I needed storage and easy access for my workshop tools and I decided to create a french cleat system that is not only functional but it looks pretty awesome by itself. I made it out of a 4' x 8' birch plywood.
Holy crap… What a lot of work! Why didn’t you just cut the plywood into strips with a 45 on one edge like everyone else does? This way you had to make a bunch of plunge cuts with the circular saw and put the 45 on with a router. To get the 45 all the way to the end you may have even needed to do some handwork with a chisel. If you wanted the vertical ends on the strips you could have just put those on with pocket screws or dowels.
I have this wall too and about to embark on the same thing. Did you have to leak seal the back surface or anything? I rarely get a bit of moisture in the blocks if there's a massive rain. I was going to mount some 2x2 pillars first but this looks nice
I'm making French cleats for my tool storage. While your 8' x 4' sheets look pretty interesting, it's probably the most wasteful (in terms of both materials and time) cleat design I've ever seen.
I liken it to getting an Aviation Sofa Chair vs a metal flooding chair. I would rather have a West Elm dining table then an Ikea folding dining table. Most of everything we own would be considered wasteful and it comes down to our own preferences. I wanted that look and that's what I built.
