Screw Scrap-Wood Brackets to Bare Framing for Temporary Material Storage

beginner Tools: drill, circular saw

The Problem

Mid-remodel, long material has nowhere to live. Trim stock stacked on the floor is in the way of whoever works next — a flooring crew can't do anything until it moves — and every relocation is another chance to ding an edge or bow a board. Hauling it outside or to another room trades floor space for damage risk and a lot of carrying.

The Technique

Use the unfinished room itself as the rack.

  1. Cut a pair of simple angled shelf brackets from 2x4 scraps — an arm, an upright, and a diagonal brace screwed together is plenty.
  2. Screw the brackets to the exposed framing around a door opening, placing the screws where casing or other trim will cover the holes later.
  3. Load your trim and lumber onto the brackets, up off the floor and out of the next trade's way.
  4. When you're ready for that material, unload it, back out the screws, and keep working — the trim you install covers every hole the brackets left.
Pro tip: The bracket is the small idea; the placement is the big one. Any spot that finish work will cover later — behind casing, under baseboard, above a future dropped ceiling — is free real estate for temporary screws, and it works at any stage of a project where things need to get up and out of the way.