Budget shouldn't be the only thing you consider when you're shopping for garage cabinets, of course it's important, but it shouldn't be your determining factor. Quality, size, installation, and price are all crucial things to consider. We all know less expensive usually means a cheaper product, but the more expensive products don't necessarily mean quality either. Jeff and his team have removed some pretty expensive cabinets from a few garages because they weren't really made for garage conditions.
Then they started falling apart or they weren't big enough to accomodate items our clients typically store in their garage.
First things first, you'll need to determine is what you'll continue to store in your garage. Are you storing bulky or heavy items? Cabinets that are made for kitchens aren't really large enough to hold the average family's bulk warehouse shopping trip. Newer style kitchen cabinets that you find in places like Lowe's or Home Depot usually have pretty thin shelves and sides that don't handle climate changes well. However, if your garage is climate controlled and you only want to store a few lightweight items, these are probably perfect. They're lightweight, which will make them easier to install and they're inexpensive.
Consumer grade garage cabinets that are sold in big box stores are something our clients are frequently disappointed in. While they look great at first, they tend to behave similarly to kitchen cabinets in garage conditions, sagging shelves, blistered spots, and sometimes leaning.
If your garage isn't prone to moisture and you're not storing heavy items, they'll likely handle years of gentle use. Jeff has been abusing some unfinished, commercial grade, MDF (medium density fiberboard) cabinets in his workshop that have held up to 10+ years of daily use. The difference between his workshop and most garages is the amount of moisture they're exposed to and the materials, commercial grade. His cabinets also have leveling feet on the bottom so that no MDF ever comes in contact with concrete (a potential source of moisture).
If hiring a professional to come out to tackle the cabinet project is out of your budget, there are quite a few companies out there that sell direct to the consumer for DIY installation. You'll want to research the types of materials they use, but this is a great alternative to the cabinets sold in the big box stores. You'll want to look for shelves that are at least 1/2" thick with either completely sealed doors, commercial grade edge banding, or possibly look into metal. The paper thin melamine with 1/4" shelves do not hold up well in most garages, one scratch is an invitation for moisture to break down the material. Not all pressboard, MDF, and plywoods are created equal.
If you're handy and have access to the right tools, building your own is almost always a great way to save money and get exactly what you want. There are a few sites, such as Instructables.com or Thefamilyhandyman.com that have great tips on how to get quality out of your DIY project.
Of course, we love garages and making them the envy of a neighborhood, so it's no surprise that our favorite type of cabinets are professionally built and installed. There are plenty of garage makover companies around that love them as much as we do and will also do a quality job. You'll most likely get exactly what you need and want if you talk to the right company. It's always a good idea to meet with a few and have each submit plans, you'll find some have better products and ideas than others. Our cabinets are made in our shop by us, so we have a tight handle on quality control. I'm sure there are similar companies that pride themselves on the same level of quality, you'll have to do your best to gauge this based on their samples, plans they submit, and possibly other local work. We happily contact previous clients on a regular basis so that our new clients can tour their garages. They're proud to show off their garage, and of course we love showing off our work.
