A couple of days ago, Home Depot had garage storage products on sale as part of the deal of the day. They have had quite a few tool and storage deals over the past couple of months, but this was the first time I saw New Age Pro wall-mounted shelves on sale.
Actually, this was the first time I saw New Age’s wall-mounted shelves at all.
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I’ve seen New Age’s ceiling-mounted shelf system before, and while I really need over-the-head storage, I don’t have a good place where I can mount such shelves to the ceiling. The shelves would be risky to mount in the middle of my garage ceiling, which has no central beam support, and I always pish-poshed the idea of perimeter-mounting the ceiling shelves.
When I saw these wall-mounted shelves, a light went off and I bought a 2-pack of 2′ x 4′ shelves.
This is what they look like. The bottom brackets allow for some installation flexibility, and the upper supports can be mounted to the wall or ceiling.
I opted to mount my upper brackets to the wall. To do so, you need at least 26″ of space from the ceiling, from the top of the upper bracket to the bottom of the lower bracket.
Drilling holes so close to the ceiling benefits from a little added clearance, or else your pilot hole might not be straight and your lag screw not perfectly flush. Ask me how I know.
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There are several sizes – 2′ x 8′, 4′ x 8′, 2′ x 4′, and 4′ x 4′. Basically, you can get 2′ or 4′ deep shelves, and in 4′ or 8′ lengths.
You can mount one shelf directly under another, linking the front support of the bottom shelf to the lower support rail of the top shelf.
You can also connect shelves together for a seamless perimeter configuration.
The shelves can support 600 lbs max, and you’ll need to refer to the installation manual for a break-down on how the weight limit changes for different shelf configurations.
Here’s how my experience with these shelves has been going so far:
New Age Pro Wall Shelf Shipping and Delivery
I was a little worried about how delivery would go.
I ordered New Age Pro wall cabinets from Costco a while back, and one arrived damaged. They replaced it without issue.
I also requested New Age Pro products for review when we were part of the Home Depot influencer program, and have had mixed impressions. First, I was extorted into paying cash for the freight driver to deliver the products, otherwise it would “take too long to deliver and disrupt his schedule.” The driver also shredded two sections of the driveway.
One of the big floor-standing cabinets from that delivery was dented and had to be hammered into shape, and one of the drawers in the smaller cabinet quickly developed a hard-to-close issue with its slides.
Overall, New Age Pro seems to be of decent quality, but I am always a little concerned about how smoothly a delivery might go.
I placed my order Sunday afternoon (sorry, I learned about the deal too late to post about it), and it arrived on Tuesday.
Given the weight, it was delivered via UPS, and in a single 2-pack box.
I was happy.
New Age Pro Wall Shelf Unboxing
Unboxing the shelves surprised and thrilled me. Look at the size of those zip ties used to hold everything secure during transport!
The shelves shipped in a box that was heavily armored with a heavy and solid fiber cardboard material.
Despite all this, one of the U-shaped supports had a corner that was bent out of shape, but nothing that 10 seconds with my Knipex Pliers Wrench (~$48 via Amazon) couldn’t remedy.
I found the attention to packaging to be excellent.
New Age Pro Wall Shelf Installation
Installation was tricky for me. On paper, it’s straightforward, but I ran into confusion and a couple of snags.
First, the user manual emphasizes that the cabinets need to be installed with full 3″ engagement into wood studs. They provide 3″ lag screws, with markings that indicate Grade 5 strength.
In several spots, when talking about the pilot hole or wall fastening, they repeat the 3″ wood stud depth requirement.
If you need to fasten any bracket between studs or joists, you’ll need to add wood blocking, and the manual does demonstrate this with greater thoroughness than I am accustomed to. Perhaps this because you don’t have as much flexibility as when mounting something like a cabinet with multiple fastener locations?
Where it shows or describes wood stud installations, or with blocking added, there is zero mention about drywall.
I’m sure the included 3″ lag screws would be fine, and that ~2-1/2″ depth in wood studs past drywall is still plenty strong, although the working weight capacity might be lower than the max rating.
The repeated mention about 3″ wood stud screw engagement depth is probably due to different wall surfaces having different thicknesses, but I didn’t want to have to think about it.
It might not be the best idea, but I headed out to the hardware store and picked up 1/4″ x 3-1/2″ Spax lag screws, which are said to have Grade 5 strength. That’ll give me 3″ of wood stud engagement, right?
The Spax screws weren’t a perfect fit for the included 1/4″ washers, but there weren’t any difficulties. Spax screws don’t require pilot holes (at least not at this size), but I drilled small pilots anyway to help with placements and to ensure I was drilling into studs.
I should mention that I also used Spax lag screws when installing some of my New Age wall cabinets a while back, as they’re easier to work with than standard studs that require larger and deeper pilot holes.
For the first shelf, for some reason my studs were ~46″ apart. I tried to figure things out and checked with two stud finders maybe a dozen or two times. Eventually I realized that I can move the installation brackets over a little bit.
The lower wall brackets are designed such that you can connect shelves together easily. Both of my shelves were to be installed in such a way that no additional shelves could fit between or next to them. Once I realized that, I modified the placement of the lower support brackets, and thanks to the mounting holes being horizontal, I was able to place the brackets exactly over the studs.
I marred my ceiling a little, drilling into the wall so high up, and one of the wire rope fasteners isn’t quite flush but felt body-weight secure, and so I’m not worried about it. I made sure to be careful when drilling the other pilot holes, reaching for a smaller drill/driver. An alternative would have been to space everything out a little lower, to increase the clearance between the top of the wire rope bracket and the ceiling.
For mounting to the wall, the manual gives specific instructions as to how to install the wire rope. For ceiling-mounting the front support, you can set things in 1-inch intervals. There is even a handy no-math-required chart in case you need to move the ring placement a couple of inches due to joist placement.
The second shelf went up a lot easier, thanks to proper 48″ stud spacing. I made a mistake with the bottom bracket placement, but that was easily fixed.
All this is to say that there is some installation flexibility.
I found it odd that every single one of New Age’s product photos show the wall mounted shelves being installed over drywall – presumably into wood studs or cement walls, but the manual seems to make the assumption or suggestion that the wall shelves are to be mounted directly to wood studs with no drywall or other wall covering in between. *Shrug?*
Overall Impressions
I *might* add some wood cross-beam supports, between the u-channels that support the wire grates, as smaller loads seem to cause the grates to flex a little more than I expected. By “smaller load,” I mean a milk crate placed next to a plastic tote. I’m not too worried.
Right now, I used the shelves to get stuff off the floor. As I continue my efforts to clear out my garage, I will likely use the shelves for bulkier stuff, probably in larger totes or bins. Dust collection hoses and things like that – that’s part of what I want to do up on these shelves.
I am extremely pleased, with my only regret being the inability to install more of these shelves.
I could potentially double-stack the shelves, with an additional level added beneath each shelf, but I don’t want to limit the headroom at those areas of the garage. I have ~9-foot ceilings, and just under 7 feet of headroom beneath these shelves. This means I can fit 6′ boards or sheets right underneath. Conveniently, there’s enough room on either side for 8′ boards.
YES, I would buy these again. Ask me again a year from now, and hopefully my impression will the same or even better.
Price: $100+
Buy Now via Amazon
Buy Now: 2-Pack via Home Depot
Buy Now: Other New Age Pro Storage via Amazon
The shelves are available in black or white. I went with the black. The 2-pack was on sale for $171. At the time of this posting, the 2-pack is $250, and single shelves are $100 each. Some of the shelves are still on sale at special pricing.
Mac
Expensive in my opinion. Something I can build easily with wood or weld up for much less money.
Stuart
Time is money.
Specialty tools are money.
Design skills in new areas take time.
What size wire rope? Which swaging tool? Etc.
Where to source smooth and blemish-free lumber? What size?
I don’t have a welder or the time to learn.
And then all of a sudden, store-bought solutions start to make sense. I’ve had a couple of DIY solutions in mind for certain parts of my garage, but there are been so many delays and postponements.
With this, things are already cleaner. It wasn’t very costly for what it provides, and it only took a few hours to sort everything out. This allows me to focus time and energies on projects that are more important or interesting to me.
Do you ever go out to eat and order something you could very well cook for yourself at home?
I do appreciate and understand your opinion, however, and share that sentiment with certain things I see online. But in this case, the shelves are easier, cheaper, and quicker than anything I can put together.
I can figure out a DIY adaptation or inspired solution, but it would take time, cost more, and probably be more complex since I don’t have the tools necessary to make something like this.
William
This is something that’s definitely not worth making. I do have a welder and the know how to make a custom shelf like this. But, why bother? It would not be that cheap to make it, plus paint and if you value your time, it’s hard to beat these shelves. I have a few of them in my garage and am quite happy.
fred
There is always going to be tradeoffs to consider in any buy versus make decision. Often the main reasons for making something have more to do with a need for customization and the enjoyment in the making rather than a purely financial decision. The furniture that I make turns out much more expensive than any utilitarian (versus an antique) replacement for it that I might purchase. While I’m far from a Duncan Phyfe or Sam Maloof – I have gained some modicum of skill in 50+ years of doing it – that the few pieces that I produce seem to be liked and used by their recipients. But turning out a low-boy or desk takes much more time and costs at least as much – usually more than what I might buy in a furniture store.
William
Making furniture is one thing, but a metal shelf in your garage? I’d rather spend my time making heirloom furniture than steel shelves.
keithieG
Huzzah!
Big Richard
I knew a guy that made his own deodorant because it was “super cheap and easy”. I don’t necessarily agree with him. In this case, however, I have to agree with Mac. For what you get, it does seem a bit pricey. At half that price, maybe.
You have to remember a lot of people who frequent this, and other sites, actually enjoy building and fabricating. It’s our craft. Just like Ben V’s post the other day about his fairly elaborate workshop setup. There’s just a pride thing in making it yourself, especially when most (not all) of us likely have plenty of materials sitting around. Don’t hate.
Stuart
At half the price, it’d be aluminum-can thickness and you’d have to pay heft shipping/delivery fees.
Big Richard
Agreed, or plastic. All the more reason to make it. Might throw a piano hinge on mine to fold up, too. Thanks for the idea!
Stuart
That could work. How will the front weight be supported? Brace from bottom, too, or wire rope in similar fashion?
Big Richard
I would still use the wire/rope in a similar fashion, I do like that concept. It’s similar to what your truck’s tailgate has. Simple but efficient.
I’ve made farmhouse style decor for a while now (it’s like printing money, people will pay crazy for it) and a shelf like this made of old planks, pipe fittings, and some jute cord or sisal rope as a support would sell well. Weekend planned.
Gordon
Aww, I wanted to be the first comment explaining how the product is overpriced and stupid because I can make something cheaper myself. How do these companies expect to succeed if they don’t cater to my narrow needs and below-cost price expectations!
Sarcasm aside. One thing I always question with this sort of product is how they handle the different ceiling constructions found in garages. Is most of the weight supported by the wall? My garage doesn’t have joists. Instead it has rafter ties every 48″ and collar ties ever 16″. It’s not a good setup, especially when garage doors and openers were hung. The rafter ties can barely support their own weight. So how does adding this sort of thing work? It has been one reason that I’m hesitant to install anything similar to this.
Jim Felt
Maybe as a Canadian based importer of Asian sourced products they’re trying to accommodate world wide as built construction conditions?
Or they’re just oblivious?
Nathan
my first question would be are you sure your structure is actually up to code. I bet by today’s code it is not but that’s a guess on my part. And thankfully you checked it and are worried about it.
Gordon
It’s sort of a code black hole as far as I can tell. They look a lot like joists, but definitely aren’t. You can’t do a 22ft span with 2, random length 2×6 nailed together. But I’d guess by the shape of most roofs in the neighborhood, a lot of people threw some OSB up there and use it for storage. Maybe there used to be a beam and post that someone removed? Modern standards would dictate trusses for numerous reasons. I’d like to do that and increase the ceiling height a little. But once you start that process it’s a slippery slop to knocking the whole thing down.
Stuart
This can be entirely wall-mounted, as I have mine installed, with all brackets secured to load-bearing walls.
Gordon
I appreciate the followup. That does sound pretty nice. I like this version better than the version I often see at Costco.
As expensive as these are, the bins to go on them seem to be the real wallet breaker.
Stuart
Bins don’t have to be terribly expensive, especially if you shop during sales promos. I can never remember when they are, but Home Depot had a big storage promo back on Feb. I guess it was a spring cleaning event?
Target is a good source for Sterilite bins, and I also have industrial totes.
In theory, you can also use shipping boxes.
John
Not something I would buy, but I can see that there would be a market for cleaner looking storage than the usual 2×4 and ply/osb upper shelving so common in garages around the country. Not sure I would rely on the bracket and cabling for long term reliability.
I can make most anything in wood and metal, so fabricating something would be my first choice. I know I’m in the 1% on making your own stuff though. I’d prefer the ceiling brackets to be a bit beefier.
Products like these will fill a market need.
Nathan
I’ve looked at a few of those products on occasion I really think I want to do the over the garage door support thing and put lumber up there. I think it would be a good use. 100 dollars for that seems a bit steep but not too far off considering the hardware the rating attached to the product.
Meanwhile I currently use rubbermaid dual slot steel rails for my garage shelving and one of them goes up high enough the shelf is 2+ feet from the ceiling. free and open and easily holds a few hundred lbs between stud bays.
Gerald
What ever floats your boat I guess. Not something I would spend money on.
Jp
I prefer on the floor shelves with casters, but these caught my eye. I’d pay the price but have no wall space. As for the above, don’t forget the cost of an engineer. They look nicer to me as compared to other utility type shelves from an aesthetics view.
-jp
PB
I love having shelves in the garage, my biggest challenges:
Earthquakes, how to keep things from falling.
Dirt and Dust, I like leaving things open to see easily but then things will collect dirt and dust.
Maybe make sliding doors made out of acrylic. Not low cost though.
mike
I first saw these months ago, and thought they would be perfect to install over my garage door.
I have ~25′ clearance over the springs and normal wall shelves have brackets that go so far below the shelf for support that those shelves would be pointless.
But the cost always gets me, it seems like a few pieces of unistrut could be similarly strong / low profile.
Flotsam
Maybe a bit pricey, but looks like a good option if i had a garage that was a bit taller than what i have. Thanks for sharing this.
Frank D
Quite interesting, if I were not dealing with so many standard ceilings. Cost is not cheap, but not unfair. Many of us can fab stuff out of wood or even metal, but materials are not cheap either, add in labor, painting, …
As sturdy as they may be, would not hang these over or near a vehicle.
One of the springs on the garage door snapped one time … I was lucky nobody was in the garage and that there was no vehicle present. I’d be heartbroken if a wire or connector let go and things came crashing down.
Blythe
Maybe I’m dense, but why would a 2 pack be $250 when you could buy 2 single shelves for $200 total?
Zal
Do you still like the shelves?
Stuart
Yes! I wish I had space to add more.
Zal
Fantastic! Thank you for the detailed write up. I’m going to order some as I have the same general storage requirements as you and these seem like the perfect solution.