Build your own bike rack or bike shelter – a DIY guide and tips
- Difficultymedium
- Cost<£215
- Duration< 1 h
Introduction
Tired of having a messy stack of bikes in your shed? Then this DIY bike rack will not only keep things tidy, but will also be a real eye-catcher! What’s more, it’s incredibly simple to make and doesn’t require a lot of materials. When you’re finished, we’ll also show you how you can turn the DIY project into a bike shelter with a roof.
Have you heard about our 18V system yet? It offers a huge variety of devices for many different applications. The thing that makes the project below so special is that you can use the same rechargeable battery for every part of this project. Simply swap out the battery pack, insert it into a different device that’s part of the 18V system and move on to the next step.
Pay attention to occupational health and safety every step of the way to protect yourself and your health. You’ll find all the important information you need to know in our overview of Safety precautions for DIY projects.
Let's go - step by step
Marking the porcelain stoneware slab
Step one is to underlay your porcelain stoneware slab with slats or squared timbers to prevent it from being damaged. Then, plan the positions of the branches on the slab. Each bike needs at least two offset touch points to be able to stand and provide space for several bikes. With that in mind, we recommend using a diamond pattern with a distance of about 13 to 15 cm between the holes. Stick the layout down with three strips of masking tape and then draw the points on it.
Drilling the porcelain stoneware slab
Once you have marked out the holes, you can start drilling them into the porcelain stoneware slab. Set the diamond drill bit at an angle and work at medium speed until it catches. After that, you can increase the speed. Rinse the drill bit regularly with water while drilling. This will cool and protect the drill. You’ll find more useful tips, ranging from information about the properties of wood, metal, plastic and stone to advice for choosing the right drill bits, in our guide to drilling.
Preparing the branches
Next it’s on to the branches. These must be sturdy and have a diameter of about 60 mm. Make sure the branch is firmly secure before sawing and cut it at an angle of 90° so that the cut surface can rest neatly on the stone slab and the branch stands straight.
Shorten the branches so that they are between 120 and 150 cm in length and then drill the holes into the cut surfaces. Make sure the holes are deep enough, ideally the same length as the screws, as the branch is very hard.
Assembling the bike rack
Finally, all you need to do is screw the branches to the slab from below and your DIY bike rack is ready. Be careful of the porcelain stoneware slab while you’re moving it – they’re delicate. If you want to add a shelter to your bike rack, you’ll find lots of helpful information below.
Still have some branches left? Then take a look at our DIY climbing wall made from old boards – we turned branches into discs to use them as climbing holds. And just to be on the safe side, read up on all the things you need to consider when inflating bike tyres before your next bike ride.
If you’re looking to create some extra storage space in your home, then we have a few ideas you might be interested in. For example, we’ll show how you can build a shelf from an old frame-and-panel door, make a space-saving corner shelf or create a DIY wall shelf from wooden slats. You’ll also find more ideas, such as our shelf made of pallets, in our DIY holders section.