We talk a lot about garage walls on our StoreWALL blog but slatwalls can be a great addition to any class room and its Craft Wall.
Art teachers are always keen to show off their pupil’s achievements and hanging art and craft is a great way to do this.
A recent order from a client in Melbourne included a range of wall panels (1.2m and 2.4m sizes) and a large number of bins. No hooks, shelves, bags or brackets. The order got me thinking about the use of small and large bins in a home, garage or workshop.
Craft WALL
With school just about to end for the year in Australia and school teachers will begin preparing for 2019 and improvements that can be introduced.
Following a recent visit to my 8 year old’s class room, I noticed how craft bits and pieces where kept. The class room had a large chest of drawers which housed much of the craft materials plus a large selection of tubs. The school has a dedicated art room but the kids also do craft activities in their class room. The chest looked effective but messy with some drawers closed, others half or fully open.
I couldn’t help thinking if a craft wall wouldn’t be more effective. The advantage of a craft wall is that materials are on display and easy to access. Tubs stacked on top of each other would be eliminated. The StoreWALL range of bins is extensive and easily replaces the messy tubs.
It’s not just bins sizes that StoreWALL offers, it’s also a range of shapes and colours. We have what are called Slot Bins, Cube Bins and Large Bins of various sizing. In terms of colour we carry Clear, Crystal Clear, White, Black and even Grey.
A Craft Wall isn’t just for your class room, its a great option for your garage or even inside your home if craft is a hobby or business. By combining bin sizes, shapes and colours, your craft wall can be effective and well organised. This applies equally for workshops and garages.
Below I have added a short video on the StoreWALL bin range so you can see its extent and how practical it can be for a Craft Wall.
We operate Google analytics on the StoreWALL Australia website and it provides us with valuable information on which pages clients visit. StoreWALL bundles seem to be a very popular section of our StoreWALL online store. In this week’s post we take a look at how to build your own StoreWALL bundle.
Getting Started With StoreWALL
StoreWALL is a wall panel solution built for homes, workshops and garages which is equally suitable for heavy duty applications in industrial environments. The key premise with StoreWALL is that you have a wall and wall panels.
If you are starting with a bare wall then you are in luck as we will work through the process helping you to build your own StoreWALL bundle.
Even if you already have StoreWALL or wall panels from another supplier, you can read on as we will cover how to use our accessories on your walls.
StoreWALL Slatwal Panels
Most people come to our website looking for hooks, brackets, shelves or baskets. They have identified they need one or more of the accessories and begin to look at who supplies them, the range on offer and for how much they cost.
StoreWALL accessories need a slatwall supporting them. As I mentioned earlier, this can be StoreWALL’s or someone else’s.
Let’s assume at this stage that your wall is bare, made from plaster board or brick or comprised of exposed wooden studs.
Slatwall Colour – Grey or Grey?
Grey or Grey isn’t exactly correct as StoreWALL does offer up to 7 colours but our standard colour is Weathered Grey. Other colours are available but as a special order.
Having picked Weathered Grey, the next question is what are you looking to do with your wall and considering you need slatwall panels, how much of the wall you need covered.
Wall Size
StoreWALL offers two sizes of wall panel – 1.2m or 2.4m. If your wall space is small, the 1.2m panels will probably work best. Made from thermoplastic not only are they water proof and highly durable, they can also be cut to size. If your work area is medium or larger then the 2.4m panels will be more economical.
1.2m panels can be purchased individually or in a carton of 6 panels. Each panel covers: 0.371 sq meters.
2.4m panels can be purchased in a carton of 4 panels. Each panel covers: 0.74 sq meters.
Once you have measured your wall area, simply divide it by either 0.371 or 0.74 and work out how many panels you need and whether the 1.2m or 2.4m panels will suite you best. Outside of the length, both panels are exactly the same in thickness, height and composition.
To InstallStrip or Not?
We recommend using InstallStrips as it makes your wall sturdier and able to handle more weight. However they are not compulsory.
If you are using InstallStrips, they will be fitted to your wall first using screws. Once fitted, the wall panels are added to them.
If you are using 1.2m panels you require: 1 InstallStrip per panel
If you are using 2.4m panels you require: 2 InstallStrips per panel
What do I do if I don’t want InstallStrips? No problem, simply screw your wall panels directly to your wall. I suggest buying coloured screw so that they don’t show up against the panel. You can find grey coloured screws (primer coloured) at your local hardware store.
Build Your Own StoreWALL Bundle
Now that your wall has been taken care of, its time to Build Your Own StoreWALL Bundle.
What is really obvious with StoreWALL customers is that they begin with the key accessories they need today and then add and remove accessories a couple of years later.
Therefore don’t stress looking for every accessory just in case you might need it. Focus on what you need today and in the next 12 months. If and when those needs change you can adjust your wall accordingly.
Most people need hooks, whether they be for bikes or other garage items. Hooks are a great way to get items off the ground and onto the wall so they can be accessed easily but also protected. Consider some smaller and larger hooks as a bundle.
If you are interested in shelving, consider our brackets which allow you to build your own shelves. We also offer a 760 mm metal shelf which is 390 mm deep and super heavy duty.
Over the next few months we hope to expand our shelves menu with some new options recently launched in the US.
We also offer a great range of baskets in deep and shallow form. Baskets are a great way to store small and bulky items.
The simplicity of StoreWALL means you can combine a range of accessories and lock them in so they are secure or move them around when you want to adjust your settings.
In this week’s blog post we focus away from ideas and to the practical side of pricing and measuring your garage storage solution. The internet is filled with ideas on what you could eventually make your garage look like, but Instagram and Pinterest don’t really tell you how to get from A to B.
Measuring your Garage Storage Solution
Let me be frank, there is no best garage wall storage solution. There are lots of ideas and ideally you can pick a little or a lot from many of them. The end result should be something which will cater for most of what you need to store today and the next few years. Expect to have to review and adjust your design a few times over the life of your garage.
When you are looking for ideas, spend just as much time in your garage as you do on the internet or the hardware store. Its super important that don’t lose focus from the goal of managing your items. Knowing what is in your garage is important when solving how to store it. Sometimes we can get carried away with the desire to make it look like what is in the photo.
Cleaning up the garage
I have covered this lots of times in previous articles but your first step in a garage makeover is to clean up your garage. Do your best to throw (better still give it away if its in good condition) out enough without causing a family WW3. The clean-out is import because it will free up space for more stuff. It’s also important because in order to install any new garage storage solution, you will need room to work.
The clean out should be carried out over a few weekends. Repeating it is important because your are likely to throw out more the more you review what is stored and never used. As I mentioned earlier, spend time in your garage to understand what you have.
Walls or the Whole Garage
Working on the garage of a new home (which is empty) is different and much easier compared to working on an existing garage with its pre-existing mess (even if it has been cleaned out).
If it’s an existing garage you might consider starting with one wall and then extending the design gradually to the rest of the garage.
Most garages make-overs will require a combination of the follow features:
Shelving – whether you need more of it or need to replace what you have, shelving is super important. DIY shelving comes in various lengths, depths and heights. Think about how many shelves you will require. Consider what you have to store and the space you have to store it. My garage shelving is used to hold luggage, plastic storage containers and food items. DIY shelving is accessible from all major hardware stores as well as online. DIY shelving is affordable and very easy to setup. The aluminium frames are very strong and can hold hundreds of KGs.
Bench space – it could be 1 metre or several, but no matter how much, you need some. Most hardware stores can assist with varying ways to build bench space into your garage. There are several portable benches which come complete with drawers and cupboards built in. Alternatively you can also just build your own and there are lots of youtube videos showing you how.
Cupboards and drawers – if this is important to you then you will need to look at some professional storage solutions which can be built and installed for you. If it’s just drawers that you are after, a pre-made set that is portable (on wheels) might also be worth considering.
Wall Hanging Storage – slatwalls, and pegboards are a great way of hanging tools and everyday garage items via hooks. StoreWALL’s range of hooks will hang anything from bikes to ladders. Slatwall options like StoreWALL also cater for baskets, bags and shelves all hanging from the wall.
Measuring Your Garage
Prior to selecting what to add to your garage or storage area, you need to measure up. If you are renovating just one wall then measure the whole wall (ceiling to floor and corner to corner). Note these measurements. You will also need to measure the areas you want to dedicate to Shelving, Bench, Cupboards, Drawers and Slatwall.
If you are combining storage, draw up a plan and design. Add your measurements and visualise the end result.
In a recent example, a client called me looking to add hanging bike storage to his garage. We worked through the actual wall space he had to use. This included looking at how much of the actual wall he wanted covered by the StoreWALL slatwall surface. With 4 bikes and each bike taking up about 500mm each, he required about 2m of wall surface. In addition to hanging bikes he also wanted baskets for the helmets and hooks for other items in his garage.
The benefits of StoreWALL’s slatwall finish is that all accessories can be added and moved around or removed altogether depending on your need at the time. You aren’t locked in.
Measuring your Garage Storage Solution – Client Example
Measuring your area (and re-measuring it) will provide a clear understanding of the space required by each garage storage idea. As per the previous paragraph measuring your Garage Storage Solution will help you design it.
In the case of the client with the bike hooks, his garage was 4m in length. He decided to buy four 1.2m StoreWALL panels (each 1.2m panel is .3m in height with a surface area of .36m) making two rows of 2.4m of StoreWALL slatwall. The total surface area covered by the two rows of panels is 1.4m squared (calculated as two rows of .7m). Each panel comes with 4 slatwall grooves which allow for the hooks to be added and moved around.
With any slatwall installation you also need to consider what surface you will be installing on ie what the garage wall is made from. Slatwalls will need to be fastened to the wall. If the wall is plastered then you will be able to install them using the studs under the plasterboard (usually spaced 450mm apart). If the wall is bricked, you will be able to drill into the mortar or brick and fasten to this. The only challenging wall surface will be a tin/aluminium wall. These walls will usually also have a wooden or metallic frame. In this case you might need to add additional frame in order to support the slatwalls.
When you are investigating options for reorganising your garage storage area its important to see working examples others have completed. This week I have searched the web and found several examples of StoreWALL garage installation ideas.
Two Wall StoreWALL Garage Installation
This is a busy garage on the left has much of the wall area installed with StoreWALL. They have implemented a large range of hooks as well as shelves to manage their many tools, brooms and other gardening equipment. Notice the use of StoreWALL’s specialist pole hanging hooks. They are both secure and can hang multiple poles from the one hook. This approach saves space on your limited wall.
StoreWALL Stairwell Installation
This is a much smaller fit out of StoreWALL. It’s also not in the garage but inside the home. Making better use of your smaller storage areas is ideal use of StoreWALL accessories. In this small area they have lined the wall with StoreWALL panels. The use of accessories has enabled this family to hang and store all sorts of cleaning tools. Each item has its rightful space and so can be returned once used. This eliminates that cluttered cupboard which most of us end up with.
StoreWALL Sporting Garage Installations
This StoreWALL garage installation has been built on only one side of the garage. To the far left we have brackets for storing the bikes horizontally. As you can see this method of storing and hanging bikes is effective but takes up one third of the space. This garage has also combined a range of hooks for helmets and other sporting gear. They have kept all of their sporting balls within tote bags which enables them to see what is held in the bag and easily grab it. In addition you also have box hooks for gardening scissors as well as hooks for smaller ladders and electrical cables.
StoreWALL Fitness Room Installation
Whilst this isn’t your typical garage, many people (including myself) have converted part of their garage area or an internal room into a workout area. This example is rather large but it shows how you can hold weights whether in dumbell form or as free weights using StoreWALL accessories. Baskets and shelves can also be used to hold much of the smaller equipment like skipping ropes, grips and weight gloves. Hooks are then used to hold your boxing gloves, belts and weight balls.
Part Wall StoreWALL Garage Installation
This example shows how you can use StoreWALL for only part of your garage wall and still allow for what is hanging to be removed from the floor. Floor space can be used for heavier items that need to be accessed frequenlty. This garage has installed StoreWALL on the rear wall but has only used StoreWALL on half of it. StoreWALL is installed about 600mm from the ceiling and about 1000mm from the floor. In total you have about 3 panels of StoreWALL running horizontally across the wall. Interestingly this garage wall also has smaller cupboards at one end. StoreWALL has been cut to size around this cupboard to create a clean and professional wall and garage setup.
Complex StoreWALL Garage Installation
If you are looking for a great custom build for your garage then this example will provide you with some inspiration. The owners of this garage have combined 6 sets of mid sized cupboards, two sets of drawers, bench space, built in shelving and a full wall of hanging accessories. This is a very busy wall.
StoreWALL is used end to end on the wall and in-between each of the pieces of furniture, including in between cupboards. The main tool section is above the bench space and in-between the two cupboards. One end of the wall has been lined with hooks to hang a range of garage items from sporting to gardening equipment. They have also added additional StoreWALL shelving to hold baskets and some bags.
Wall to Wall StoreWALL Garage Installation
This is a great example of having StoreWALL from floor to ceiling across the entire garage. Two walls are shown in this example. The garage floor is nicely tiled. StoreWALL’s slatwalls then butt up against the lower tile to create a really clean finish for the wall.
This garage combines tall cupboards, bench space with cupboards as well as hanging cupboards. The range of accessories is minimal at this stage but they combine brackets for the biles and baskets for the larger items.
Notice they also have power points on the wall which they have cut around. Similarly they have trimmed StoreWALL around the windows.
StoreWALL Bike Installation
This basic bike installation was included because we have been inundated with calls regarding bike hooks for the garage. You can see the StoreWALL bike hook in this example holds the bike vertically from the tyre. The rear tyre is either touching the floor or also suspended. If it is not touching the floor then it is likely to be touching the wall.
This garage has combined a range of hooks and baskets to cater for helmets and other bike related gear.
Double garages have always been at a premium even when I was young and every home was on its own block. Today, houses are bigger on smaller blocks and the garage sits inside the building. A double garage is still at a premium and maximising your garage walls has become ever more important.
If you are building or have just built your new home, your garage walls (atleast 2 of them) will be shared with the inside of your home. This means you are usually starting out with 2 or 3 empty white plasterboard walls, and one exterior facing wall made from brick or your chosen exterior surface.
The challenge for you now is maximising your garage walls so that you can fit as much as possible whilst keeping it all nice and tidy.
Maximising Your Garage Walls
The typical first step for most households when decking out their garage is to seek out shelving (aluminium shelving). Shelving offers a great way to stack as much as possible into your garage utilising most of your available vertical and horizontal space. Aluminium shelving ranges in price from $150 for a 2m x 2m x 0.5m frame with 4 shelves. These are easy to put together yourself and can hold a max 400kg.
I have three of these shelves in my garage and they do keep everything off the ground and reasonably tidy. What I found with mine is that I ended up stacking lots into each shelf to use up the space which in some sections made it a little hard to pull things out when I needed them. I ended up using containers to store most of the storage which helped but then concealed much of the contents.
A slatwall garage solution is a great compliment to a new or old garage. Unlike garage shelving, slatwalls make it easy to access those garage items that you regularly. Whether it is tools or sporting equipment, having a garage solution that offers easy access is really important. In addition, slatwalls from StoreWALL offer a really nice finish to your garage walls. The weathered grey colour will blend in with your concrete driveway and provide a clean look and feel.
StoreWALL Slatwalls
StoreWALL slatwalls are complimented with a huge range of accessories to ensure you can maximise your garage walls. Whether it is baskets you need for sporting equipment or paint cans or hooks for tools or wood, StoreWALL offers it all. There are over 25 hooks to choose from catering for all of your small and large items.
Using shelving to store your tools doesn’t work. You can’t effectively hang your tools on a shelf. You can keep them all in a container but that doesn’t cater for all tools nor everything else usually kept in a garage.
I have one wall dedicated to tools and it holds several handsaws, a silicone gun, gardening saws, power cord extensions and several hammers. I also have several smaller shelves with cans used for degreasing as well as putties and several gardening oils. Storing these items in a big shelf is not really suitable.
Then you have sporting goods. We use tote bags and baskets for the soccer balls, training cones and the roller skates and blades. There is also another basket for all the other balls and racquets that have accumulated over the years.
Hanging Bikes
Bikes are a real challenge no matter the size of garage. I was a a friend’s the other day and saw that his 8m garage wall was used to hold 3 bikes (hung horizontally on hooks). The bikes looked like works of art on the wall. They were high enough not to interfere with anything else, but they really didn’t;’t maximise the garage wall. One wall for three bikes is not a great use of space. StoreWALL’s bike hooks allow you to hang your bikes both horizontally and vertically so that you can maximise your garage walls.
If you are keen on maximising your garage walls, do some research into slatwalls as a compliment to whatever shelving you might also require.
Everyone agrees that having your kids spend less time in front of a screen stuck inside the house and more time outside playing sport is a good thing. The challenge in an age where we want everything nice and tidy is keeping it all organised. Having the right kind of storage system for organising your children’s sports gear is more than half the battle. Below we have provided some simple rules and tips which you can use for better management of your family’s sporting equipment.
Cricket & Baseball Bats, Hockey Sticks and Tennis Racquets
Most people stick the bats in the corner leaning up against the wall. Over time more and more gets piled on top of them and when you want to pull the bat out, its impossible to grab without knocking everything over. You can avoid this hassle and mess by keeping bats, sticks and racquets pegged onto a slatwall or pegboard. Today’s slatwall solutions come with a great range of hooks allowing for bats, sticks and racquets to be securely attached but easily accessed. Most hooks are usually long enough to hold more than one item.
Balls
Whether they are larger balls like basketballs or soccer balls, or smaller tennis or cricket balls, they can easily be kept in buckets or tote bags. StoreWALL offers a great range of Tote Bags which cater for balls of all sizes. If you don’t want a bag, consider a deep basket or a bin for organising your Children’s sports gear. What you want to avoid is finding all the balls on the ground because the kids where looking for the tennis ball which was at the bottom of the basket. Consider a container for smaller balls and one for larger ones.
Protective Gear and Clothing
A great way to organise uniforms is to either colour cod them or to arrange them by sport or family member. This makes it easy for everyone to identify whose clothing it is or which sport it belongs to. For items like gloves or cricket pads, I suggest you keep them all together with the related clothing. This ensures they don’t get misplaced or moved away.
As an example, your cricket clothing, pads and gloves could be kept in one specific basket or tote bag. Once the kids are done with using them, putting them away is as simple as placing them all back into the ONE basket.
Sports Shoes
The ideal way to protect your soccer and football boots is to clean them after use (both training and matches). Regular cleaning with a wet rag protects the synthetic surface from scratching and staining. It also ensures whatever dirt (soccer and football being winter sports) accumulates under the shoe is not transferred to all of the other shoes or the floor.
Most sports stores sell tote bags designed for shoes. They keep the shoes aired so that they can dry out but also in a protected bag so that pairs aren’t split up. Some suggest to use peg boards to hang your shoes but I don’t find this really practical. Dirty shoes are not the nicest accessory to have on show. Use a larger tote bag or deep basket to keep your sports shoes together. If you follow the concept of having a basket for each key sport played by your kids, then you can add sports shoes to that basket as well. Preferably once cleaned.
Organising your Children’s Sports Gear
We all want our kids to spend more time outdoors than they do today. Organising your children’s sporting gear needs to be a shared responsibility. Easier to say than do, but with some discipline it can be achieved. It’s important that children learn from an early age that we don’t do everything for them. Organising their sports gear independently is one of the many things they can learn early on.
Tips on grouping sports gear
When deciding where the sports gear will live, consider:
Size and numbers – how much space is it taking up and how many do you have
Seasonality – is the gear used throughout the year, or can it be moved to a different place when not used
Shape – some things take up a lot of space due to their shape (e.g. balls).
Ventilation – it’s better to keep shoes in a well-ventilated container and room.
Accessibility – make sure the children can access their gear without your help.
Dirtiness – how dirty is the equipment.
Get the Kids into the Routine
An important key to achieving some success with organising children’s sports gear is having a routine before and after sport activities. Kids should know what they need to take with them for training and matches. Clothing, drink bottle, boots, towel, hat etc. Help them get into the habit of gathering these items before each session. The routine applies equally after the session is done ie returning everything to where they found it.
Here’s an example
Soccer boots get returned to the garage.
Put them in the soccer basket.
Drinking bottle is returned to the kitchen sink.
Put sports bag away in the laundry (where it lives).
Get undressed and throw everything in the laundry bin or return it to the garage with the rest of the sporting gear.
Whilst I would love to say that my kids follow all of these rules, they don’t but I have found that keeping items organised and in specific locations helps everyone find them before the game or training. It also ensures we aren’t running around looking for them for half the morning.
The internet is littered with information about storage options and ideas on organizing small spaces. Reading through much of this information myself on a daily basis I have accumulated a few key Storage Lessons that are worth considering as you review how to take on your next storage challenge.
Storage Lessons 1 – Make Better Use of Overhead Space
Look around your neighbourhood and you can’t miss the number of new homes being built. Not only are they popping up everywhere they are also much bigger than your average home (square feet) but they are also being built with higher ceilings. Higher ceilings makes your rooms look bigger, adds more light into each room but also gives you greater options for overhead storage. By thinking vertically, you can make much better use of this storage area. Think about your kitchen and laundry where storage is at a premium. Extend it to your garage. There are plenty of storage options built specifically for the garage ceiling.
Storage Lessons 2 – Bigger Storage Bins are Not Always Better
Picking the right range of storage containers can be challenging. Size, colour, shape and quality need to be considered. You would naturally think that bigger is better but this is not always the case. Bigger bins can sometimes cause more problems than they solve. Two medium bins can be carried by one person, while a huge bin requires two people. You need to keep weight in mind. The last thing you need is to struggle and potentially spill the bin or worse still hurt yourself trying to access it.
Storage Lessons 3 – The less you use it, the less you should see it
Professional organisers talk about systems when it comes to working through your mess. A key principle they all abide by is “the less you use it, the less you should see it”. Items that you are likely to only use once a year or even less should be placed in rooms or locations that are harder to access. They should not be the first things you see when you enter your storage area. If you are using shelves, place them on the top shelf at the back. The flip side to this is regularly used items need to be close at hand and easy to grab. This applies equally to your garage storage and even kitchen. If your family likes to make smoothies for breakfast, why have the blender in the back of the cupboard.
Storage Lessons 4 – More on Setting Up Systems
Australian homes are typically high pitched with some storage capacity available in the roof. Most people however avoid the roof and simply don’t like going up there. When I look at the roof in my home I can easily stand in the middle section but I have never made any use of this area. Make better use of this area is not difficult nor should it be expensive. Yes it does get dusty but storage bags and containers of various sizes are available which can protect your items.
These areas can be set aside for very specific storage purposes that maybe you won’t need for several years. Placing them in the roof means you know exactly where they are when you need them. An example could be your wedding dress or specific clothing items you have set aside for your children. It might be years between visits but having a specific place for these items makes it easy to remember where they have been placed.
Storage Lessons 5 – Space Saving Ideas
Every inch counts and so when you are looking at storage solutions you need to place and measure your area carefully. If you are using shelves, ensure they are placed close together. Having adjustable shelves also allows you to ensure that all space is used up. If you have 40 or 50mm above the tallest item on each of your shelves, then that is wasted space. Multiply this by 3 or 4 shelves and that is 120 to 160mm of unused space.
Storage Lessons 6 – Storing Food
Whilst Australians don’t generally purchase food in bulk it can make sense with regular items that you don’t want to have to visit your local supermarket for mid week. If our regular breakfast cereals are on sale I will usually purchase 4 or 5 of them and store them in the garage so they are available. Same applies to pasta, flour, canned and bottled sauces, laundry detergent and other cleaning items.
The biggest challenge with storing food however is ensuring you are eating the older items first. It’s important to rotate older food to the front if you’re buying and storing in bulk. Get into the habit of sorting your food by expiration dates.
Storage Lessons 7 – Store less stuff
Your yearly hard rubbish collection is a great time to review your storage options and what you have stored. If there are items you have kept specifically in the hope that the kids might play with it again, it might be time to give them away. Another tip is if you have forgotten that you even had one of “those” that is another trigger to probably consider giving it away. If you don’t even want to remember you have it in your home, it’s probably time to re-home it.
StorEase vs StoreWALL: Which Garage Wall System Is Right for You?
StoreWALL and StorEase are the two most common garage wall storage systems in Australia. StorEase is sold exclusively through Bunnings. StoreWALL is sold direct from StoreWALL Australia. This review compares both systems head-to-head on panel specs, hook quality, locking mechanism, coverage and total cost — so you can make an informed decision before you buy.
Quick Comparison: StorEase vs StoreWALL
Here is how both systems compare at a glance.
StorEase (Bunnings)
StoreWALL
Material
Aluminium track
Dense PVC slatwall
Panel coverage
0.18m² per panel
0.37m² per panel
Weight rating
States up to 150kg
Up to 113kg per carton
Accessory range
Limited
100+ items
Locking mechanism
Tension clip
CamLok (quarter-turn lock)
Colours available
Limited
8 options
Availability
Bunnings stores
Online direct — storewall.com.au
Starter price
~$38 per panel
$429 Starter Kit (4 panels + 6 hooks)
Background: Two Different Systems
StorEase is Bunnings’ house-brand garage wall storage system, available in stores nationally. It uses individual aluminium track panels that mount to the wall, with hooks and accessories that clip into the tracks.
StoreWALL is an Australian-owned system sold direct online. It uses full-width PVC slatwall panels that cover your wall in continuous sections, with over 200 hooks, shelves, baskets and accessories secured by the CamLok locking system.
Hook Comparison: StorEase Double Hook vs StoreWALL Heavy Duty Universal Hook
To keep the comparison focused, we selected one popular hook from each system — the StorEase 20cm Double Hook and the StoreWALL Heavy Duty Universal Hook.
StorEase Double Hook
Name: StorEase 20cm Double Hook
Material: Powder-coated steel with rubber coating
Dimensions: W:75mm H:130mm L:220mm
Weight: 0.200kg
Published weight rating: Not available
Price: $15.92
Locking mechanism: Two front teeth grip the outside of the groove, one rear tooth sits inside. Creates tension to hold the hook in place.
StoreWALL Heavy Duty Universal Hook
Name: StoreWALL Heavy Duty Universal Hook
Material: Powder-coated steel with rubber coating
Dimensions: W:63mm H:114mm L:228mm
Weight: 0.450kg — more than twice the weight of the StorEase equivalent
Published weight rating: 68kg
Price: $35.99
Locking mechanism: CamLok — a quarter-turn mechanism controlled from the front of the hook that moves a locking piece inside the groove. Secure, easy to adjust, no panel damage.
Alternative wall panels
Panel Comparison
StorEase Wall Panels
Material: Aluminium
Dimensions: W:1200mm H:150mm — one row of accessories per panel
Coverage per panel: 0.18m²
Accessories per panel: approximately 4 hook-style items
Price per panel: $31.11
StoreWALL Standard Duty Wall Panels
Material: Dense PVC — waterproof, mould-resistant
Dimensions: 1219mm or 2438mm lengths x 304.8mm height x 16.7mm thick
Coverage per panel: 0.37m² (1219mm) or 0.74m² (2438mm)
Grooves per panel: 4 — supports two rows of accessories
Weight rating: Up to 113kg per carton with InstallStrips
To compare fairly, we need to look at equivalent wall coverage, not just per-panel price.
StorEase
StoreWALL
Coverage per panel
0.18m²
0.37m²
Panels needed for 1.48m²
~8 panels
4 panels (1 carton)
Panel cost for 1.48m²
$248.88
$261.99
The StoreWALL Standard Duty Starter Kit at $429 includes 4 panels, InstallStrips, fasteners and 6 hooks — everything needed to cover 1.48m² of wall in one order. When comparing StorEase for equivalent coverage, factor in the cost of 8 individual panels plus hooks and fasteners separately.
Key Differences: StorEase vs StoreWALL
Durability
Both systems are built for garage environments. StorEase uses aluminium panels — hard-wearing and rust-resistant. StoreWALL uses dense PVC — waterproof, mould-resistant and impact-resistant. Both will hold up in typical Australian garage conditions.
On hooks, the StoreWALL Heavy Duty Universal Hook weighs more than twice its StorEase equivalent (0.450kg vs 0.200kg), indicating significantly more steel in its construction. StoreWALL publishes a 68kg weight rating per hook. StorEase does not publish a weight rating for comparison.
Locking Mechanism
The StorEase tension clip system holds accessories in place through friction. When installed correctly it is secure, but the pressure required to remove or reposition hooks can mark and scratch the aluminium panel surface over time.
StoreWALL’s CamLok system uses a quarter-turn locking mechanism controlled from the front of the hook. Accessories lock firmly in place, can be repositioned easily without tools, and do not scratch or mark the panel surface when moved.
Coverage
StorEase panels are 150mm tall with a single row of accessories per panel. To cover a full wall you need a large number of individual panels mounted in rows. This creates visible gaps between panels and limits the density of storage you can achieve.
StoreWALL panels are 304.8mm tall with four grooves per panel, supporting two full rows of accessories. The wider panels cover more wall area with fewer joins, creating a cleaner continuous look across your garage wall.
Accessory Range
Both systems offer a range of hooks, shelves and accessories. StoreWALL’s range exceeds 100 items including bike hooks in multiple configurations, kayak and surfboard brackets, power tool racks, deep wire shelves, metal shelves, bins, baskets, a magnetic bar and a power strip bracket. All StoreWALL accessories use the CamLok locking system and are compatible across all StoreWALL panel types.
Availability
StorEase is available in Bunnings stores nationally and online at Bunnings.com.au — you can inspect it before buying and collect it immediately.
StoreWALL is available exclusively at storewall.com.au with fast shipping across Australia. The full range of colours, sizes and accessories is available online, significantly exceeding what any physical store could stock.
Which System Is Right for You?
Choose StorEase if:
Budget is the primary consideration and storage needs are light
You want to see and handle the product before buying
You need just a few hooks for lightweight items
You are already at Bunnings and need something today
Choose StoreWALL if:
You want to cover a significant section of your garage wall
You need to store heavier items — bikes, power tools, garden equipment
You want the flexibility to reconfigure accessories without damaging panels
You want a wide colour choice to match your garage aesthetic
You want a system that will grow with you as your storage needs change
Conclusion
Both systems are capable garage storage solutions, but they serve different needs. StorEase is a practical, accessible option for light storage and small areas. StoreWALL is the better choice if you are planning a serious garage fit-out — more wall coverage, higher weight ratings, a wider accessory range and a locking system that lets you reconfigure without damaging your panels.
My focus is on ensuring every customer who visits our website can make an informed decision. We already know how great our garage solutions are — but we also want to ensure that you feel the same way when you decide to invest your money with us.
Ready to choose StoreWALL?
Start with our most popular product — everything you need to cover your first 1.48m² of garage wall in one order.
4 Standard Duty panels + InstallStrips + fasteners + 6 hooks included
Covers 1.2m x 1.2m of wall space
CamLok locking system — hooks stay exactly where you put them
Bunnings, Australia’s leading home hardware retailer, offers an exclusive range of home storage solutions, including the StorEase brand. With its extensive reach, StorEase storage solutions are readily accessible to countless Australian households.
A common query we get is whether StoreWALL’s versatile accessories, such as hooks, baskets, brackets, shelves, bins, bags, and totes, are compatible with other slatwall systems. It’s clear why this is a top concern—many Australians already have a wall panel system in place and recognize the benefits of StoreWALL’s superior accessories. For those looking to enhance their current setup without the need for a complete overhaul, integrating StoreWALL accessories offers a convenient and cost-effective solution.
Yes, StoreWALL accessories are indeed compatible with other panels, and we’ve put this to the test with an experiment at a local Bunnings store. We explored the StorEase range to confirm that StoreWALL’s range of accessories can be seamlessly integrated with StorEase wall panels.
StorEase Storage Solutions
StorEase panels, featuring an aluminum finish, measure 1200mm in width, 150mm in height, and 30mm in length. To utilize an array of hooks or baskets, you’ll need to stack multiple panels vertically. In our hands-on experiment, we tested the compatibility using our standard StoreWALL Cradle Hook, each equipped with our proprietary CamLok secure locking system.
We examined how StorEase hooks engage with their panels, noting the locking mechanism comprises two front teeth and a larger rear tooth. Our video demonstration reveals that while hooks secure firmly, insufficient depth during installation can result in looseness. Our testing indicated variability, with some hooks fitting tightly and others less so.
Attaching the StoreWALL Cradle Hook to the StorEase panel is straightforward, although some play is noted, which varies by hook as demonstrated in our video. Unlike StorEase hooks, which can come loose, the StoreWALL CamLok system ensures the hook remains attached despite any slack. This means that while the fit may not be perfect, it’s functional. Therefore, if you have StorEase installed at home, rest assured that integrating StoreWALL accessories will be compatible and efficient.
Alternate Wall Panels
StoreWALL accessories, with their CamLok system, are designed for slatwall grooves spaced at 74mm apart, ensuring a secure fit even if there is some slack. While we cannot guarantee compatibility with every panel on the market, it’s likely that many slatwalls with similar groove spacing will accommodate StoreWALL products effectively. If your slatwall features wider groove spacing, such as 100mm, you can still use StoreWALL’s accessories by simply removing the CamLok mechanism. This adaptability makes StoreWALL a versatile choice for enhancing your storage system.
StoreWALL CamLok
The CamLok system is a standout feature for any slatwall accessory, be it hooks, baskets, shelves, or bags, especially for enhancing existing slatwall setups. Demonstrated effectively with the StorEase Storage Solutions panel, CamLok securely locks in the accessory, ensuring it stays firmly in place even under pressure. This level of security is not commonly found in most slatwall systems, setting StoreWALL accessories apart as a reliable and robust choice for your storage needs.
As part of our year rate payment, our local Council also runs its yearly hard rubbish collection. This annual ritual (which is bi-annual for some suburbs) sets a range of household activities linked to better garage organisation. A few weeks prior to the annual collection, households receive a reminder that it is approaching and then week after week, surrounding suburbs begin to place their hard rubbish out for collection.
Garage Organisation
Whilst hard rubbish collection is not just about your garage and garage organisation, it seems to set off a string of spring cleaning activities within my household. Most of these activities have to do with inside the home but we eventually also end up outside in the garage, re-organising, cleaning up, and throwing out.
Garage shelves are emptied, tubs are opened, benches are cleared so that we can see exactly what we have stored since the previous clearance and what we no longer need nor want. As the family grows up its a lot easier to determine what needs to be kept for the kids. Certain furniture and toys are just no longer needed and better off with others. Seeing it all once again makes it easy to simply remove it and place it out for collection.
Easy Access
Much of our garage storage is made up of garage racks and shelves. They work a treat by holding lots and allowing lots to be buried away (out of site and mind). This is a problem in itself however. When you store tools and work related equipment on shelves, seeing what you have and finding it becomes really difficult. It uses up precious time and generates frustration. Having your tools hanging or stored via a slatwall rack can be a lot more practical.
Slatwall panels are a wall panel with grooves that allow accessories to securely hook into them. You can then use the accessories to hang and store your equipment on. What I like about slatwall panels is that they allow your tools to stay visible and most importantly accessible. This is unlike a racking or deep shelving system.
Garage Organisation Starter Kit
Hard rubbish collection in my neighbourhood isn’t until August but I have already begun to review what can and can’t go this year. To help you with the garage reorganisation part of your clean up project, StoreWALL has launched its StoreWALL Starter Kit. The idea behind the kit is to bundle a selection of accessories that inspire you to see what you can achieve with your garage as well as how StoreWALL can help you get organised.
To help you get started, StoreWALL offers a simple bundle of accessories which can be added to your StoreWALL slatwall panels.
The Starter Kit comes with these accessories:
1 x StoreWALL Square Shallow Basket
2 x StoreWALL Heavy Duty Universal Hook
1 x StoreWALL Crade Hook
1 x StoreWALL Heavy Duty Utility Hook
You will obviously also need the slatwall panels and we make these available as single sheets as well as in packs of 6 or 4. The packs of 6 are 1.2m in length and the pack of 4 are 2.4m.
When you are ready to get started with your next garage organisation project, give us a call so we can help you with ideas and pricing on how our garage solutions can solve your storage problems.
if its in good condition) out enough without causing a family WW3. The clean-out is import because it will free up space for more stuff. It’s also important because in order to install any new garage storage solution, you will need room to work.
previous clearance and what we no longer need nor want. As the family grows up its a lot easier to determine what needs to be kept for the kids. Certain furniture and toys are just no longer needed and better off with others. Seeing it all once again makes it easy to simply remove it and place it out for collection.