How can you convert a bare wall into a valuable storage area? Simple. Cover it with a layer of perforated hardboard the generic term for Peg-Board, so named by its first manufacturer. Peg-Board originally was designed to accept a few styles of specially made hooks, eyes, brackets and clips, but has evolved into a storage system that includes clips, shelves, storage devices of all shapes and forms and other fixtures and hangers constructed of metal and plastic.

Why choose perforated hardboard instead of shelves or drawers? Well, for one thing it is versatile and inexpensive, but, best of all, it is easy to modify. Your storage capability can change as your needs do. Perforated hardboard can be used over the workbench or across from it, in a basement, and even on the inside of a door.

Four-foot x 8-foot sheets are available in two thicknesses 1/8 inch and 1/4-inch. If you don't need that large a piece, some lumber stores offer half-sheets and quarter-sheets. But, be advised that the cutting fee for smaller pieces can end up costing almost as much as a whole sheet. Because it is made from hardboard, the finished product is brown in color. You can paint yours, if you wish. We should note that depending on the location and use painting can prove to be an ongoing maintenance headache. On the other hand, perforated hardboard, or any hardboard for that matter, is an easy-to-paint surface. In some areas prefinished sheets are available, but, not widely so in many others. Painting silhouettes of tools onto the surface is a great idea for schools, business and industry, but we caution you that for a home shop this practice can backfire.

We mentioned that perforated hardboard is available in two thicknesses, but we didn't explain that the thicker quarter-inch material is not only more heavy duty, but has larger holes as well. This allows for hanging heavier accessories and larger and stronger brackets. The weight of a commercial grade electric circular saw would tear through eighth-inch board. We strongly recommend against the use of perforated hardboard outdoors. Getting a good seal over a perforated surface is nearly impossible. On the other hand, regular hardboard is fine outdoors once it has been sealed with a high quality oil-base primer and one or two finish coats of good quality paint. Canned spray paint works well indoors, but should not be used outdoors.

Installation used to be considerably more difficult than it is today. In the past, installing pegboard required framing the area to be covered with half-inch-thick wood strips which acted as spacers. These spacers allowed the hooks to fit between the board and the wall. Today, installation is made easier by the use of spacing cylinders. The cylinders are three-eighths of an inch to a half-inch long and are slightly larger in diameter than the holes in the board. Mounting screws are threaded through a hole in the board (either an existing hole or one that you create), then through the hole in the cylinder and into the wall. The spacers have an advantage over wood strips because they are considerably less expensive (a few cents compared to several dollars), far easier to install and leave more holes available for use by hardware. If you are an ardent do-it-yourselfer, you can cut your own spacers from scraps of quarter-inch plastic or metal tubing.

If you are installing a panel on the inside of a closet door be sure to leave an inch margin between the door and the frame at the top and side edges. This clearance prevents the panel from being wedged between the door and the door-stop trim in those three locations. You also have to be sure that hooks and hardware used will clear clothing hanging within.