NEWAGE PRODUCTS VersaRac Gray 4' x 8' Adjustable Garage Overhead Rack, 40151

I bought 3 of these for my garage. In my garage, the ceiling was finished, but it is a new construction home, so I was able to take pictures before the drywall went up. On the areas where there is a floor above, there are engineered joists. The rest is 2x4 trusses.The instructions really don't help much if your ceiling is already finished, because the only method for installing to the engineered joists is through adding a joist hanger in between two joists screwed into the webbing. I didn't want to cut into the brand new drywall, so I had to figure out another way. For the three corners that are next to the wall, I mounted the vertical rails to a 2x4 (or 2x8 for the one that will share with the 3rd rack). This way the majority of the weight is carried on the wall, not the engineered joist. For the last corner, I was able to find the specifications for the joists that were used, and the manufacturer claims that you can hang a certain amount of weight with the right type and depth of lag bolt. They also recommended sharing the load between two joists. I ended up using 3 joists. The piece of angle steel was purchased locally (HD). Also, you can see in the picture that I added an angle piece from the wall side to that corner. This was to help transfer some load back to the wall rail.It is probably overkill, but I'd rather not have this fall on me, my family, or my vehicles. The picture doesn't show the rack that I installed next to this one in an L pattern with the same methods.For the one on the 2x4 trusses, I used the included short brackets on one side, but on the other, I had the trusses go in a different direction, so I made another joist-sharing bracket. Since the corner was just outside of the joist, I had to tie into the side of the webbing to make sure it wasn't cantilevering out. I also added more angled ties to help transfer load and also help keep the bins from falling off each side.The reason(s) this isn't 5 stars:- As others have mentioned, the hardware isn't the best. I easily overtightened one of the bolts and it snapped in half. I wasn't even putting that much force into it.- The wire racks don't sit very well. In the middle where the two pieces bolt together to make the 8 ft section, one of the racks has to sit on top of the bolt head. It doesn't seem to affect use, but it is pretty annoying. The racks are also looser than I would prefer.- The instructions don't account for finished ceilings and what to do. (How do you know you have a certain type of joist without opening up the ceiling drywall?)Overall:This is a great storage solution. The racks seem very sturdy, and I don't forsee any issues with them. I would recommend getting better hardware, and doing some research on the type of joists you have in your ceiling.I'm glad it is over with, and I hope I don't have to install something like this again. I might end up paying a company to do it if I ever have to.

Bought this storage unit for the garage to store heavy tires and other stuff. Mounted the unit in parallell to joists already covered by wall board. This was difficult because a stud finder isn't always as accurate to find the exact centerline of the joist and sighting the next mounting point 8 feet away requires some reference point and someone to hold the other end of the tape or some other method. I used my wife and a laser. Not really a good combo. I started at one point near a wall only to find out that that particular joist wasn't on 24-inch centers with the joists farther from the wall. In retrospect it would have been easier to just remove a pice of the ceiling wallboard to see and align to the joist rather than using a stud finder and poking test holes to see if it was correct.My suggestions to improve this product are as follows:Include a paper template printed on 3-inch wide by at least 8 foot paper roll with the location of center holes for the ceiling brackets, at both 8 foot and 4 foot locations and alignment to ensure the points are aligned and square. I wish I would have thought of doing that myself at the first bracket install instead of the 4th.Second would be to have slots instead of key holes on the ceiling brackets so that there's no change in vertical hang distantance as you adjust to accommodate to plumb the vertical pieces. The instructions mention nothing about plumbing the vertical hangers.Third review the instructions for assembly order and consistency with drawings. For instance which direction the key hole point, or which side the shorter vertical bracket goes.Fourth, provide better washers that don't deform when you torque down the vertical bracket assembly bolts.Fifth, as mentioned in another review, provide a torque spec for all bolt connections. This is a piece of structural equipment, and as such, this is a critical specification. I'm not sure locking nuts are the right choice, I think I would have gone with a larger bolt and split washer.Sixth, with all this good hardware some sort of hold down for the grating would have been nice. It does shift until you load it up.I got it up, loaded it and then hung from it with may 200# body, and it didn't come down, so I guess it all worked in the end, but it took me about 12-15 hours mostly by myself, and most of that finding and aligning the joist mounting positions.

This rack is really good. It was simple to set up, holds a ton (well 600 lb) worth of your stuff and I had absolutely no problems with it. The materials are heavy-weight steel and appear to be quite durable.If you are at all handy, it will take less than an hour to install and can be done by one reasonably fit person.The unit was well packaged for shipment, if somewhat heavy. The box is 100 lb, so have someone help you move it!The fact that shipping is included in the price is a real bonus, and it arrived in a very reasonable time.Very pleased.

I purchased two racks with the intention of installing them with one shared attachment point.However, the installation manual failed to mention that you need to change the orientation of the very first bracket or the last bracket will not sit on top of the last joist.I had to pay additional for my contractor to remove the assembled first rack, change the orientation of the first two bracket sets and to prevent risk of forcing a new set of threads being carved into the wood, he had to hand turn each lag bolt to make sure it caught the original set of threads before tightening again.A few of my racks were also bent this refusing to stay flat during the install.

This rack is sturdy despite one review I read where someone added more bracing. Perhaps he/she didn't install it properly. It looks great, is excellent value for the money, and the instruction/video on the website for it explains it all. Installation was a breeze. I had to install a couple extra ceiling joists, however that was due to the layout of the house and had nothing to do with the product. I wish I could also give a criticism of some description but I cannot, it is the perfect storage system.

Installed this thing by my self to a fairly high ceiling in my garage. Not exactly a cakewalk but I never thought it would be. Product instructions are very clear. The unit looks pretty good and feels really strong. One absolutely needs to hit the centre of the studs when installing the anchors or you'll dangerously jeopardize the integrity. I'd recommend this product to anyone who is reasonably handy and patient. I think most people have studs that are 16 inches o/c apart but even if you have 24 inches between studs, the math works. 96 inches (8 feet) and 48 inches (4 feet) are both divisible by 16 and 24.

Installed it in my garage at the 4 feet x 8 feet footprint. This overhead storage rack is simply the best quality. I was very impressed with the sturdiness and how it went together. One thing to note is you want to use better washers on the lag bolts. Maybe buy some thicker ones at the hardware store.