miranthis Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 I am installing a french cleat wall in my work area. My wall cleats are 2 3/4 tall. Is there a standard spacing between the cleats? I have seen so many different versions..... Jeff in KC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 Usually, I think they go the full length of what you are supporting but I guess they can be staggered? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 Jeff, if you mean vertical spacing, you just need slightly more than the mating cleat on the hanging item, so it will fit between the wall cleats. Any more than that is totally up to you. If you plan to put 2 3/4" cleats on your hanging items, I'd space the wall cleats to have a 3" gap between them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Brown Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 As far as vertical spacing goes, most of the french cleat systems I have seen are varied. My guess is the only "rule" is to make it large enough to fit what you what to store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miranthis Posted January 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 I am covering the whole area above my workbench, tool box, and sink with the cleats so I can just make whatever I want to make to hang on there. Its not a cleat to hang one thing, but a different version of the pegboard wall. My mistake for not being more specific....tunnel vision of my project. :-) Anyway, I figure the biggest thing I will hang is either a plane till with 5 or 6 planes in it, or a cabinet/shelf thing above the sink that will hold some supplies and such. No worries about the smaller tool holders over the sink side bench, I just don't want to over or under engineer the spacing between rows of cleats. The wall is pictured below and the marks on the wall are the stud locations and a reference line with that ruler. Looking at about 4 - 8 inches between cleats at this point, but still deciding. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 At one point I had a french cleat tool board similar to what you are doing. I had 3" bottom cleats with 1 1/2" space between them. I used 1 1/2" (or just slightly smaller) top cleats and it was just enough space to drop the tool holders in. After the shop walls started to fill up I scrapped the "tool board" and went with cabinets. The cabinets are still held by french cleats so i can move them around but offer more storage in that space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miranthis Posted January 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 I ended up going with 6.5 inches spacers between the top of one row and the bottom of the next. My cleats ended up at 2.5 inches, so that gives me 9 inches from tip to tip. I put 4 rows on yesterday, and will add one more tomorrow. That should give me room for small cabinet(s) over the sink, tool holders over the small bench top and a till for the planes above the tool box.....and I might have room for some shelves of miscellany above them all.....will post pic once it is done. Jeff in KC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis Designs Posted July 25, 2021 Report Share Posted July 25, 2021 Why can you not get the answer for beginner questions? I am building a huge work shop in the back yard. I would like to make a French Cleat Wall System. After reading hundreds of U-TUBE questions and answers, I find that those who give information include more than enough information so that I will need a slide rule to get the answer/s for a simple question. PROS !!!!!! Please remember that those who need answers are not the pros who have been doing this for 40 years. THIS IS ALL I WANT TO KNOW?????? How many inches do I need from one French Cleat wall board to the next? DO I NEED TO MEASURE FROM TOP TO TOP OR MEASURE THE SPACE BETWEEN THE WALL BOARDS OR DO I JUST MAKE THE WALL BOARDS ALL AT DIFFERENT SPACING/S? I would love it if someone could give me the information so I don't waste my time and supplies trying to re-invent the wheel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 25, 2021 Report Share Posted July 25, 2021 @Dennis Designs, I'm afraid the answer is, 'it depends'. If I understand your question correctly, the minimum space needed between the wall-mounted cleats is just a bit more than the width of the mating 'hook' section that is attached to your removable tool holder, cabinet, or what have you. For example, let's take a 6" wide strip of 3/4" material, and rip it with the saw at 45 degrees. This forms 2 cleat strips that are 3-3/8" on the wide side, and 2-5/8" on the narrow side. I would space the wall strips 3-1/2" apart to allow the mating section to easily slip between. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post gee-dub Posted July 25, 2021 Popular Post Report Share Posted July 25, 2021 No rule of thumb on this one. Some folks go with a wall full of horizontal cleats every 6-8 inches. This lets you put small fixtures in place with a high degree of flexibility. I make larger fixtures that have small items in them. These pics are from the temp shop currently in use. The cleats were one of the first things to go up. I find 3 or 4 long cleats at heights that hang at the "right" height work best for me. The "right" height for me is not so high I can't reach my long clamps and not so low that the lower fixture hits the ground. In between things should hang from one cleat and rest against the next one or two down. I don't bother with cutouts for the cabinets to set flush. This would kill my flexibility with this system. I need to be able hang most things most places as I change things . . . like my mind Here's one iteration of the old shop: In the end it seems you could decide on Lots-o-Cleats: Or a few cleats and then design your fixtures from there. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcschoenthal Posted July 26, 2021 Report Share Posted July 26, 2021 Dennis, like to many things, it depends on what you want to do with it. I've recently started putting up a cleat system. (one of the reasons it's so messy). I put 2½" cleats on the wall spaced 6½" apart (bottom to bottom). I thought that it would give me lots of options, but it seems that I have ended up putting things on only a couple of the heights. I'm still working on it and have changed things 3 times this week alone. Only one main "rule" to follow. If you are putting something fairly heavy or unbalanced on a cleat, make sure that the holder is supported on either another cleat or use a spacer block so that it sits against the wall. This will help make sure that it doesn't pull up and out of the cleat. One good thing about a cleat system is that you can start with only a couple of "lines" and add more in between if your needs change. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted July 27, 2021 Report Share Posted July 27, 2021 There is no standard spacing. Do what ever you think will work for your space. I put these in with 18" separating the cleats as i was going to use it for large objects. I should have done 24" of separation as most of the bottom middle cleat is unusable. A single cleat around the top permitier of a shop could be useful. Kind of like picture frame hanging molding. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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