HyLoft 540 45-Inch-by-45-Inch Overhead Storage System, White
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of HyLoft 540 45-Inch-by-45-Inch Overhead Storage System, White
Customer Review: Amazingly forgiving installation
Summary: 4 Stars
Others have said it - installation is incredibly forgiving. Other than making sure you are anchored to the rafters, you can be off by even a few inches in just about any direction and the system will install properly.
Probably the thing that surprised me most was that the installation kit included some extra mounting hardware for the times a nut will slip out of your hands as you are reaching toward the ceiling.
Installation is easy (not so much in finished garages), in that you install this thing a tiny piece at a time. At no time are you installing a piece that weighs more than 5 pounds nor anything that requires 2 people to install. It's a 15 minute installation in an unfinished garage. Add an hour for finding the darn studs in an finished garages. No question that installation is a one-person task.
The claim is that a shelf will support up to 250 lbs, but honestly, I wouldn't put more than half that on them. The supports are flat strips of steel (not L-shaped) with a small lip at the bottom. This in turn allows for a lot of movement of the shelf in two directions. With the lack of a lip on the shelf itself, I can imagine a box slidng off the shelf during a quake, or being pushed off the far end as you are pusing a box on the shelf. My solution is to wrap bungee cords around the perimeter, making a "side" to the shelf units. If you hook the cord ends into the holes used for adjusting the shelf height, it will shove the shelf contents together toward the center of the shelf, but should keep it secure.
5-star product, less one star for the lack of a lip. Even an optional accessory lip would have been nice.
Pros:
* Simple, forgiving installation
* Easily mounts to any rafter spacing
* Shelf height adjusts in 2" increments
* Can be mounted in vaulted garages
* Very low price
* Spare mounting hardware included
Cons:
* No shelf lip to keep things from sliding off during earthquake - NOTE: hook bungee cords around supports in the adjustment holes for a DIY solution.
* Supports will allow a LOT of movement of the shelf in a quake. I think it's even possible for one or more supports to fatigue and snap in a prolonged shaker.
Customer Review: Awesome storage
Summary: 5 Stars
This unit was very easy to install, and once it was up in our garage it felt great to load it up with our bins and boxes! We are still watching the screws that are in the studs because it was hard to estimate what 250lbs was. So far so good! We would easily buy another one if we needed it.Customer Review: Awsome storage device
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this storage device. Or course finding the studs were a pain, but this product allows for errors the way it's built, therefore it doesn't have to be exactly even when hung. It is highly recommended. I plan on buying another one to accompany it.Customer Review: BEFORE YOU START
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased two 00540 systems. They are perfect for overhead storage, if you don't overload them. Stick to Hyloft's recommended weight limit. Also, be very sure that you fasten the brackets securely to the ceiling studs. At first, I used a stud finder, but I don't really trust them and they don't work well, especially when you have to depend on attaching something securely from above. I also tried drilling into the studs with a manual hand drill to be sure. It felt solid and it seemed that I hit all studs exactly in the center. So, I measured the stud centers and also drilled for feel. I then installed all lag screws attaching the brackets and finished the installation. I was careful to NOT overload each unit. Four days later, I arrived home from work and opened the garage door. I saw one fully loaded shelf, along with all it's contents, upside down on the roof and hood of my recently fully restored $90,000 '55 Chevy Nomad. I didn't know what happened, but further examination proved that I missed two celiing studs by about 1/8", and it pulled out the side. So, fair warning, make sure the lag screws go solidly into the ceiling studs, then carefully test them before parking your Porsche or Lamborghini underneath.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.