Peg board or slat wall?

I am now going to finish my garage walls. Two sides are new walls that are newly framed, the other two sides are the garage doors and exterior wall.

I am thinking of lining two walls with something that I can use to store and organize. I have used peg boards before, you need to have some room behind it so I usually fur out an existing wall with a 1x and then screw the peg board onto it, then I can put all sorts of accessories to hang stuff off it.

Now I see there are some slat boards (usually white, seems to be made of MDF materials, with horizontal notches every 4" or so and you can also attach a lot of gadgets to it for organizing.

Which is better? Would appreciate comments on pros and cons and also if there are other options would like to hear about it too.

One thing that comes to mind about peg boards is that they are much weaker so you can't really hang shelves off it and I think the slat boards can.

Thanks,

MC

Reply to
MiamiCuse
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I don't have slat wall, but would like some on one wall. I'd use a combination of both on different walls.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

1/4" pegboard isn't _too_ bad strengthwise, but it isn't for heavy horizontal loading, no.

The t-board systems are kewl, but imo far too pricey -- there its a case of what your budget can afford.

Personally, for shop walls I'd just as soon have solid 1/2" or thicker ply or even old salvaged 1X shelving boards as anything. One can then put whatever wherever and don't need the specialty hangers.

imo, $0.02, ymmv, etc., etc., etc., ...

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Reply to
dpb

Slat wall is the way to go. You can also use peg bard hooks on slat wall.

Reply to
Roger Shoaf

MC,

Check this site for some ideas (No affiliation).

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Personally, I've never really liked peg boards.

Reply to
Oren

Slat wall is nice I guess but I've found it very difficult to obtain, few if any local suppliers, too heavy to ship, etc... HD, Loews, etc. dont have it.

Reply to
RickH

Peg board is a LOT cheaper, at least around here. As to strength, most slat board I have seen is designed for store displays, and at the auctions there is always a stack of busted panels where a bracket tore out. Seems to be chipboard inside, with a melamine top layer. A garage is damp- I'd be reluctant to have anything made out of chipboard out there.

If there is a store/industrial fixture reseller near you, I'd look for metal pegboard, like store gondolas have between the posts. That holds some weight. In a garage, for heavy stuff, nothing beats metal shelf brackets, either screwed into the studs, or clipped into double-slot standards. (again, an item from retail world.) If you want movable racks, some companies make cleat systems, like the expensive rubbermaid stuff. Screw the cleats to studs, or better yet, to a layer of thick plywood or a wall of T&G car siding screwed on the 5/8" drywall on the firewall between garage and living space.

-- aem sends...

Reply to
aemeijers

HD has it. I saw it there in local stores in Miami.

Reply to
MiamiCuse

BTDT.......

I've used both peg board & as you call it "slat board"...the stuff I used was called space wall; commercial stuff. The board I used was MDF with a wood veneer.

The drawback of any wall / "panel based" storage system is that you really only get one layer of storage. Peg board (1/4"; the real "good stuff", the very dark stuff) is ok strength wise but as a storage system that really get used its only fair. I found that picking & replacing tools or supplies often dislodged the pegboard brackets.

As per aemeijers, the usual (& often occurring) failure mode is bracket load causing tear out of the material. I've had it happen more than a few times. :(

You can "reinforce" it with strategically placed screws but that's a bit of extra work.

If you garage is big enough, I would suggest a wall of Craiglist shop cabinets of some sort. Get ones deep enough to take 18" cardboard bin boxes, they come in 4", 6", 8" & wider widths. The volume of storage in such a system is way greater than that of a pegboard or space wall system.

I've done the shop cabinet / bin box system in several garages, shops & labs over the last 25 years and it cannot be beaten for storage volume & storage density. Like items in the same bin box with a label or item sample hot glued to the face of the bin boxes instant access to a deep storage system.

A variation of the system could be cabinets with heavy duty slide out "trays / drawers".

Of course, some items don't lend themselves to cabinet storage.

Since I've used both, I would prefer space wall (slat board) over pegboard but decent thickness plywood (as per DPB'd comment; 1/2" minimum) gives you the ultimate flexibility with much better strength. Not as trick or cute as slat board but way more practical.

cheers Bob

Reply to
fftt

I use the white painted pegboard and have made specialty wooden holders for all my tools. One system has door hinges on a frame, so I can use both sides of the pegboard. I used two L-hooks on each wooden holder. Works great. If you decide to go with pegboard get the heavy-duty kind. The little wire holders pull out, but you can use a glue gun to hold them in place.

Reply to
Phisherman

Just curious- since you post here fairly often and have good ideas on occasion. . . why use pegboard at all if you need to fasten the holders? Wouldn't 3/4 ply & sheetrock screws do the trick for less- and with less bother.

On occasion a wire bender and some sturdy wire might facilitate things- but 90% of the time a couple screws will do it. If you want to get fancy with the wires a bender as simple as this works fine-

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Jim

Reply to
Jim Elbrecht

I don't use the screws, but I am all in favor of nails or screws rather than peg board. Putting up 3/4" plywood you can put nails or screws wherever you need them and take them out and move them if you need to change the layout. Much more practical than peg board, and a lot cheaper than slat wall.

Bill

Reply to
BillGill

The pegboard allows me to move the holders around as I buy or replace tools. Or, sometimes after use, I find a better location for the holder. Sure you can use 3/4" ply and sheetrock screws, not sure if this is cheaper but certainly not expensive. Woodworking is my hobby, so making holders is fast, easy, and built from my wood scrap pile. I have a 4x8 pegboard all filled with clamps, but any clamp can be retrieved or put back in place without any clamping. Shopnotes had a plan for making framed pegboard and holders, and that is where I started and then started making more custom holders.

Reply to
Phisherman

Mount strips of plywood on spacers with a gap between the strips. It will take slatboard or pegboard hardware plus you can put a screw in it without it pulling out.

Jimmie

Reply to
JIMMIE

Slat boards are very nice.

You can also buy aluminum inserts that slide in that make it even stronger than it was...a bonus.

The downside...it is more expensive than us cheap..err..thrifty homeowners like to spend.

A thought...LOTS of retail stores will be closing this year...and all their slat board will be up for pennies on the dollar.

Also the brackets can be expensive...again surplus is the route to go.

A question for everyone...where does one find inexpensive brackets new?

TMT

Reply to
Too_Many_Tools

-snip-

You've probably seen this- but any thread about thinking ahead and organizing isn't complete without a nod to Mr. Studley and his 'ultimate tool box'

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Not very flexible when he was done-- but what a work of art. Jim

Reply to
Jim Elbrecht

How expensive is "inexpensive" ?

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or ebay (but the selection is poor)

cheers Bob

Reply to
fftt

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