Framing a garage loft

narsh

I would like to build a garage loft and am looking for some help on framing it. My garage ceiling is very high (~14') and as a result I have a lot of unused space. The area that I'm looking to build it in is a section of the garage that sticks out from the main part of the garage. This section is 14.5' x 6'. There are walls on 3 sides of the space where I want the loft (2 walls are 6' and 1 wall is 14.5', the other 14.5' side is open to the garage).

My question is this: could I hang ledger boards on the two 6' sections of walls and then run ~14' joists between these? If so would these be sufficient structurally or would I still need some sort of support (posts?)?

In most designs that I've found (for lofts or decks) there is no more than 2 walls being attached to (and usually just 1). Since I have 3 walls I was wondering if I could get enough support from the walls without having to use posts.

Thanks in advance for any help.

-Ryan

narsh

I posted pictures of the area to show the space I'm looking to build the loft in.

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Scuba_Dave

Depending upon the species grade fow wood 2x8's will span ~14' 16" OC
If youput them 12" OC you can span over 15'
I'd use 2x10's 16" OC to be sure & be able to store what you want

narsh

Scuba Dave,

Thanks for the help. I was thinking of going with 2x10s. Since the width for the ledger boards is only 6', if I put them 12" OC, I would need 6 2x10s. One would be on the back wall (could be mounted to the studs like a ledger board) and another facing out like a rim joist. That would leave 4 inside the frame attached with joist hangers to the 6' ledger boards on each end.

As for the joist facing the garage (rim joist), what would be the best way to attach this since I don't have posts in the corners? Would bolting into the ledger board work?

Thanks,
-Ryan