Before you hire a garage storage company: the questions that separate good from risky

Eight questions that tell you most of what you need

Before you hire anyone to build a garage storage system, ask to see the products in person, how the system attaches to your walls and ceiling, what each piece is rated to hold, what the warranty covers and who it belongs to, whether future accessories will fit, whether you will see a rendering of your own garage, who does the installation, and what happens if something is wrong. A good company answers all eight plainly and puts the important ones in writing.

I manage the Dallas Proslat Garage Store, and I would rather a homeowner walk in with this list than without it. People who ask good questions end up with a garage that fits, and they are far easier to help years later when they want to add a wall. Here is what each question uncovers and what a solid answer sounds like.

Can I see, open and load the products before I order?

Photos flatten everything. They will not tell you whether a drawer glides under weight, whether a cabinet door closes square, whether a hook wobbles in the slat, or whether a color looks right under garage lighting. Ask where you can see the actual products, not a brochure.

Our showroom in Richardson exists for exactly this. You can compare colors, finishes and door styles, open drawers, test hardware and see slatwall loaded with real gear. If a company cannot show you the product anywhere, ask for samples at minimum, and be cautious about committing to a full garage of something you have never touched.

Bring your measurements and a few photos of each wall when you visit. It turns a general tour into a conversation about your garage: which cabinet depth leaves room for the car doors, which slatwall color hides scuffs, and which accessories suit the things you actually own. The showroom is open Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM and Saturdays by appointment.

How will it attach to my walls and ceiling?

This is the question that separates systems that last from systems that pull out of the wall. Slatwall and cabinets should be fastened into framing, not hung on drywall alone. Proslat's own instructions say slatwall must be installed into wall studs and that each panel is screwed into every stud; cabinets must be secured to studs with lag screws.

Listen for how the company handles exceptions. If your studs are 24 inches apart, Proslat recommends a sheet of 5/8 in. plywood behind the slatwall. If the wall is concrete or block, it calls for 2 x 3 in. furring strips every 16 inches. For a motorized ceiling lift, the instructions require lag bolts in the center of wooden joists and warn against fastening to drywall. A company that says it simply uses heavy-duty anchors everywhere has not answered the question.

Ask how they will handle the obstacles every garage has: outlets and switches in the middle of a wall, the water heater, the electrical panel, windows, and the tracks and opener of the garage door. A good installer plans around them in the design, cuts panels cleanly around boxes and keeps overhead storage clear of the door's path. A poor one discovers them on installation day.

What is each piece rated to hold, and can I have that in writing?

Every component in a garage system has a limit, and those limits should be published, not guessed. Ask for the rating of the slatwall, the overhead storage and the cabinets you are being shown, and compare them to what you plan to store.

For reference, these are Proslat's published figures. If a company cannot give you numbers like these for its own products, that tells you something.

Then think about your heaviest wall. A wall of power tools, a ladder, two bikes and a loaded shelf is a very different load from a wall of brooms and garden hoses. If what you plan to hang is close to a panel's limit, the right answer is a stronger panel or moving some of it into cabinets, not hoping for the best. Ratings also only apply when the product is installed as the instructions describe, which brings you back to the previous question.

• Classic PVC slatwall: 75 pounds per square foot on studs 16 inches apart
• PROCORE and Signature aluminum slatwall: 200 pounds per square foot
• ProRack wall-mounted overhead rack: up to 800 pounds when installed directly into studs
• Garage Gator motorized lift: 220 pounds
• Fusion PLUS and LUX cabinets: 200 pounds per shelf and 500 pounds on the work surface, per the installation guide

What does the warranty cover, and who owns it?

Read the warranty before you buy, not after something fails. Look for three things: how long it lasts, what it excludes, and whether it belongs to you or to the house. Proslat's written terms give its cabinets five years against defects in material and workmanship, with lifetime coverage on slides and hinges, and its PVC slatwall panels a lifetime warranty. Both extend only to the first retail purchaser, and both exclude damage from improper installation and overloading.

Also ask what the warranty does not pay for. Proslat's terms exclude the cost of labor and the shipping cost to return a defective product. So if a part ever needs replacing, find out up front whether the company that installed it will handle the swap and on what terms. That conversation is much easier before you sign than after.

That exclusion list is why installation and ratings matter so much. A system put up the wrong way can lose its coverage on day one. I go through all of this, product by product, in my guide to what garage cabinet and slatwall warranties cover.

Will future hooks, shelves and cabinets fit what I buy today?

Most people add to a garage system over the years: another bike, a new hobby, a second wall. Ask whether the accessories are made for the panel you are buying and whether they will still be available later. Proslat's slatwall warnings state the panels are designed to work exclusively with Proslat accessories, and its warranty excludes damage caused by non-Proslat hooks, baskets, cabinets and shelving.

Within one brand there can be differences too. Proslat's XL PROCORE panels, for example, require XL-specific hooks and accessories. Knowing that before you choose a panel saves frustration later. My comparison of PVC, PROCORE and aluminum slatwall covers which accessories go with which panel.

Will I see my own garage before I commit?

A layout on graph paper is better than nothing. A rendering of your actual walls, with the cabinets, slatwall and racks in place and the cars parked, is much better. It shows you whether a cabinet door will clear a mirror, whether the overhead rack sits above the hood, and whether the colors work together.

We build designs with configurators and renderings, and the quote comes with images of the finished space. Ask any company you are considering whether you will see the design before you sign and whether changes to it cost anything.

Expect a round or two of changes. Once people see their garage on screen, they often move the workbench to the other wall, swap a wall cabinet for open slatwall, or realize the kayak needs to go overhead. That is the design process working. It is far cheaper to move a cabinet in a rendering than on a wall.

Who installs it, and can I do part of it myself?

Ask whether the company uses its own installers or partners, who is responsible if something is installed wrong, and how the schedule is set. Proslat's shipping policy recommends waiting until an order has arrived and been inspected before booking installation, which is a sensible rule for any project.

Also ask about flexibility. Some homeowners want everything handled. Others want to hang slatwall themselves and hire out the heavy cabinets. A good company can do either, and will tell you honestly which parts are reasonable for a weekend.

Ask what the end of installation looks like. I expect panels to be tight and level, cabinets to be level with doors that close evenly, drawers to run smoothly, overhead storage to clear the garage door, and the work area to be cleaned up. A short walkthrough with the homeowner before the crew leaves catches small adjustments while the tools are still out.

Red flags worth walking away from

None of these alone proves a company is bad, but two or three together should make you slow down. Trust the feeling you get when you ask a direct question and receive a vague answer.

• No published weight ratings, or ratings given verbally only
• Plans to hang slatwall or cabinets on drywall anchors without finding studs
• A warranty they cannot show you in writing
• No way to see or handle the product before ordering
• Pressure to sign the same day for a special price
• A quote that is one total with no breakdown by wall or item

How I answer these when you call

Ask me any of these questions in the showroom or at your house, and I will answer them with the product in front of us and the written terms on hand. Estimates are free, I offer in-home quotes across the Dallas area, and a first order placed through an in-home quote carries a 5% discount.

If you want to know how the visit and the project unfold, read what to expect from an in-home garage design quote. If you have not yet thought through what the garage needs to hold, start with planning a garage that is too full to park in.

Questions people ask me