Quick and Dirty Ski Rack for the Garage

After putting new lights in the garage, I figured I might as well get everything else organized - starting with the pile of skis in the corner. I designed the rack shown at the right loosely based on a number of wooden ones you can buy on line.

The skis are held by 8" long, 3/4" diameter dowels, with pipe insulation on them. I choose to use the insulation to help grip the skis, so that if bumped, they wouldn't move. 

The boot shelf above is made of 1x12 pine, with the shelf brackets mounted on the top side.

The rack and shelf took a about two hours to build and install, with most of the work in drilling the holes for the dowels and mounting them. I drilled the holes about 1/2" deep with a 3/4" Forstner bit, glued the dowels in place and screwed them from the back. I used polyurethane glue, which will hold the dowels tight since it expands on drying.


Cost of the project:
- Three 3/4" dowels (4' long) - $7
- A 12' pine 1x4 - $5
- A 8' pine 1x12 - $10
- Six shelf brackets - $10
- Pipe insulation - $2.50
- Total $35

Fighting SAD for better DYI

Actually, I don't really have SAD (Seasonal affective disorder) - but, I sometimes find it hard to put out very much effort on dark winter evenings. With this in mind, I realized the garage lighting was terrible and needed to be improved.

Right after we moved in, I installed three 48" economy fluorescent fixtures, which did increase the amount of light. Unfortunately, the light is harsh, and over four years time all three fixtures failed.


I have decided I don't like 4' fluorescent tubes either. They are hard to store and dispose of, the light is harsh, and they buzz. On the other hand, I really like CFL's - which now give off soft light, have become inexpensive, and are much easier to recycle. 90% of our house is now on CFL's.

To make the garage a place I would want to go work in, I extended the circuit from three lights to ten. With 14W (60W equivalent) bulbs, the garage is now lit up bright as day. I like the 14W ones, since the have dropped to just over a dollar each at Home Depot, and with 10 of them, there are now no shadows.


A quick rundown of the cost per fixture:

- Oldwork electrical box: $2

- Plastic fixture: $1.30

- Bulb: $1.20

- Wiring, etc: $1

- Total: $5.50


My next activity is to get the garage clean-up and organized.