Construction
Garage Cabinets

Different by design

Sts Garage Cabinets are different by design. We don't build our cabinet the way most garage cabinet companies do, but then we are not like most garage cabinet companies. It starts with the materials but the key is the design.

Material

We use 5/8" thick industrial grade particle board, not the commercial grade or underlayment that some companies use. We do not use MDF (medium density fiberboard) for anything other than workbench tops. Sure MDF is a higher density than particle board but it also weighs almost twice as much and emits higher levels of formaldehydes into your garage and your belongings. MDF is a very poor choice for your cabinet and your cabinet's doors as the extra weight of the wood takes away from the capacity of the cabinets. This really becomes a problem when cabinets are hung from your garage walls, see design. We use Amerock hinges and we have been doing so for almost 15 years. The Amerock hardware carries a lifetime warranty from the manufacturer. We use Titus leg levelers to support the weight of the cabinet from the bottom and to adjust the base for a level cabinet. They are rated at 850 pounds per set of levelers. Our adjustable shelves are standard on most cabinet sizes are not held in place with holes drilled into the cabinet sides. We use metal shelf supports with an adjustment every 1/2" and we don't just use four or make the 4' long and mount them a foot off the base of the cabinet. Every four foot section gets an extra shelf standard in the back of the cabinet to support the middle of the shelf. Our doors are T molded for a smooth edge that will not peel like edge banding can.

Design

It all starts at the bottom. We use adjustable leg levelers to support the base of our cabinets. The legs allow us to adjust the base to accommodate the slope in most garage floors. The legs lift the floor of the cabinet to protect the base from water damage. The legs also allow for termite inspection. The most common location for termites to show up is on the stem walls in your garage. With most cabinets the base is boxed in and there is no way to see the stem wall. With the legs that STS garage cabinet's use you can look at the stem wall. Boxed in bases look nice but they they provide a habitat for crickets and roaches and that invites scorpions. They can act as a wick to bring moisture up into the base of the cabinets. There number one purpose is to cover up what is really supporting the cabinet, particle board cleats. We double up the base of our cabinets for a full 1 1/4" floor in each cabinet. Our legs are spaced 2' on apart, starting a few inches in from each end. With a weight capacity of 850 pounds they provide solid support for your cabinets. Some companies hang their cabinets from a metal strip attached to your garage walls with not bottom support.
Your garage walls are meant to hold your roof, they were not designed for carrying the weight of garages cabinets and the contents. What goes up must come down and our experience with companies that hang cabinets from your wall is they tend to disappear when the cabinets start to fall down. Hanging cabinets from your wall is nothing new. It seems that someone is trying it every ten years or so, however long it takes to forget about the last company who's cabinets came tumbling down. That is not to say that it can't be done, just that it makes more sense to support a cabinet with a concrete floor than it does hang it off one side of a garage wall. Even if the cabinet can hang from the wall, what is supporting the shelves and cabinet base?