I wanted a modular gearwall for bags, jackets, bike gear, and assorted kid stuff. My niche requirements ruled out commercial options. So I designed my own, based on router table t-track hardware.

Results

Kids’ corner (usually a (even messier) pile)

Entryway, small items

Entryway left, small items

The Bike Zone

Main bike panel

Deep storage bike panel

Special-purpose wall-mounting designs

• Bike skewer hook
• Clothes hanging bar
• Magnetic buckle mount
• PD backpack hanger

Light-duty 3d printed hooks

Captured-disk hook for stroller trays

Ball&socket hook for stroller trays

Motivation

My bike garage/mudroom is full of outdoor/kids gear. I want to store it, off the floor, with first order retrievability. The walls contain several pocket doors, large voids where I can’t mount into studs. I wanted to avoid bulky shelving units, to preserve a sense of openness in the room, while still maximizing wall-storage space, and also to discourage us from packing shelves full of junk. If each item requires a bit of deliberation and effort to give it a home, the resulting system should be more curated and minimal, rather than a dumping ground.

I wanted the system to be modular in multiple ways. Obviously the storage hooks/pegs should be repositionable. But I also wanted to group several tracks worth of pegs together, and be able to move those larger units around. Incidentally, after moving to a new house, organizing the new garage should be pretty quick.

There are off-the-shelf storage track systems, but they seem kind of pricey. And there are off-the-shelf storage panel systems, which are even more pricey. So I built my own, hybrid track/panel system. It is functionally equivalent to Slatwall, but cheaper in materials cost.

Does this system need a name? Probably not, but some candidates:

• O.T.S. (Off The Shelf)
• S.O.T.S. (Shit Off The Shelf)
• G.O.S.O.T.S. (Get Our Shit Off The Shelf)
• etc.

Smaller Details

• Metal track, because metal is better than plastic
• Large wood panel, for screw-mounting arbitrary hardware
• Rails and peg pieces are standard hardware
  • Pegs are as cheap as possible
  • Pegs are easy to replace
  • Custom peg/hook pieces are easy to make
• Mount a large panel via one french cleat
  • Mountable over pocket doors
  • Minimize wall holes

Inspiration at my industrial-unfinished-chic office First panel module complete, with bulkiest items mounted first Close-up of french cleat mount

Weight limits

There are several possible failure points:

• French cleat / wall connection. This is limited by the placement of my panels relative to wall studs. I used 2" construction screws, meaning about 1" of thread (or 8-10 cycles of thread pitch) reaches inside the stud (3/4" cleat, 1/2" drywall, screwhead driven below surface of cleat). I used two screws per stud, six screws per 4’ wall cleat.
• French cleat / panel connection: 5x 1.25" construction screw, the longest possible without protruding through the exterior face.
• T-track / panel connection: The track is press-fit into a groove that, under zero load, leaves zero room for the track to flex. Failure here would mean the plywood was compressed enough for the 9.5mm wide opening to expand to 13.5mm, which seems extremely difficult. It is fastened with 5x nut+washer+bolt, as 1/2" wood screws seemed too tiny.
• T-track bolt: The 5/16" steel bolt seems like the strongest link in the chain, as long as no heavy loads are mounted farther away from the wall, which I ensure when planning the mounts. I also have some 1/4" bolts, which are intended for much lighter items.

The heaviest item I am mounting on a single bolt is under 10 pounds. Anything 5 pounds or heavier is mounted such that it is hanging on the bolt very close to the wall, minimizing the lever arm (moment). The heaviest total load on a single rail is no more than 20 pounds. The heaviest total load on a single panel is no more than 35 + 50 pounds (35 being the weight of the plywood).

Large item weights:

• Yepp seat: 8lb
• Follow-me-tandem: 9lb
• Osprey child backpack (without water): 10lb
• Shotgun bike seat: 3.5lb
• Pockit folding stroller (2 bolts): 14.5lb
• Loaded clothes rail (2+ bolts): 4-6lb
• Loaded commuting pannier (not normally hanging): 13lb

Bill of Materials

Hardware

Small hardware costs are approximate, some of it was just what I had available.

For 4’x4’ panels with 3 rails (12’ of rail):

• Price per panel: $84
• Price per foot of rail (total): $7
• Price per foot of rail (marginal): $2.80 (i.e. omitting the base panel cost)
• Price per peg: $0.86
• Price of panel + 15 pegs: $96

Material alternatives:

• cheaper plywood instead of the nicely finished maple stuff.
• 1" wood screws that came with the t-track, but they protrude out the back of the panel.
• #8 x 1/2" wood screw (100x), instead of 8-32 screws+nuts+washers. I prefer using nuts rather than trusting the 1/2" screws in 3/8" of plywood.
• vinyl tubing, instead of heat shrink. Much more work to install onto the bolts.

Note: when comparing my Off-The-Shelf system to commercial off-the-shelf options:

• Track-based: compare to Price per foot of rail (marginal), since my use case requires the plywood rear panel (or similar).
• Panel-based: compare to Price per foot of rail (total).

Commercial off-the-shelf options

Light duty

• 1" pegboard (particleboard)
• Ikea Skadis pegboard (plastic)
• Elfa pegboard (metal)

Commercial

• Gridwall (4’x4’ for $35, 2’x8’ for $83)
  • hooks are not secure
• Slatwall (4’x4’ for $114, 4’x8’ for $199)

Heavy duty

• Gladiator GearTrack ($3.97/ft, $2.50/hook)
• Craftsman Versatrack ($3.75/ft, $12/hook ?)
• Rubbermaid FastTrack ($4.12/ft, $17/hook ?)
• Husky Track Wall ($6.62/ft, $3.40/hook ?)
• Kobalt
• Ryobi Link

Other special-purpose rail systems

• lighting
• DIN
• unistrut - too thick
• aluminum channel (e.g. 2040) - too thick, too precision-oriented, too expensive

Process

1. Cut plywood to panel size (e.g. 4’x4’) (panel saw at big box store)
2. Cut french cleats, 4’x6" per pair, yielding 4 pairs per 4’x2’ plywood sheet (table saw)
3. Cut 3/4" wide, 3/8" deep dadoes in panel (table saw with infeed and outfeed, and a friend to help)
4. Fasten french cleat to panel, screw in from behind to hide screws
5. Press-fit t-tracks into slots, drill holes, secure with nuts+washers+bolts
6. Hang on wall-mounted french cleat
7. Bend t-track bolts into hook shape
8. Apply heatshrink to bolts