I'm in the process of setting up a basement workshop. The workshop area is on the small side (20' x 10'), the walls are made of cinder block, and two of the walls are exterior walls. The house itself is at least 60 years old. I've painted the cinder block with Dry-Lok. I am now thinking about the best strategy for hanging things on the walls.

I was thinking about attaching 2x2's or 2x4's to the cinder block with Tapcon screws and then 3/4 plywood to the 2x2's/2x4's, which would give me the most flexibility overall for hanging cabinets, tool racks, etc.

I am hesitant to build a framing wall because I have read that due to the age of the house, it would be problematic to attach the floor plate to the concrete because of concrete brittleness, and because of the way that wires and pipe are running across the ceiling in my basement, attaching the top plate to the ceiling would also be problematic.

What I don't know is how much stuff I can hang off the wall with the Tapcon-2x2-3/4" plywood system. Specifically, I'm worried about something like a lumber rack being too much of a load for a setup like this.

Also, one of the exterior walls has always been a little damp, though I've never had real water in the basement. I've mediated the outside as much as I can, and the Dry-Lok has taken care of the rest. But should I be worried about screwing 2x material into a cinder block wall that used to be a little damp?

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.