Quick question about French cleats.

[KGB pilot125]

I have decided to use the 2 sheets of 3/4 and the 2 sheets of 1/2 to build a french cleat system of storage. before we go tearing into the baseboards and the carpeting.  This way we will have a nice and clean garage with nothing on the floor and then we can keep the baseboards and carpet down there and out of the house and if we do decide to install a hardwood floor we will have a place to work.

I have a Family Handyman article that says the cleats can be about 2 1/2 inches wide but I have read other places that 3 inches or more is better.  I like the family handyman design with the 45 degree miter on both edges it gives it a nice clean look.  I assume I can use my parallel stops and my long guide rail to make all these cuts fast and efficiently?

How wide do most people make the cleats?

I want to start with running the cleats down the wall and spacing them 21 from the ceiling then every 12 inches down from there all the way to the floor.  This should give me plenty of options for storage.  I am going 21 inches from the ceiling that should give me space to build shelves to hold those black containers you see under the work bench.  I have 5 in the garage with no home and 3 or 4 more in the shop at work!

 

[mouppe]

I prefer to make the two halves of each cleat from the same piece of wood. This way if my angle is slightly off, they will still mate perfectly. I aim for 45 degrees.

For cabinets, the thicker your cleats, the more your cabinets will stand proud of the wall (unless you have inset the cabinet backs to accommodate the cleats). If the cleats stick out from the back, don't forget to use a spacer as well so that the cabinet hangs plumb. I mount my cleats a few inches from the top of the cabinet.

The size of the cleats depends on the weight you are hanging. I have made them up to 3 inches and as small as 1 1/2" inches. The size also depends on the screws you are using to attach them to the wall. For a very heavy cabinet, I did not want to compromise the integrity of the cleat so I made them quite wide.

Home Depot also sell a metal cleat for the very heavy duty stuff. I used three of the 200 lb metal cleats for a heavy bookshelf unit that could weigh over 200lbs when loaded.

 

[shed9]

I've used 1/2" stock no more than 2" in width to hang nearly everything from shelves to cupboards to heavy cast iron parts. I have one 4' wide cleat that hangs four full size Raaco racks full of nuts and bolts, mostly M12's which I have trouble lifting individually. Never had a problem to date and no sign of anything giving. The very nature of the design dictates that even if you had weak connections in the system it still wants to pull itself to the wall.

 

[Sparktrician]

The system I've adopted uses a cleat at 12" AFF, then every 18" from there.  That leaves 5 cleat levels (12", 30", 48", 66" and 84") on an 8' wall and some pretty good variability in mounting height, plus it's easy to clean the floor under the bottom cabinets.  In a garage/shop environment where cabinets are likely to be heavy, I use 2 x 6s ripped at 45° for the cleats and pre-drill them for GRK RSS screws at whatever the stud spacing is.  For cabinets not likely to see that kind of weight, I use 1 x 4s ripped at 45°.