Have you ever seen an old or broken ladder set out for the trash, or stumbled upon one super cheap at a garage sale? We have, and here is an idea for you for the next time you see them again!
Recycled ladder shelving
An old ladder can become extra shelving in your garage or basement rather simply and if you are like us you have the other items you need laying around the workshop! That means a free or very low cost storage solution and who doesn’t love that idea?
Decide on where you want the shelving, keeping in mind that it will need have some sort of brace under it. In the photo above a 12 foot long, 16″ wide ladder was rested on the already installed cabinets and then braced up with wood scraps used as brackets on the other side. You can make these pieces as pretty (or not) as you want. If you don’t have cabinets you want to use, that is fine. You will need more brackets for stability to hold the ladder.
Use angle irons to attach the wood braces to the wall, or use long screws drilled at an angle to secure the wood to the wall.
A scrap piece of wood sheeting works well to lay on top of the ladder once it is installed, forming a smooth shelf to hold all your garage treasures! We used some old planking that had been rescued from a recent home remodel project for the top on our ladder shelf.
