Smith Family Snapshots: The Garage Project #3

8. Researching tools

By now D knew I had painted the garage but the real surprise (organizing his tool bench) was still a BIG SECRET! The tricky part of the surprise was installing a peg board. Since D was in the dark about it I turned to every other source of knowledge I could drum up.

I bought a tool book, watched you-tube videos, talked to half a dozen hardware store guys, and consulted my tool-savy friend to coach me thru it. In the end, it was all helpful, but my friend was the most helpful : )

9. Installing a Peg Board: a non-technical description

* links to products included *

buying wood and screws

* the biggest pre-painted white peg board at Lowes, cut it to fit my space

* six 1x2x8 furring strips (also cut to length) to go behind the board

(Lowes did all my cuts for free)

* Flat Phillips screws to attach boards to studs (12x2.5)

* Coarse Thread Drywall black screws to attach peg board to long boards; make sure the diameter of the screw head is a little bigger than the diameter of the peg board holes (so it won't fall thru the hole); I used 1-5/8 inch screws

gathering tools

* drill, drill bits, measuring tape, level, and a stud finder

I watched a you-tube video over and over to learn how to put together the drill :)

I also watched lots of different peg board installations to get a general idea of it.

Talking to hardware store guys helped me figure out which screws to buy.

finding and marking studs

Awesome Kristin coaching me (and working with me!) to hang boards

Why boards/furring strips?

In order for the peg board to be functional (i.e. hold peg hooks) there must be space between the peg board and the wall. I bought long boards and attached them to the top, middle and near the bottom of where the board would hang. On the top layer, I had the board cut to fit between our existing shelf brackets. (I used long silver screws to attach the boards to studs)

Hanging the peg board

Using black screws (not quite as long as the ones needed for the studs) we screwed through the peg board holes into the furring strip behind it. You can see where the strip is through the holes in the board. I screwed the pb to the boards every 12 peg holes along the length of each of the three boards.

The finished board was such an improvement over the ugly wall with big holes that it had been.

Why black screws (to attach pb to furring strips?)

It stands out here (next to scraper), but it BLENDS IN with the board in normal lighting. Silver screws stand out like a soar thumb... just trust me. Someone smarter than me figured it out on you-tube and I followed their savy advice. Additionaly, you could paint the furring strips black so that they also blend in. I didn't do that. I am glad I used black nails but the unpainted boards are only visible this close up.

10. Buying Peg Hooks

Before installing the peg board I sorted through David's tools and grouped those that seemed like they would be nice on a peg board. I looked at google images to see what sort of things other people hung.

Peg boards are surprisingly inexpensive and the hooks are reasonably priced. My challenge was knowing what clips I needed to buy or finding any details about it. So, I bought a sample pack of different hooks and played around with them to see what tool worked best on each hook. Here are pictures of the hooks I used to hang tools.

This long hook is what the rolls of tape hung on.

This hook is what the mallet hung on. I bought a handful of these in addition to the sample pack.

10. Setting up the Peg Board

The best approach I found was to sort tools on the table into the general idea of where I thought it would hang. I then hung everything up and moved it around on the board as needed. The clips are super easy to put into the board and remove to move around. I had everything up within an hour and then rearranged some things after a trip to the hardware store to pick up more clips.

This was the easiest, fastest, and most gratifying part of the whole project!

DETAILS

David's parents gifted the black mesh baskets, paper towel holder and pencil/measuring tape holder in this picture. They were all ordered off Amazon and really great additions. The mesh baskets are much better than the gray wire ones I added since things can slip through the gray ones.

I decided to hang his tool belts since I had the space. If I'd had even more space I would have liked to hang a row of hard hats that he collects. Also, I hung his bandana since he uses it all the time when he is out in the garage.

To organize nails and screws D's parents gifted him with this hardware cabinet. It is wonderful! I put in all the hardware that was in its original, labeled size container. It makes looking for the right materials much easier. All of our loose screws are in a separate place that I'll show later.