Slatwalls...............

[daycare]

Does anyone have slatwalls?

I am thinking about installing some so that I can organize all of our books and other materials that need to be kept out of the littles reach...

was it expensive?
was it hard to hang?
Are the racks sturdy??


like this.........

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/SUNCAST-Basic-Slat-Wall-Accessory-Kit-5AZA0?gclid=CM3r9qPL3rMCFYl7Qgod7ycAmw&cm_mmc=PPC:GooglePLA-_-Material%20Handling-_-Storage-_-5AZA0&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=5AZA0&ef_id=UKwDPgAAEapbetH4:20121120222502:s

[Blackcat31]

My DH's garages are all covered in those wall slats. They hold every type of tool you can imagine.

[daycare]

My DH's garages are all covered in those wall slats. They hold every type of tool you can imagine.

was it hard to put up?? sorry to be so nosey. but was it expensive??

[Blackcat31]

I am not sure abou how hard they are to install as my DH makes everything look easy and yes, I htought they were rather spendy but if you are only doing one or two walls, maybe not so bad.

[MarinaVanessa]

Although the idea of using slatwalls is a great one and it would be great to have the ability to add, remove, change etc. all of the baskets, hangers etc. it is spendy. I've never used them for DC but we installed these ourselves in my parents pet store and we loved being able to raise/lower the hooks, baskets and shelving.

Like I said it can be rather spendy but I think overall the money is still a good investment. The slatwall itself isn't all that attractive I think for a DC setting but you can easily change that I think by painting the slatwall in rainbow pastel colors or something like that. Since slatboards are made of particle board topped with a laminate you will need to first primer it with a primer and paint/sptaypaint specifically made for laminate but expect the paint scratch over time and for the need to repaint it again or for touch-ups.. Or you can buy the slatwall in a neutral wood color to make it seem more warm and inviting. I think black and white will make your space look too industrial and commercial.

As for the hooks I think I would be wary of using these. A child can run by and poke themselves so if you do use the regular hooks (the longer poles that stick straight out to hang things on) I would keep them at a minimum and not at child eye level. They have tons of baskets and containers made both from metal and clear acrylic. Acrylic baskets are more attractive but more expensive, they will also scratch easier if dropped.

You can also get shelving in lots of different widths and lengths that are very sturdy. Even a small shelf can hold a lot of weight (we used them to store small bags of pet food and accessories).

My only warning though is that the slatwall baskets and hooks are a little easy to remove even by accident. Unless heavily weighed down by whatever you are storing all it takes is a hard bump up and the hooks/baskets fall down. The shelves are a lot better at staying on and it would take a more determined child to remove one of those. Supervision and teaching the kids how to respect the hangers, hooks, baskets and shelves can easily solve that probem.

Installing slatboard isn't altogether that difficult however there would be no way you could do it yourself. You would need at least another person to help you put it up ... prefereably someone handy with tools like your husband if he's handy. Pretty much you need to know where your studs are and screw the slatwall into them through the channels. A quick trip to your home improvement store for recommendations of which screws/fasteners to use and some advice will probably come in handy too. You can get slatwall panels already put together (most popular) or you can get the slats individualy so that you can cut and build your own slatwall panel.

Another nice thing about buying a slatwall panel is that you can cut the slatwall if you have proper tools like a circular saw (I think that's what it's called). This way if the stuff you're going to hang on the slatwall needs to be at child's level you can cut a large slatwall piece in half and hang both peices side by side lower to the ground rather than one tall narrow piece.

Hope it helps

[daycare]

thanks MV...

the slat walls would be up above the half shelves that I have. None of the kids would be able to reach anything on them

I would be using it more to organize my books than anything.

I have over 1200 books and I want to arrange them by lessons and categories.

I did see some white ones that I can buy from home depot, but I don't know how much weight they can hold.

[MarinaVanessa]

thanks MV...

the slat walls would be up above the half shelves that I have. None of the kids would be able to reach anything on them

I would be using it more to organize my books than anything.

I have over 1200 books and I want to arrange them by lessons and categories.

I did see some white ones that I can buy from home depot, but I don't know how much weight they can hold.

If they'll be out of reach of kids then these will be perfect if used with shelves. They are very sturdy. We used 14" shelves that were about 4' long to store 10 lb bags of dog and cat food on them. We could fit about 8 bags of food on each shelf so that would make it about 80 lbs of weight. We used shorter 2' shelves for books (pet books) and could fill the whole shelf with books with no problems. I'm sure your books will be bigger and you may even store binders but I doubt you'll have an issue with them. We had lots of heavy stuff like ceramic pet bowls, aquariums and aquarium rocks too so they should hold up a lot of weight.

[daycare]

If they'll be out of reach of kids then these will be perfect if used with shelves. They are very sturdy. We used 14" shelves that were about 4' long to store 10 lb bags of dog and cat food on them. We could fit about 8 bags of food on each shelf so that would make it about 80 lbs of weight. We used shorter 2' shelves for books (pet books) and could fill the whole shelf with books with no problems. I'm sure your books will be bigger and you may even store binders but I doubt you'll have an issue with them. We had lots of heavy stuff like ceramic pet bowls, aquariums and aquarium rocks too so they should hold up a lot of weight.

this is awesome to hear... I really want to install them when I come back form my trip. I am currently renting a storage and having to pay a ton of money to keep my books. Well other things too, but i would say a large part of my storage is my daycare books.

Thanks so much for you help.. I'll let you know what I end up doing....