Making Wooden Garage Cabinets

Measure the area where you want to install the cabinets, including the distance between your wall studs. Most wall studs are spaced 16 inches on-center, while others are 24.

Cut 1/2-inch thick 8-by-4-foot plywood into end panels and side panels for the cabinets. The length of the end panels is the height of the cabinet, between 3 and 4 feet for most structures. The width will measure the depth of the cabinet. For studs spaced 16 inches apart, the depth should ideally be 16 inches so that your cabinets are firmly rooted in the studs. The divider panels should measure the same height, but be approximately 1 1/2-inch less wide to allow for the track.

Cut matching cleats out of the 2-by-2-inch lumber to make the ladders and wall cleats.

Screw the first cabinet end panel into the wall using 3-inch drywall screws.

Prepare the second end panel by measuring the total desired width of the cabinet structure and nailing a cleat into the wall approximately 1 1/2 inches from the ceiling, ensuring that you fix it to a wall stud.

Screw into place the second panel, perpendicular to the wall, by putting several 2-inch screws through the length of the panel and into the cleat. The panel should be a total of 3 inches longer than the cleat.

Make a ladder to run along the ceiling, measuring the distance between the two end panels. Make sure that the rungs of the ladder align with the wall studs. Repeat the process for the bottom ladder. Secure both of the ladders, attaching the top one into the ceiling first, and the bottom one into the wall and end panels second.

Mount the divider cleats into the wall studs using nails, and then follow up with lag screws placed into even-spaced drilled pilot holes. Secure bottom support cleats that align with the wall dividers, to support the cabinet structure.

Attach, using wood glue, the tracks for the sliding doors onto the outer ladder rails of both the top and bottom ladders, making sure to align them properly.

Saw a 1 1/2-inch notch out of two of the corners of the 1/2-inch thick divider panels, so that they fit over the ladder and attach flush to the divider cleats.

Cut sliding doors out of the 1/4-inch thick hardboard and attach handles using 1/2-inch screws. Slide them into place onto the tracks and test them.