How we planned, ordered, and assembled our new garage storage cabinets and slat walls from Modular Closets.
A year ago we started working on updating the storage areas of our 1970s garage, and I added some temporary shelving to hold us over until we could install something more permanent. I knew I wanted to add cabinets, countertops, and wall organizers, but I wasn’t quite sure which options to go with. When I saw the launch of the garage storage line from Modular Closets, I knew that was exactly what I needed.
We already have Modular Closets towers in our primary closet, bedroom, and laundry room, so it just makes sense to work with a brand we already trust and know how to assemble. So today I want to take you through the process of how we planned the layout, selected all the cabinets, received, assembled, and installed our new Modular Closets garage systems.
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Planning The Garage Layout With Modular Closets 3D Designer
I love that Modular Closets offers free professional designs from their in-house team, but I personally think it’s best to plan your own layout if you can. The reason is because no one knows how you use your space like you do. You know where you like to keep things, how much space you need for those things, and how your garage really looks on a typical Saturday afternoon when things haven’t been put away in a few weeks.
Modular Closets has a program on their website that allows you to create a 2D and 3D model of your garage, then you can drag and drop different cabinetry (they call them “modules”) and rearrange them to scale. You can buy straight from your design plan too, so you don’t have to worry about forgetting anything. You’re given the exact price as you put your plan together so you can add or remove options to stay within your budget.
First things first, you need to measure your garage. Measure the length, width, height, door spacing, and any extra wall protrusions. My garage has a weird bump-out area in the back, which made the measuring a little more complex, but if your garage is a standard square or rectangle, measuring will be a breeze.
Once you’ve finished your layout measurements, you’ll click the “Design Garage” button in the bottom-right corner. This takes you to the next step, which is adding your cabinetry and wall organizers. Usually, it gives you a standard suggestion of cabinets to help you get started, but you can move those cabinets around or delete them to truly start from scratch.
My Exact Garage Plan:
Here’s the exact 3D plan I created for my garage and exactly how I ordered it. I knew I wanted mostly drawers for easy access to smaller items, and I wanted doors to cover the shelves so it wouldn’t look cluttered. I also got to see how the slat walls would look on the back wall, which was helpful for me to be able to plan what I could store in that area since it’s an awkward wall to work with.
Before you start your checkout process, be sure to download the full plan using the “Create PDF” button on the right-hand side of the Review screen. You may forget how you had everything set up, so downloading the PDF plan helps you stay organized when everything arrives. It also gives you an inventory list, which is helpful on delivery day. (More on that next)
How Modular Closets Garage Components Are Delivered
Modular Closets components are delivered via freight and come packaged on a very large pallet. Once shipped, you’ll get a call from the freight company to confirm the delivery date and verify the truck can access your house.
We have had three deliveries from Modular Closets via freight so far, and every time the drivers have been incredible. They have pulled the pallets into our garage or under our covered porch and made sure everything looked to be in good condition. I always suggest tipping your delivery person with cash because these pallets are super heavy and take a while to unload.
Once your pallet has been delivered, you can start unpacking it. Take all the boxes off the pallet and sort them into stacks based on their part numbers. This makes assembly super easy, but it also allows you to run through your inventory list to make sure everything arrived.
Of the three Modular Closets orders I have received, there was something missing in every one of them—usually a door or hardware set; nothing major. But it’s helpful to check for each piece upon delivery and contact the MC team if you don’t have something. They’re really great about sending out something that’s missing ASAP.
PS: If you don’t have a city or county pickup program that takes pallets from your curb, you can list the pallets on Facebook Marketplace for free. Someone usually comes to get them the same day. People are always looking for free pallets, and they’ll come take them quickly.
Assembling Modular Closets Garage Cabinets
The cabinet assembly couldn’t be any easier. If you’ve ever built a standard bookshelf from Walmart, Target, or Ikea, it’s basically the same, except the materials are much sturdier and heavier.
The instructions are easy to follow, the cams and cam locks go in smoothly, and so far every single hole has lined up perfectly. It took us two afternoons to assemble all the cabinets and drawer boxes. We put them all together and lined them up before attaching them to the wall.
Modular Closets Garage Cabinets do come with two legs for stability, but they aren’t freestanding. The cabinets need to be screwed to the wall studs in order to stand upright. Making sure the cabinets are level is super important, so make sure you have a large contractor level on hand.
To help hold the cabinets in place while attaching them to the wall, it helps to cut a couple of blocks of scrap wood to hold the back side of the cabinets up. This step isn’t completely necessary, but the cabinets are very heavy, so any stability assistance you can get is worth it.
After the cabinet boxes are attached to the wall, you can add the doors, drawers, and countertops if you purchased them. Countertops aren’t required, but they do make the cabinets look a little more finished.
Modular Closets Garage cabinet bases come in a medium-tone gray color, and the drawers and doors are a dark gray, almost black color with a slick bumpy texture. They’re really great-quality doors and drawer fronts and look really nice paired with the silver handles. Drawers are not soft-close, but they do glide easily.
Modular Closets Garage Slat Wall System
The slat wall system from Modular Closets is made by Handiwall. They are 8 foot long by 1 foot tall vinyl slat panels and come with installation screws that have a screwhead in matching gray. To install, you just screw them right into wall studs in the inner lines of the panels. They can be easily cut with a circular saw or jigsaw, or even a hand saw if you don’t have power tools.
Handiwall hooks and shelves are compatible with this system, but I have heard that other slat wall hook brands work with it too. I haven’t tested other brands, but if you need specialty organizers that Handiwall doesn’t make, it’s worth testing. Just make sure the place you purchase them accepts returns if they don’t work out.
I just got the Accessory Kits straight from Modular Closets to make the ordering process easier, but later on I plan on adding a few specialty pieces from Amazon for smaller tools.
Save 10% on Modular Closets with promo code LELA
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Full Garage Reveal Coming Soon!
We are finishing up the garage organization and taking all the phots this week, so stay tuned for the full reveal of how our Modular Closets Garage project turned out! In the meantime, you can watch this Youtube video for all the behind the scenes of the garage floor, cabinets, and organization we’ve done so far.
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