How To Organise Your Garage

How do you put racking on a garage wall without drilling into brickwork?

Wall racking turns a garage floor covered in surfboards, scooters and garden tools into usable space. If you would rather not drill into brickwork — or you cannot, because you are renting — Selleys Hold Up will mount the racking instead. Clean the wall, run vertical beads of adhesive about 5 cm apart across the back of the rack, press it on, level it inside the 15 minute adjustment window, and leave it alone.

The one number that decides whether this works is the cure time: at least 48 hours before you put any load on it. Hold Up skins in about 45 minutes and feels solid long before it is strong, and a rack loaded early is a rack on the floor.

What you need

• Selleys Hold Up cartridge (290 mL) — or the 130 g tube for a small rack
• A high-quality caulking gun
• Secateurs or a Stanley knife to cut the nozzle
• The racking
• Spirit level
• White spirits or turps and a cloth

Why Hold Up, and what the figures mean

Hold Up is built for exactly this: mounting and bonding without screws, nails or clamps, including on vertical surfaces. It works on most materials — timber, concrete, MDF, particleboard, plasterboard, metals, some plastics, glass, masonry, tiles and ceramics — and it is heat, UV and water resistant, indoors or out.

Appearance	Smooth white paste
Technology	Sil-X
Cure time	At least 48 hours
Skin time	Approx. 45 minutes
Adjustable	Up to 15 minutes
Paintable	After 48 hours with water-based paints
Vertical load	Up to 240 kg/m² (tube) or 360 kg/m² (cartridge)
Packaging	130 g tube (white/off-white), 290 mL cartridge (white)
Storage	Cool, dry place below 30°C; 12 month shelf life

Indicative data only, not intended for preparation of specifications.

The load figures are per square metre of bonded area. That is the number to think about before you hang a surfboard rack. Running vertical beads 5 cm apart across the full width of the rack gives you a real bonded area; a few dabs in the middle does not, no matter what the headline figure says. If in doubt, put more beads on and spread the load across more of the wall.

The cartridge carries a higher rating than the tube — 360 kg/m² against 240 kg/m² — which is why the cartridge is what this job calls for.

Fifteen minutes of adjustability is the window in which you level the rack. Use the spirit level, slide it true, press again. After that, moving it means starting over with fresh adhesive.

How to do it

1. Prepare the cartridge. Cut the tip of the Hold Up cartridge and screw on the supplied nozzle. Load it into a high-quality caulking gun — Hold Up is a high-performance, high-viscosity product and a cheap gun struggles with it.
2. Clean the surfaces. Make sure they are clean and free from grease, grit and grime. If the wall is painted, check the paint is in good condition and not flaky, peeling or loose — the final bond will be compromised otherwise, because the adhesive can only hold what the paint is holding. Sand back anything loose.
3. Apply the adhesive. With the V-notch of the nozzle facing upwards, apply the adhesive to one surface in long vertical beads approximately 5 cm apart, covering the full surface.
4. Press it on. Press the surfaces together firmly, making sure the adhesive spreads. Spreading is what creates the bonded area the load ratings assume.
5. Level it. Check the rack with a spirit level. You have 15 minutes before the glue sets.
6. Clean up immediately with white spirits or turps, before the product cures.
7. Leave it at least 48 hours before loading it. Longer in cold or dry conditions, or where both surfaces are non-porous.

Limitations — read these before you load the rack

• Not for some plastics — polyethylene, polypropylene and PTFE — or some rubbers. Check what your racking is made from.
• Water resistant, but not for permanent water immersion. Fine in a garage; not for anything sitting in water.
• Must not be disturbed until cured — at least 48 hours.
• For heavy objects, overhead applications and non-porous materials such as glass and metals, use additional supports such as clamps during cure as a precaution. Ceiling storage is an overhead application. Treat it accordingly, and prop it while it cures.
• Painted walls need sound paint. Flaky, peeling or loose paint compromises the bond.

The practical version of all of that: this method suits light and medium items on a sound wall. If you are hanging something genuinely heavy, or over people's heads, mechanical fixings are the right answer.

Common questions about garage racking

Will Hold Up work on brick?

Yes. Masonry, concrete, tiles and ceramics are all listed surfaces, as are timber, MDF, particleboard, plasterboard and metals.

How much weight can the racking take?

Up to 360 kg/m² on vertical surfaces with the 290 mL cartridge, or 240 kg/m² with the tube — measured across the area you actually bonded, not the size of the rack.

How long until I can put my surfboards on it?

At least 48 hours, and longer in cold or dry conditions or where both surfaces are non-porous. The bond must not be disturbed before then.

Can I straighten the rack after pressing it on?

Yes, for up to 15 minutes. After that, moving it means removing it and applying fresh adhesive.

Do I need a special caulking gun?

A high-quality one. Hold Up is a high-performance product and the data sheet specifically recommends a good gun for best results.

Which way up should the nozzle be?

With the V cut-out facing upwards, applying long vertical beads about 5 cm apart.

Why vertical beads rather than horizontal?

Vertical beads let any moisture that gets behind the rack drain rather than sit against the bond line, and they give an even spread of contact across the height of the rack.

What if the garage wall is painted?

Check the paint is sound. If it is flaky, peeling or loose, the bond will be compromised — sand it back to something solid first.

How do I get the excess off?

White spirits or turps, immediately, before the product cures.

Can I paint over it?

Yes, after 48 hours, with water-based paints.

Can I use this on the ceiling?

Overhead applications are specifically called out as needing additional supports such as clamps during cure. For anything with weight, mechanical fixings are the safer choice overhead.

What else can I mount this way?

Bathroom accessories with flush backs, spice racks, towel holders, and garden tool racks. See the DIY garden tool organiser for a project built around the same technique.