me nail the pre-cut pieces of plywood. We used a nail gun attached to an air compressor to speed up the process. I did not use any glue for this. I also added one piece on both sides under the shelf acting as a cross brace to add extra stability to the structure as a whole. Upon completion, I did climb up to the top and laid on the top shelf and I weigh close to 200 pounds. These shelves are strong!

Have fun.