How to Build a Shelf in Your Basement Rafters

Are you looking for storage space in your basement? Look up -- your basement's rafters offer some excellent opportunities for adding storage. A shelf suspended from the rafters can give you a place to store a variety of items that don't fit neatly in other locations. Use it to store pieces of lumber, pipe and other items. You'll only need some basic materials and woodworking skill to create rafters shelving.

Tape measure
3 boards, 2-by-4-inch-by-8-feet
Circular saw
4-inch wood screws
Screwdriver
Drill with 1/2-inch bit
1/2-inch carriage bolts and nuts, 5 inches long
1/2-inch plywood sheet, 4-by-8-foot
6d nails
Hammer

Instructions

- 1
  Cut six 16-inch lengths of 2-by-4-inch board with a circular saw. Cut three 4-foot pieces of 2-by-4-inch board.
- 2
  Place the three boards onto the floor, broad side down. Place one 16-inch board at each end of the boards, facing upwards, so the boards describe a very shallow and wide "U" shape. Screw the boards together where they intersect, with two wood screws at each spot.
- 3
  Lift the first U-shaped frame up to the rafters of the basement ceiling, with the aid of an assistant or two. Slide the uprights of the frame 2 inches past the edges of the rafters on both sides. Screw the frame to the rafters with two screws at each location.
- 4
  Place the second and third frames in place in the rafters, each spaced 4 feet from the other. The first and third frames should then be 8 feet apart. Attach each to the rafters.
- 5
  Slide the sheet of plywood onto the bottom portion of the frames. Nail the plywood to the boards it rests upon.

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