Build a small loft in my garage?

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Badfish740

Minister of Fire
Oct 3, 2007
1,539
I have an attached garage about 14' x 25'. Since its so long and we never park the cars in it anyway (it serves as my heated indoor work area) I was thinking of putting up a loft in the back corner. It can't go all the way across because the access door to the house is there which is higher (the garage is on a slab, house is on a full foundation), so that creates an issue of support. I was going to attach 2x6 ledgers to each wall with lag bolts in each stud (the garage is 16" OC) and then run 2x6 joists across the short span (8 feet) 16" OC. Basically I'm not concerned about the strength of the platform itself, but rather the one unsupported corner. I could put a post there (not sure how I would secure it to the floor though-angle brackets and Tapcons maybe?), but if I didn't, I would be able to pull my Toyota Pickup in if need be as the hood or bed would clear underneath of the loft, but with the post there it would be a no go. My other thought was to create a really strong beam that would run between the two walls (14' span) from 3 2x10s sandwiched together that could support the corner load. I would have to make sure that either end was very well supported though and I'm not sure how I would do that. I did a quick sketchup drawing that illustrates things a little better than I'm explaining probably:

Loft.jpg


Any ideas?
 
Bolt it to studs and put a jack stud under it.
 
I'm no carpenter or anything, but maybe you could suspend that one corner from the ceiling rafters above using 2x4s or maybe a metal rod of some sort. How high is the loft off the ground?
 
What if you put the post closer to the steps and have the joists for the platform cantilever over the header you make, say 2' or so. The post could actually double as part of a railing for the steps. I would also consider using joist hangers on the ledger board on that back wall. Good Luck.
 
What is the "purpose" of this loft. Light storage? A bed for when your in the dog house? Storage for engine blocks??
 
Jack Straw said:
What if you put the post closer to the steps and have the joists for the platform cantilever over the header you make, say 2' or so. The post could actually double as part of a railing for the steps. I would also consider using joist hangers on the ledger board on that back wall. Good Luck.

Great idea-I never thought of cantilevering! The 2' would give me enough room to park the truck inside and more than enough room for my wife's car. I'll definitely be using joist hangers on the ledger.

Jags said:
What is the "purpose" of this loft. Light storage? A bed for when your in the dog house? Storage for engine blocks??

Er...some combination of all three. No seriously, we're not talking about massive amounts of weight. Christmas lights/decorations, out of season clothes, luggage, and other stuff that is currently stored in the dark, hard to access, hard to navigate (keep your feet on the ceiling joists!) attic. Probably a 100 gallon air compressor one of these days too (I always liked the idea of moving them up and out of the way), but they're not all that heavy. Underneath will be my new "tool crib" ;) I think 2x6 floor joists will be plenty-they'll only be spanning 8'.
 
Cantilever and then on the corner, use stingers up to the roof rafters. That will hold anything that you have just mentioned.
 
Jags said:
Cantilever and then on the corner, use stingers up to the roof rafters. That will hold anything that you have just mentioned.


Only if you have "rafters" I wouldn't tie into trusses ( just my 2c)
 
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