Today, we take a much-needed look back upon one of the best DIY projects we’ve ever come across: the DIY Wall-Hanging Canned Food Storage. This DIY project was brought to our attention in the earlier incarnations of our website. This incredible fellow and his wife had (then) recently moved into their new home. They realized that they had a gem on their hands pretty quickly. There was an unfinished, stud-exposed wall in one of the best storage places ever: under the stairs.
The couple was quick to realize that they could turn that space into a vertical canned food rotation system. The way they measured everything, they would have enough space for around 195 cans. They were kind enough to share their process with us. Here are the plans as told by the man himself.
The section size: 4’ x 76”
Materials:
- 1 Box of 1 ½ inch wood screws
- 1 4’x8’ sheet of ½” plywood
- 1 2”x4”x36”
- 1 5.5” piece of scrap
- 1 4.75” piece of scrap
- 1 1”x8”x96”
- 1 1”x2”x96”
- 14 1”x4”x48”
- 14 1”x3”x48”
Tools:
- Drill driver
- Table saw
- Tape measure
- Pencil (for markings)
The Cut
- The process begins with cutting the plywood into the dimension of your area. As fitting your area, they cut each of the 1”x4” pieces to 39”. They had gone with a shorter cut in order to allow more room for the 1”x8” which shall be along the bottom to house the cans. A gap of 3.5” at the top in order to load your cans in.
- Process to cut 1”x3” pieces to a 35.5” and leave a 3.5” at the bottom. This shall enable you to remove any cans that you put in.
- Cut 13 small angled pieces off of the 2”x4” in order to lie at the base of each column.
- The 1”x8”x96” and the 1”x2”x96” to 76” which is longer so that it would accompany the length of the wood.
- Use scrap lumber to cut a 5.5” and 4.75” piece of 1”x4”.
The Build
- Hold a 1”x4” piece against the short side of the wood and draw a line. The line should be 3.5” down from the top or the long side of the wood.
- Make use of a small drill bit to sufficiently drill pilot holes in the middle of the .75” area in between the right edge of the plywood and the line. This will enable you to hold the 1”x4” against the top line and left line.
- Make use of the holes to screw in the 1”x4” along the right edge and the line. Make sure that everything aligns well. Then take up the 4.75” spacer and butt it against the vertical 1”x4”. Draw a parallel line away from the 1”x4”
- Repeat with the 5.5” spacer. Make use of the two parallel lines .75” apart to find out where your next vertical 1”x4” will go.
- Drill pilot holes between the two lines you made. Repeat previous steps until all vertical sections are fully in place. But the 1”x8” horizontally against the bottom of the vertical 1”x4” and screw it into each of the 1”x4”s on the bottom.
- Place the 1”x2” at the end of the 1”x8” and screw it in place. This will ensure that your cans won’t just roll off. From there, take your 1”x3” pieces and other than the farthest left and right points, center them unto the 1”x4” vertical pieces and screw them in. These will serve as the key to stack your cans.
- Cut off any excess width from the sides. Take your angled pieces of 2”x4” and screw them into the top of the 1”x8” centered in each of your columns. They will push the cans out toward the lip.
- Enjoy your creation!
