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Review on FLEXIMOUNTS 4X8 Overhead Garage Storage Rack | Heavy Duty 600Lbs Weight Capacity Adjustable Metal Ceiling Organization System | Hammertone by Chris Hernandez

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Great ceiling storage in the garage

I bought and installed two of these. They are great for taking advantage of the wasted ceiling space in the garage in order to give you much more storage space as you can never have enough storage; and it greatly opens up the garage for your car(s) and work space.The downside to this is that the installation isn't the easiest, the directions are fair, the threads for the holes are not very good and their support is non-existent. Originally I had a difficult time with finding my studs (turns out I didn't have traditional studs in my ceiling and thus the challenge). On Best Buy there was "professional installation" offered for an additional $100 expense. This seemed expensive and I didn't get it but after having issues with my studs, I considered purchasing it for one shelf and figured I'd watch and then know how to do the other. The Fleximounts support line is non-existent. No one ever picked up or returned voice messages. I resorted to calling Best Buy. Best Buy said the installation purchase was offered by Fleximounts not them and so you had to purchase it from them. She then called the company herself and they picked up for her (I'm thinking because they saw it was Best Buy) but then she got the run-around and then they said they didn't offer the installation service, so I wouldn't recommend paying this as I'm not sure what you are really paying for.It is critical to have your measurements exact for mounting the ceiling brackets, so finding the studs perfectly is a must. Mine was very difficult and I resorted to cutting a 4"x4" square where one of the the studs should be; it turned out to be metal furring strips instead which made it even more challenging; but ultimately I got it done. For furring strips it is important to get the outside edges exact, so you can then find the dead-center (with furring strips you have to hit the dead-center for it to work). There are a couple of videos on youtube that are worth watching to get familiar with the overall process. One guy recommends leaving the vertical arms loose for the installation but I found it best to tighten it almost all the way done, with just the slightest looseness for hanging the shelf by yourself. Likewise don't do like the directions, but leave the shelf in two sections for installation if you have the 4'x8'. Connect two and then the other two so that it is a 4'x4' at that point and install them one at a time. Two arm ends have hooks to help the shelf stay up, the other two are the center pieces and have the slightest ledge to balance on so I put a screwdriver through one hole to help hold it in place and then put in the screw in the other hole. Then replace the screwdriver with a screw and then do the other holes. Once the two shelves are up, screw the centers of the two shelves together. This was very challenging as I found either the holes didn't line up or the threads were horrible. The majority of all the threads in the holes were manufactured really bad so the bolts screwed in really difficult for the majority of all the holes in the shelf part. One shelf I couldn't screw the centers together as the holes just didn't line up no matter what I tried, which even included turning the shelf around. If you use a drill, I recommend being very careful and DO NOT tighten it all the way down with the drill as the bolts will strip extremely easy which will make it impossible to take down later in time. It is best to stick to using a hand ratchet.When picking out your ceiling location, for true strength you need to make sure you span over multiple studs like their directions recommend, so your studs will dictate the direction of your shelves. Likewise I would not go flush with the wall because it'll make it impossible to screw in the bolts for the shelf. One recommendation which I thought was clever was to install the shelves over your garage door when it is open. Your height on the shelf can be set to what you want (it is somewhat flexible for your space with a max and min length). That space above the garage door is wasted but you will only get limited space, but it is a useful area to put a shelf.Once up and finished they are great. I wouldn't get physically on them as they only recommend a max of 150 lbs on each individual section. So with the stuff I put up on the shelves, I was conscious to balance out the weight. The videos say that they got the shelves done in a couple of hours. If you are like me that is capable but not some construction worker, and you are doing it by yourself, taking your time and triple measuring your stud locations, then this will be more like a day project (like 8 hours to install).

img 1 attached to FLEXIMOUNTS 4X8 Overhead Garage Storage Rack | Heavy Duty 600Lbs Weight Capacity Adjustable Metal Ceiling Organization System | Hammertone review by Chris Hernandez



Pros
  • The overhead design allows you to free up valuable floor space in your garage
Cons
  • Limited color options