Ski rack: simple DIY ski storage solution

With 4 skiers in our family, we’ve got a collective quiver of about a dozen pairs of alpine, telemark and nordic skis that need to be stored efficiently.  Earlier this winter, I decided it was time to be done with leaning them up against the garage wall, and came up with a simple DIY storage solution that took me maybe 2 hours to build.  Our rack is 8’ long, but the design can be easily modified to suit the wall space you have available or the number of skis you need to store.



I started with an 8’ long 2x8, mounted with inexpensive shelf brackets about 8” off the floor.  I framed out the perimeter of the 2x8 with 1x2 and cut a piece of scrap carpet to fit.



Then I screwed another 1x2 to the wall directly above the 2x8.  The 1x2 has to be high enough so that it is above the bindings of the skis that are racked, but low enough to accommodate the shortest skis that you plan to rack.  I set the height of mine so that it can accommodate skis from 128cm up to 200cm.



Next I cut up a dozen short (2.5”) lengths of plastic electrical conduit, and screwed a second 1x2 to the first 1x2 with 3.5” deck screws, using the plastic conduit as spacers.  Screw in the 1x2 at the two ends first, then put in additional screws and conduit to serve as dividers between each pair of skis.  I spaced mine mostly at 10” with two spaced at 12” to accommodate a couple pairs of narrow cross-country skis.

I screwed 4 inexpensive vinyl covered storage hooks to the 1x2 for hanging ski poles, helmets, mittens, et cetera.  I also put a shorter (4’ long) shelf above the skis using some scrap 2x10 and inexpensive shelf brackets for storing some tuning supplies, etc.  The shelf has to be high enough that the skis fit underneath, but if you mount it too high it will be tough to reach.   I intentionally kept the shelf shorter than the ski rack so that I’d have enough head room at one end of the rack for longer skis (180cm and up).  I put a few additional storage hooks in the shelf as well.

Total tab for the lumber, screws, shelf brackets and storage hooks was well under $50.  If anyone’s interested in building one, I’ve got some spare plastic conduit that I’ll cut to length for you.  Happy to answer any other questions or give other dimensions I may have overlooked.

Who else has built a ski storage rack?

Nice work, however if you also park your cars in the same space, the melting snowing leaves water on the floor for extended periods which can rust your edges. This year's low snowfall may not expose this issue but usually there's plenty of water on the floor to cause rust. Perhaps your garage is heated ?

Garage isn't heated, but it's insulated and does not go below freezing.  Before the rack, I just leaned everything against the wall (sucks when skis start tipping over) and never really noticed any issue with rusty edges.  They do rust when I forget to take them out of the pod and drive around with them for a couple days though.

I like your design - may have to re-create that myself for another wall.

Had similar issue with too much leaning skis/boards so I finally built some racks and a bench in the basement...ski holder is actually wall mount shovel rack from lowes for like $8, works pretty good.

I like that. I might give it a try.

I have 2 of these racks that I bought years ago when I didn't have such a big quiver:

Not an efficient use of storage space.

Adk Jeff wrote

 They do rust when I forget to take them out of the pod and drive around with them for a couple days though.

It doesn't take long. Looks like the same drywall crew did both of our garages.

I have a ski rack aside my cellar stairs. There's a set back from the stairs which gives enough room. They sit on a board which is atop the foundation wall. Poles hang from the ski tips.

Like SBR, I store snow on my patio chairs.

Spongeworthy wrote

I have 2 of these racks that I bought years ago when I didn't have such a big quiver:

Have the same ones..bought them a while back..here's a pic of my current mess....obviously I need to do something. Our poles hang off those racks you showed. Skis are all over place nested into 16" oc framing. Not good.