TIL the hard way that garage shelving needs to be bolted to studs, not drywall

Last weekend I loaded up my new heavy duty shelves with about 200 pounds of tools and spare parts. Within an hour the whole thing ripped out of the drywall and crashed down. My neighbor came over and pointed out I only used drywall anchors. Turns out those cheap plastic anchors can't hold much more than a picture frame. I spent Sunday patching four holes and mounting everything into the studs with lag bolts. Has anyone else here learned this lesson the hard way with garage storage?

2 comments

2 Comments

charlesj461d ago

Man, drywall anchors are such a trap. My buddy put up a big shelf in his garage for paint cans and a few old tires, thought some toggle bolts would hold. Two days later he walked in and the whole thing was on the floor, paint everywhere. The craziest part is he was so mad he just threw the shelf in the trash and hung a big pegboard instead. Now he hangs everything on that pegboard with hooks, but the pegboard is bolted through into studs too. So I guess he learned the lesson twice.

hugo501d ago

Oh man, I used to be the guy who swore by drywall anchors for everything. I figured if the package said they could hold 50 pounds, stacking a few of them would be fine for a shelf. My garage shelf held up for about a month with some old camping gear before it came crashing down at 2 AM. Scared the heck out of me and woke up the whole house. Now I'm a total convert to lag bolts in studs too. It's more work drilling into the studs but I'd rather spend an extra hour doing it right than fixing drywall and replacing stuff again.