About slatwall · 8 walls · where every number comes from
About slatwall
Most garage slatwall has its grooves 3 inches apart, but the slot shape behind the face varies by brand, and printed parts are fussier about it than wire hooks. This page shows how a slot is built, what each brand publishes, and what Slatfinity uses for each one.
How a slot holds a hook
Slatwall panels have horizontal grooves cut or moulded along their length. Each groove is a narrow opening at the face, then a pocket (the undercut) behind it that rises behind the lip of the slat above. On most walls the slot's floor runs flat back, so the groove is an L; hollow and routed panels also have room below the slot, a T. A hook goes in through the opening, sits on the slot's floor and rises behind the lip above. The weight pulls the top of the hook out, against the back of that lip, and pushes its bottom in, against the face below.
Front of the wall, to scale. Pitch runs from the top of one slot to the top of the next.Section through one slot, in mm: the opening, lip, undercut and panel of standard 3/4 in MDF slatwall (Wind Mill's published groove). Solid: the L most walls have, a pocket above the slot and a flat floor. Dashed: the room below the slot that routed MDF and Trusscore's hollow panels also have. PVC panels are moulded hollow, but the opening, lip and undercut work the same way. The hook is drawn for illustration, and so is this groove's pocket height: Wind Mill doesn't publish it, so it is sized from a T-slot router bit.In the 3D view, the pocket and the rounded edges come from a source only for VEVOR (pocket below the slot, measured), StoreWall (pocket below the slot, patent), Trusscore (pocket above and below the slot and rounded edges, inferred), Retail MDF slatwall (pocket above and below the slot, inferred) and Gladiator GearWall (pocket above and below the slot, patent; its bullnose edges are drawn square, as no radius is given). The rest is drawn from assumed defaults, a pocket rising 6 mm above the slot, a flat slot floor and square edges: all of it for Handiwall and Flow Wall.
Pitch (spacing)
Slot to slot. 3 in (76.2 mm) on centre is the common standard. As a general guide, store fixtures also come in 4, 6 and 12 in, and UK/EU board in 100 mm.
Slot opening
The gap at the face, top to bottom. 3/8 in (9.53 mm) on standard walls. Slatfinity's cam keys are sized to it.
Lip (skin)
How thick the slat is at the slot, front to back. Hooks and keys pass behind it, so their reach is set by it. 1/4 in (6.35 mm) is standard.
Undercut (pocket)
The pocket behind the lip that a hook's back edge sits in. Its depth is the room for that edge. On most walls it rises above the slot only, and the slot's floor runs flat back.
Specifications side by side
All sizes in millimetres, with inches below. Each figure says where it comes from: measured, published, a patent, or assumed (the brand doesn't publish it, so the 3 in standard is used). Sources link where they exist.
The pocket and the rounded edges are what the 3D view draws behind the face. Few brands publish them; where none is given, the view draws a pocket rising 6 mm above the slot, a flat slot floor (nothing below the slot) and square edges.
Mostly, within two groups. StoreWall, Handiwall, Trusscore, retail MDF and (by their own account, often) Flow Wall all follow the 3 in pitch, 3/8 in slot standard, and retailers sell their accessories as interchangeable. VEVOR sells to the same standard; on the wall we measured, the pitch came out 0.8 mm short of 3 in, which is why it has its own preset.
Gladiator and ProSlat are their own systems. Gladiator's slot is 1.8 times as tall (17 mm in its patent), and its accessories grip two neighbouring slots at once. ProSlat says its panels are made for ProSlat accessories and doesn't publish the slot.
What this means for printed partsA wire hook has play to spare, so it fits most walls. Slatfinity's cam keys, label clips and wedges are sized to the slot within a few tenths of a millimetre, so pick your wall at the top of the page, or measure it and choose Custom.
The brands
VEVOR
Measured · some assumed
A large online seller of tools and equipment. Its garage slatwall comes as PVC kits of 12 × 48 in panels sold as “standard 3-inch” slatwall for universal hooks and shelves. VEVOR publishes the spacing and panel sizes, but not the slot.
Panel
12 × 48 in, 20 mm thick (Home Depot lists 0.7 in)
Material
PVC
Published
3 in spacing only
In Slatfinity: Measured on a VEVOR wall: the slat face and the slot add up to the pitch. The lip came from an early model, so it is marked assumed. If your wall differs, measure across four slots, divide by four, and use Custom.
75.38 mm pitch · 9.58 mm slot · 6.70 mm lip
Lip is assumed. 6.7 mm came from the early v03 model, not a measurement. The measured wall thickness at the slot is 6.08 mm. Re-measure the lip with calipers.
A garage slatwall maker that publishes the most complete profile of any PVC brand: a spec chart with the groove dimensions and load ratings for its three panel grades.
Panel
Basic and Standard: 12 in, 4 slots, 0.66 in thick. Heavy Duty: 15 in, 5 slots, 0.70 in thick
Material
Moulded PVC
Profile
0.375 in opening, 0.25 in lip, 0.20 in groove behind it, 0.25 in back
Load chart
75 / 115 / 165 lb at 4 in from the wall (Basic / Standard / Heavy Duty)
In Slatfinity: The published profile and spacing. StoreWall's patent draws the groove as an L: room behind the lip above the slot, and a flat floor with nothing below it.
A Canadian maker of PVC wall and ceiling board. Its SlatWall is the only PVC panel with a dimensioned slot drawing, and it calls the panel non-proprietary.
Panel
6 in exposed (2 slots), 5/8 in thick, 4 and 8 ft lengths
Material
PVC
Drawing
9.5 mm slot, 66.7 mm face, 7.4 mm lip depth and 15.5 mm slot depth
In Slatfinity: The drawing's slot, face and lip depth. The undercut, the pocket above and below the slot, and the rounded edges are scaled off the same drawing, so they are close but not exact. The panel is hollow; the 3D view draws its profile solid.
The store-fixture slatwall that garage panels follow: ¾ in MDF sheet with routed grooves, made by Wind Mill, Marlite and many others. Wind Mill publishes the groove. Some sheets have aluminium inserts in the grooves for heavier loads.
Panel
¾ in MDF sheet; 3 in on centre most common, also 4, 6 and 12 in
Profile
0.375 in opening, 0.25 in lip, 0.25 in undercut, 0.25 in back
Inserts
Aluminium channels with about 1 mm walls; Marlite says inserted grooves take flat metal back-plate accessories only
In Slatfinity: The Wind Mill groove. It is routed with a T-slot bit, so the pocket runs above and below the slot, as Marlite's groove drawing shows; its height comes from the bit. Grooves with aluminium inserts are tighter than this: measure them and use Custom.
A garage system built around its own accessories and a patented back bracket. Its FAQ says generic 3 in accessories often work, but it doesn't publish the slot, and it says using its parts with other systems voids the warranty.
Panel
12 in × 4 or 8 ft, ¾ in thick
Material
Cellular PVC
Published
Works with 3 in on centre accessories
In Slatfinity: The standard slot and lip. Check yours with calipers before printing a batch.
76.20 mm pitch · 9.53 mm slot · 6.35 mm lip
Slot opening is assumed. Not published: this assumes the 3 in standard's 3/8 in (9.53 mm) slot.
Lip is assumed. Not published: this uses the 1/4 in (6.35 mm) standard lip.
Gladiator's wall panel system, whose GearWall patent is assigned to Whirlpool. Its accessories hang from two J-hooks that grip neighbouring slots, so the slot is much taller than standard. Garage Journal members mostly report that it only takes Gladiator accessories.
Panel
12 in × 4 or 8 ft, 0.75 in deep; 50 lb per sq ft
Patent
US 7,055,703 gives the profile: pitch, slot, lip and undercut
Published
Panel size and load only
In Slatfinity: The patent's numbers. Designs whose lock is sized for the standard slot say they won't fit; the patent isn't a production drawing, so measure before printing.
A PVC garage system with three panel lines: Classic PVC, PROCORE (with an aluminium core) and XL PROCORE, which needs XL hooks. The lines don't interlock with each other. ProSlat's FAQ says the panels are designed for ProSlat hooks and accessories.
Panel
Slats assembled into 4 × 8 ft sections
Material
PVC, 90% recycled with a virgin PVC face; PROCORE adds aluminium
Published
No slot, lip or spacing figures
In Slatfinity: No preset, because there's nothing to base one on. Measure your wall (below) and choose Custom.
You need calipers. The cleanest place to measure is a cut end of a panel or an offcut, where the whole profile shows.
Pitch. Measure from the top edge of one slot to the top edge of the slot four below it, and divide by four. Allowed: 25 to 400 mm (1 in to 15 11/16 in). Usual slatwall: 75.38 to 76.2 mm (2 31/32 to 3 in).
Slot opening. Use the inside jaws across the opening at the face, in three or four places along the wall, and take the smallest. Allowed: 3 to 40 mm (1/8 in to 1 9/16 in). Usual slatwall: 9.5 to 17 mm (3/8 to 43/64 in).
Lip. On a cut end, measure from the face to the start of the undercut. On a mounted panel, hook the depth rod behind the lip. Allowed: 1 to 30 mm (3/64 in to 1 11/64 in). Usual slatwall: 6.35 to 7.4 mm (1/4 to 19/64 in).
Undercut depth (optional). The room behind the lip for a hook's back edge, front to back. Leave blank if you can't reach it. Allowed: 0.5 to 60 mm (1/32 in to 2 11/32 in). Usual slatwall: 5 to 6.35 mm (13/64 to 1/4 in).
Panel depth (optional). The whole panel, front to back. Leave blank if you don't know. Allowed: 3 to 100 mm (1/8 in to 3 7/8 in). Usual slatwall: 15.88 to 20 mm (5/8 to 25/32 in).
Pocket above the slot (optional). On a cut end, from the top of the slot (the underside of the lip) up to the top of the pocket behind the lip. This is the room a hook rises into. Leave blank if you can't see it, and the 3D view draws 6 mm. Allowed: any height from 0, as long as it and the pocket below together are less than the face between slots (the pitch less the slot opening).
Pocket below the slot (optional, 0 = flat floor). On a cut end, from the slot's floor down to the bottom of the pocket behind the lip below the slot. On most walls the floor runs flat back to the back of the pocket: that is 0. Hollow and routed panels can have room below the slot too. Leave blank if you can't see it, and the 3D view draws a flat floor. Allowed: any height from 0, as long as it and the pocket above together are less than the face between slots (the pitch less the slot opening).
Slot floor front edge (rounded radius) (optional, 0 = square). The front edge of the slot's floor, the one a hook rests on. On a cut end, put the depth rod at the face and measure back to where the floor turns flat: for a round edge, that is its radius. 0 is a sharp, square edge. Allowed: at most half the lip or half the slot opening, whichever is smaller (about 3 mm on standard slatwall); with the slot top front edge, no more than the face between slots.
Slot top front edge (rounded radius) (optional, 0 = square). The front edge at the top of the slot, measured the same way, from the face to where the underside of the lip above turns flat. 0 is square. Allowed: at most half the lip or half the slot opening, whichever is smaller (about 3 mm on standard slatwall); with the slot floor front edge, no more than the face between slots.
Back edge of the lip (rounded radius) (optional, 0 = square). The back edge of the lip above the slot, where the slot's top meets the pocket (and, on a wall with room below, the back edge of the slot's floor too). Measure from the back of the lip to where the slot's surface turns flat. 0 is square. Allowed: at most half the lip or half the slot opening, whichever is smaller (about 3 mm on standard slatwall), and no more than the pocket reaches above the slot (or below it, where it does).
Enter them. Open the wall chip at the top of any page and choose “Your own wall, or one you saved”, or use the button below, and type the numbers in millimetres or inches. Every design uses them.
Calibration kit
Not sure your measurements or your printer's fit are right? The calibration kit prints a slot gauge, a lock test and a fit coupon with joints at Tight, Standard and Loose. Whichever coupon slides together cleanly is the printer fit to choose.