HyLoft 540 45-Inch-by-45-Inch Overhead Storage System, White
by Hyloft
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of HyLoft 540 45-Inch-by-45-Inch Overhead Storage System, White
Customer Review: A real space saver, but a couple of tips would have been nice
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a very sturdy product. It is sized such that 4 of these fit over a 16' wide garage door, allowing for the door opener track to go between the middle two. The challenging part of the install is getting the brackets installed into the studs. Stud sensors don't work really well when there are 2 sheets of drywall on the garage ceiling. Fortunately, the lag screws they provide are 2 1/2" or 3" long, so they are plenty long enough.
Here are 2 tips I learned the hard way:
1) If you install these as close to the front of your garage as possible you will increase the risk of the garage door hitting the shelves, requiring you to raise the shelves and decrease the max storage height. This is because the door is making the turn from vertical to horizontal right near the front of the garage and the leading edge of each door panel reaches its highest point as it is making the turn. This caused me to need to move the shelves up one hole (about 2"). In hindsight, I should have moved the shelves one more stud away from the front of the garage and I would have avoided this conflict, while still keeping all my stuff over the garage door (when the door is raised).
2) When installing the actual shelves, make sure that the long bars of each shelf are on top, and the shorter bars are on the bottom. This will make sliding items on/off the shelves easier.
I wish these were mentioned in the instructions. Since most of my items still fit on the shelves over the garage door, I don't think I am going to take these back down and reinstall them just to get the extra 2" back. However, I have 2 big plastic storage totes which don't fit now but could if I get the 2" back.
Customer Review: Convenient storage, so-so design
Summary: 3 Stars
This is constructed of heavy duty steel, and is fairly easy (although frustrating at times) to install for one person. Installation takes about 1 to 1.5 hours for the first rack for someone relatively competent with simple tools, but might take longer depending on where it is being installed.
I installed mine on a ceiling with a step in it, where it changes height by about 10". I liked how I could adjust each support individually to the length I needed to hang halfway under the step of the ceiling. The starter nails to line up the small angle brackets on the ceiling were more trouble than they were worth as there was inadequate clearance for my hammer to get them in effectively. I gave up and just marked and drilled the holes for the support screws instead without using the nail. The nail is just for determining that you are in a stud, which I checked before hand.
Overall the installation is forgiving, you can be off about 1" on the measurements and still have a rack that fits, but this is only because my primary complaint about the design that follows.
Why I gave this 3 stars? The unit has no lateral support. It will swing a full 2" side to side because the vertical supports are just flat steel that are free to bend. Even fore-aft motion is only restrained by the bolts, so a strong bump would cause it to shift slightly forwards or backwards. The only direction that it supports weight is vertically, which is fine if you only use it for storage, but loading and unloading will cause the rack to swing. I will have to add some supports to prevent it from moving every time I load/unload wood.
Customer Review: Be careful which way your ceiling joists run!
Summary: 4 Stars
I have 16"-on-center ceiling joists in my garage, so these didn't fit exactly (16" doesn't divide into ~45" evenly). I ended up having to hang them sideways which gave me narrow-end access into the storage. After putting 4 of them up this way, I realized how difficult it would be to get in and out of some of the units. I ended up taking them down and re-engineered everything.
I put up two 16-foot 2x4 studs perpendicular to the ceiling joists and used 7" lag bolts into the existing (sub-drywall) ceiling studs. This way, the Hyloft storage could run across a single pair of 2x4s for anchoring, yet still have the weight distributed across the ceiling joists. This was MUCH extra work, but was due to strictly following the rules the first time, without realizing how they would look once installed. Installing one of them on the ground is probably a good idea before putting up more than a few, and DEFINTELY measure. Lots.
You're going to need to know which way the ceiling joists run. If you want the shelving to run perpendicular to the ceiling joists, then you should probably add a secondary anchor point below the existing ceiling to distribute the weight. If you run them parallel, be careful not to anchor more than (I'd say) 2 onto any single/pair of ceiling joists. MAKE SURE YOU ARE CENTERED INTO ALL JOISTS!!
Notwithstanding my installation debacle above, they are very easy to install, and can be done pretty much by one person alone, though if you have a tall garage (mine is >13' high), you'll quickly get tired of going up and down the ladder.
Customer Review: Best solution I could find!
Summary: 5 Stars
I went into this looking for two things: 1, add extra storage to my home; and 2, be able to install by myself. The HyLoft 540 was the answer to both.
When I moved into my new townhome I quickly realized that my family and I had more stuff than space and adding storage to my garage seemed like an easy answer. My problem? I can barely hammer a nail to a wall (slight exaggeration, but nearly true). After more than a month of research I decided on the HyLoft system and I will never look back!
I purchased two sets to I could have a side-by-side system. When it arrived the directions were clear and to the point. ANYONE can understand them. In all, it took me about an hour start to finish to install them both. It was mentioned in a previous review that they can swing a bit. Yes, this is true. But it took me about 5 minutes more to install 2 L-brackets to secure them to the wall. No swinging anymore. Plus, each set came with materials to tie the separate pieces together to create a seamless overhead storage system.
The only con I have is that I was hoping to have a bit more height to store things. The packaging makes it seem like you can store two large containers stacked, but I just didn't find this possible. Maybe with two smaller storage tubs, but one is about all you'll get. Small complaint, I just re-packed a few tubs and everything fits.
If you're looking for a great, easy-to-install system that is incredibly versatile, look no further!
Customer Review: Have installed about 10 of these so far in 2 houses and love them!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great storage system. Although I have never been able to line them up like the picture they show, mainly due to studs being placed further apart then what is necessary. Also I would not want to since the struts would get in the way of loading and unloading. I have installed so many of these I have gotten pretty fast but not in 30 minutes like another posted suggested. Maybe I am too much a perfectionist but it takes me about 2 hours per loft. The hardest part is finding the studs, the studfinder is not always accurate and getting the screws centered on the stud can be a challenge. I tap nails into the drywall and if I hit wood the nail sticks, you can drill also which is much quieter and faster but its harder to be sure you have hit the stud until you tap a nail into what you think is wood. Once all the brackets are all installed it is a breeze. I make sure everything is tight and the drilled holes are filled with puddy and painted. I then do the hang, I weigh about 210 lbs and I hang with all my weight on the loft to make sure it holds, they always have, just grab the reinforced bars not the smaller mesh. I am half way thru installing in my new 2 car garage, when finished I will have 9 45x45 Hylofts and 4 Hyloft Jr's (Wow thats like $700, but totally worth it). I will not have to even touch the attic. Pretty amazing since normally this space is totally wasted in most garages. Much easier, faster, and stronger than building your own storage. 2 Thumbs way up.