Slatwalls have been around for years. StoreWALL itself has been around for over 10 years in the US and over 5yrs in Australia. All Slatwall systems evolve, both in terms of the panels they offer as well as their accessories. Some have evolved so much that newer accessories are no longer compatible with older wall panels. The material they are made from has changed along with the shape and style of the accessories. Maintaining an old slatwall system can be challenging.
Old Slatwall Systems
The other day I received a call from a client who had purchased a StorEase system from Bunnings several years ago (must have been 3-5 years ago). The panels were made from a plastic material which today are no longer offered by StorEase nor from Bunnings. His problem however was not the panel itself but the accessories he had purchased.
His StorEase accessories where made from plastic and used to hang brooms in his garage. The accessories had performed well for many years but one of them had recently cracked and couldn’t be used. When trying to remove one of the remaining hooks in order to examine it, he found that it fell apart when he took it off the panel. It actually disintegrated. This unfortunately left him with no working hooks for his brooms. His old slatwall system was no longer usable.
StorEase from Bunnings
He visited Bunnings to find new accessories and whilst Bunnings still sell StorEase, the accessories available and the panel to suit them have all changed. The entire StorEase system has moved on. Panels are now leaner aluminium rails and accessories are metallic. None of what was available was compatible with his old slatwall system.
The predicament for this client is to either find accessories which fit his existing panels or to replace the panels and start all over again.
L Shaped Lip
StoreWALL’s panels are very standard in their sizing. By this I mean the panels are designed for accessories with an L shaped lip. See the image below which shows how the accessories are fitted to the panel and how they are secured.
Each panel is about 300mm in height and has 4 slots. The number of grooves on each panel is 5 when you count the top of the panel. See image below.
Each accessory secures itself to a panel at two points – the top and the bottom. The L at the top of each accessory is used to secure to the top of each slot and the CamLok is used for the bottom groove of each slot.
Below are the slot specifications for each Standard Duty panel. StoreWALL’s L-shape slots accept slat wall compatible accessories.
Slatwall Slots
Slot Specifications:
- spacing: 76.2mm on center
- groove height: 10mm
- lip height: 10mm
- opening: 10mm
- CamLok position: sits 90mm from top of accessory
Whilst the dimensions of the panels, their slots and grooves are important, so are the dimensions of each accessory, specifically the backing plate with the L Shaped lip and locking mechanism.
The dimensions are as follows:
- Size of the back plate: 103mm
- Size of the lip: 12mm
If you are in a similar predicament to this client and are looking for new accessories for your older slatwall systems, I would suggest you compare your panels and accessories to the dimensions listed above. If they look about right, I encourage you to send us an email with some pictures so that we can conform the sizes and shapes with you.
You can then decide to order a single accessory to try. We are happy for you to return it if it doesn’t fit.