# Slatwall vs Pegboard



## cmantunes

Happy New Year, Everyone!

I've always used pegboard but slatwall intrigues me. As I've never seen anyone use it in a garage/hobby shop, I'm coming here for the board's collective wisdom on the pros and the cons, and how slatwall compares to pegboard in terms of usability in the shop environment.

Thanks!

Carlos


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## Holescreek

I have 50' of 4'x4' steel slat wall in my shop. Bought it cheap from a store that was closing.  Factory painted gloss white. It's really easy to make shelves for too.  The only photo I have access to at the moment is one I took to see the difference between the new LED fixtures on the right vs. the florescent on the left.


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## papa-roe

I bought 7 and 1/2, 4x8 sheets of this press board with t-slots in it from Habitat for Humanity Restore. I bought a bunch of t-nuts and bolts from Zoro. I can attach the t-nuts and bolts to my hooks, cabinet or shelves and then slide it in to the slots. I had never seen anything like this before but when I did, I had to have it. The first picture was just using cheap peg board hooks in the slots. Not real secure but they helped me organize things until I found the t-nuts and bolts.


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## ACHiPo

I HATE peg board--seems like hooks are forever falling out when you try to remove or replace stuff.  I really like the idea of the slatboard, but haven't pulled the trigger yet.  I also found powder coated steel pegboard that supposedly cures a lot of the problems with the masonite stuff.
http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/s...Ux5_IFkY9Aoaxsb1zxYqa27j6HruBblEaAiy_EALw_wcB


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## MikeInOr

The cheap, small gauge pegs/hooks they sell today are miserable!  I bought 20 lbs of pegs from a store that was closing several years ago and they work MUCH better!  The heavier rod/wire they are made of fills the holes better and they all have second tabs so each hook is secured in at least two holes.  These old school pegs stay put for me.  Harbor Freight pegs?.... don't bother!!!!

Steel slat wall???????  I am VERY jealous!


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## ACHiPo

This is the slatwall I was looking at:
http://www.garageenvy.com/shop/Garage-Related-Articles_Slatwall-and-Accessories.html


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## ACHiPo

MikeInOr said:


> The cheap, small gauge pegs/hooks they sell today are miserable!  I bought 20 lbs of pegs from a store that was closing several years ago and they work MUCH better!  The heavier rod/wire they are made of fills the holes better and they all have second tabs so each hook is secured in at least two holes.  These old school pegs stay put for me.  Harbor Freight pegs?.... don't bother!!!!


Mike,
Those cheapo hooks are probably what my Dad had that gave me the distaste for pegboard in the first place.  
Evan


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## Holescreek

There is a surplus outfit in downtown Dayton (Mendelsons Surplus) that has a whole store dedicated to recycled store displays. When a store goes out of business they will go in and strip the building down to the bare walls and sell it all in their store.  Slatwall hooks are usually $1 each, slatwall baskets can run up to $5.  Joann Fabrics closed their stores last winter and I bought a 4' long x 4' high double sided rolling slatwall shelf and a bunch of the wood composite slatwall panels (shelf $50, panels $10 each) for the wife's business.  Shelf brackets were $1/pair and shelves were $2.

Tip of the day:  Keep an eye open for store closings.  The business leaving will let you have the walls for pennies on the dollar. The store coming into the space will rip it all out anyway.


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## C-Bag

ACHiPo said:


> This is the slatwall I was looking at:
> http://www.garageenvy.com/shop/Garage-Related-Articles_Slatwall-and-Accessories.html


Thanks for that link.
I have a pegboard wall in the garage that was there when we bought the house. Here on the coast all particle board swells and turn back to its composite sawdust. No Bueno por nada. Most of the vague ads for the new slatwall just says composite. So it's either particleboard or? I would be ok with PVC probably depending on cost. I first noticed the stuff on a local CL in the biz section and didn't know what I was looking at. So it seems like this isn't "all the same, no brainer". Same with the hardware.


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## kd4gij

Here drool over this place.
https://www.carguygarage.com/slatwall.html


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## C-Bag

Wow, I aspirated the drool when I saw the price tag! Nice look but I'm more of a low rent, find someplace going out of biz and get a deal kinda guy......


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## cmantunes

Thanks everyone for your replies. It seems I need to give slatwall a serious look (and try) but the pricetag for the metal ones - which are the ones I'm drooling over - is really off-putting. I need to convince myself (and the wife) that this is the kind of stuff that increases the value of the house when installed in a garage. Once it becomes "home improvement" the price tag is more digestible.


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## Aaron_W

I really like the look of the slat wall, but if you can get quality commercial grade pegboard hardware it is nothing like the cheap crud you find in most home improvement stores. I worked in a hardware store when I was in college and the pegboard hardware they used for display was at least twice the diameter of the home owner stuff. It had to be, you aren't going to hang a dozen hammers off of those flimsy wire hangers and 1/8" particle board.


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## C-Bag

Aaron_W said:


> I really like the look of the slat wall, but if you can get quality commercial grade pegboard hardware it is nothing like the cheap crud you find in most home improvement stores. I worked in a hardware store when I was in college and the pegboard hardware they used for display was at least twice the diameter of the home owner stuff. It had to be, you aren't going to hang a dozen hammers off of those flimsy wire hangers and 1/8" particle board.



My issue with pegboard is with its construction. Being basically particleboard and having to be thin enough make it so the hooks can get through it. Its just is not a great design IMHO. And making a slatwall out of particleboard is just a cheap short term solution in my situation. My cheap DIY self wants to know what would be the price differential between finding some suitable pine boards and dado the top edge and screw it to the wall studs, and say the composite PVC slats? Since its a shop thing and I'm more utilitarian I don't need the whole wall say below 33", and being vertically challenged, not over say 6'. Just sayin'.


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## Holescreek

> My cheap DIY self wants to know what would be the price differential between finding some suitable pine boards and dado the top edge and screw it to the wall studs, and say the composite PVC slats?



I like that idea, though you need to bevel top and bottom of the slats to use standard hooks.

You could buy a sheet of 1/2" plywood  and rip slats out of the sheet. Paint them before you hang them.


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