Building Garage overhead Storage

swenard · 09-08-2009, 12:25 PM

I too, am building storage above my garage door. I have a completely drywalled garage and am trying to figure out the best route to take. I've thought of hanging it from the joists above but am now considering putting supports onto the wall on either side of the garage, then putting joists across the width of the garage, supported by the supports I've mounted on the studs. Sort of like using a ledger board on a house, when building a deck. However, I am not skilled enough to design this properly. I am also unsure what size of beams to use across the width, as I would like it to be strong but not too thick, as I will only have about 2.5 feet to work with for storage and don't want the joist taking up most of that space. Any suggestions?

I just found a picture of what I want.

Any suggestions on how to build it properly.

Scuba_Dave · 09-08-2009, 12:29 PM

How big is the garage?
What distance will the joists span?

swenard · 09-08-2009, 12:43 PM

The garage is a single car garage, aprox. 11' wide(?) and I would like it to be about 4' deep.

**Gary in WA** · 09-08-2009, 02:01 PM

I would use Hem-Fir 2x6's, with an 11'span they will carry 527# each, or 48-# per lin. ft. if 12" on center.
Be safe, G

swenard · 09-17-2009, 02:33 PM

In that picture I posted, is there any advantages to running short joists in between, or could I not just run the joists the other way to save a bunch of cuts? I'm building it 4' x 8' anyways, so I won't have to make many cuts if I can run them lengthwise without any loss in strength.

**Gary in WA** · 09-17-2009, 07:16 PM

"with an 11'span" ---- I was giving the width of span across the garage. With the support on each end of the joists, nailed with hangers on a ledger bolted the the side wall's studs. If you wanted shorter (4'-) span, the header (outside joist) would have to be built-up to carry the same load. Is this what you are referring to?
Be safe, Gary

swenard · 09-18-2009, 03:20 PM

Sorry, I am building a similiar shelf as to the picture, except I am actually going to build two; one on each side. of the garage. Rather then at the front of the garage, like the picture. Since I am going to build them 4'x8', could I not just run the 2x6's lengthwise, so there is no need to cut. Or is it stronger, if I cut them 4' in length and run them perpendicular to the outer frame. The shelf will be supported at the side(front of garage) and back (side of garage) of the shelf. The front of the shelf and second side, will be supported by wooden studs,hanging from the celing, like in the picture.

I'm going to go out an a limb here and speculate that it is stronger to run the joists perpendicular to the outer frame.

**Gary in WA** · 09-18-2009, 06:39 PM

You can run them either way as it depends on where your supports are spaced. Put them closer and run all 2x4's or one at each end of 2x6's, as I said. I am more concerned at the joisting above that is carrying all the added weight. 1. What size are they and how far is the span? 2. Will you be attaching two supports to one joist?
Be safe, Gary

swenard · 09-18-2009, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GBR in WA

You can run them either way as it depends on where your supports are spaced. Put them closer and run all 2x4's or one at each end of 2x6's, as I said. I am more concerned at the joisting above that is carrying all the added weight. 1. What size are they and how far is the span? 2. Will you be attaching two supports to one joist?
Be safe, Gary

The joists that will support it from above are 2X12's and I will be hanging the shelf across many of them. They are spaced 16"'s on centre.

**Gary in WA** · 09-18-2009, 08:30 PM

How long are they from bearing to bearing? What is the room above?
Be safe, Gary

swenard · 09-19-2009, 10:52 AM

The width of the garage, aprox 11'. The room above is a bedroom.

**Gary in WA** · 09-19-2009, 01:29 PM

Go for it. Try to pick up as many different joists as you can. Use big enough lag bolts to support the load, and pre-drill if needed.
Be safe, Gary

ragman1171 · 01-23-2012, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swenard

The width of the garage, aprox 11'. The room above is a bedroom.

Just reading now. Did you ever get this done?

ragman1171 · 01-23-2012, 01:06 PM

I guess I'm gonna try to get this thread going again as I've not seen any real plans about how to build it. I have a two-car garage. I saw a video on the DIY site. It was 30 seconds long and wasn't very informative, but did give me the idea to go forward with it. I used Power Point and tried to make up a basic breakdown of the project. I've attached a pic of one side of the garage. I am planning six shelves in total. over the garage doors will have two 48" shelves that are 24" deep and 21" tall. The torsion bar is just over 21” from the ceiling, that’s how I came up with the 21” height. The center support for the garage door opener belt drive is in the middle. That’s why I chose to make two 48” shelves as opposed to one 8’ shelf. thee 6' shelves will be on the side walls over the garage door rails. Those can be 24" in height as they only need to clear the rails. Here's what I have so far. I'm looking for the exact names of the corner braces they use in the video as well.

http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/bui...elf/index.html

AndyGump · 01-23-2012, 02:55 PM

Try starting a new thread on this.

Andy.