Garage storage remains one of those things everyone needs and few master. Wanting an opportunity to improve the layout of my own garage, I decided to give two products a shot. Fleximounts Garage Storage Racks and Wall-Mounted Bike Racks are sold at Home Depot, Walmart, Amazon, Newegg, and other retailers. I had seen the brand around but often wondered if these straightforward solutions would work in my garage. In particular, we reviewed the Fleximounts GR48-H Classic 4×8 Overhead Garage Storage Rack (with hooks) and their BR1 Hanger Wall Mounted Bike Rack. Would these products do the trick? I was committed to finding out!
Fleximounts GR48-H Garage Storage Racks Features
Fleximounts technical has 5 models in their overhead garage storage racks line. Available in Black or White, they range from the Classic 3×8, 4×8, and Pro 4×8 models to their 4×4 lift system that uses a hand crank and steel cables to lift the rack out of the way.
The Fleximounts GR48-H Classic 4×8 Overhead Garage Storage Rack (with hooks) caught my eye because it offered a good amount of load-bearing support and looked easy to install.
It mounts to ceiling joists in either direction (parallel or perpendicular to the desired orientation. It adjusts between 22 and 40 inches of height (drop from the ceiling). The 4×8 footprint provides plenty of storage—plus you can gang them together for even more overhead space. The weight capacity is 600 pounds—that’s enough for anything I had in mind. I didn’t feel the 800 pound capacity of the Pro model was needed. I also liked that the Classic model included a pair of flat hooks and four curved utility hooks.
Comparing Fleximounts Garage Storage Racks Models
Fleximounts provides a bunch of options for overhead garage storage. That includes not only a couple of color choices but also multiple size options. You can go with something as small as a 2×8 or 3×6 storage system all the way up to a 4×8 system (like the one we chose). Plus, as I mentioned above, you can combine several products to end up with a ton of overhead storage across multiple areas of your garage or workshop.
| Classic | Pro | Basic | Lift | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model(s) | GR48/B/NC | GR48M/MB | GR48F | GL44B |
| Width | 24 – 48 in. | 48 in. | 48 in. | 48 in. |
| Length | 72 – 96 in. | 96 in. | 96 in. | 48 in. |
| Max Capacity | 600 lbs | 800 lbs | 600 lbs | 300 lbs |
| Joist Spacing | ≤24 or 48 in. | ≤24 or 48 in. | ≤24 or 48 in. | 12, 16, 24, or 48 in. |
| Ceiling Clearance | 22–40 in. | 22–40 in. | 22–40 in. | 108 in. |
| Colors | Black, White, Hammertone | Black or White | Black or White | Black |
| Includes Decking | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Installing the Fleximounts Overhead Storage Racks
Installing the Fleximounts overhead garage storage racks took around an hour. The instructions provide a great guide for installing the racks parallel with or perpendicular to the ceiling joists.
Open the Box and Pre-Assemble the Rack
To start assembling the overhead storage rack, open the box and separate the pieces. Next, you want to take the package of nuts and bolts and go through the process of lining up and securing all four sections of the rack together (side-by-side) to make a single 4×8 platform that you’ll suspend from the ceiling.
Locate Joists and Hang the Suspension Posts
It was a one-man job locating the ceiling joists with a Franklin stud finder (the best stud finder in my opinion) and marking them. I then took a Milwaukee M12 drill with a 3/16-inch Red Helix titanium drill bit and drilled holes for the included 1/4-inch lag bolts. Next, I switched to a Milwaukee M2 impact driver and seated all six of the top rails so that they each spanned two ceiling joists. Obviously, I did these two at a time.
Once I had the top rails installed, I decided on a height for my vertical supports. After installing the two machined screws and nuts to set the length, I fastened them to my top support brackets. Normally, you’d want to place these directly in the middle, but I offset mine to clear a window along the side of my garage. I had no intention of hitting the 600-pound weight limit, so I wasn’t worried about unequally stressing my ceiling joists.
Hang the Rack from the Support Posts
Hanging the rack from the support posts took some help to lift everything in place. The corner posts include convenient J-hooks to “catch” the edge of the rack. This holds it in place while you secure it using the provided machine screws. You then work your way around, attaching the center posts and adding the center braces for stability.
In the end, the Fleximounts Classic Garage Storage Racks provide stable storage for boxes, coolers, AC filters, and other items that would otherwise clutter the floor of your garage. I love it and it has given me a lot more room underneath for the things that needed the space!
Next up, I added the Fleximounts Wall-Mounted Bike Rack to move four bikes from the ground to the wall—freeing up even more space.
Fleximounts Wall-Mounted Bike Rack
The Fleximounts Wall-Mounted Bike Rack (model BR1) lets you hang from 1 to 6 bikes on the wall. Depending upon the configuration you’ll get either one or two crossbars and 2 or 3 wall brackets. My system came designed for four bikes. That involved a single 48-inch crossbar and two wall-mount brackets.
Installation involved measuring for the four lag bolts that would hold my two brackets to the rear stud wall. You can also use the included plastic anchors for block wall construction. It took a scant 20 minutes—and much of that involved me double-checking to make sure I didn’t miss anything.
After mounting the brackets I inserted the crossbar and passed it through the four included padded J-hooks. These each hold one bike on the wall-mounted bike rack. I secured the bar in place with the two included Allen screws.
After loading up my four bicycles, the results looked fantastic.
Mount every other bike in the opposite direction to accommodate the handlebars. Here’s how mine looked after installation:
Final Thoughts
In the end, adding the Fleximounts GR48-H ceiling-mounted garage storage racks and BR1 wall-mounted bike rack can seriously improve the usability of your garage. For me, it allowed better access for my vehicle and motorcycle as well as more room to move around and get things done. For the price, you can’t beat a solution like this and I recommend it to anyone looking to organize their garage.
