# Building Garage overhead Storage



## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

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


----------



## swenard (Aug 7, 2009)

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


----------



## Gary in WA (Mar 11, 2009)

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 (Aug 7, 2009)

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 (Mar 11, 2009)

"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 (Aug 7, 2009)

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 (Mar 11, 2009)

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 (Aug 7, 2009)

GBR in WA said:


> 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 (Mar 11, 2009)

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


----------



## swenard (Aug 7, 2009)

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


----------



## Gary in WA (Mar 11, 2009)

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 (Jan 23, 2012)

swenard said:


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


Just reading now. Did you ever get this done?


----------



## ragman1171 (Jan 23, 2012)

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/building-an-overhead-garage-storage-shelf/index.html


----------



## AndyGump (Sep 26, 2010)

Try starting a new thread on this.

Andy.


----------



## ragman1171 (Jan 23, 2012)

I thought about doing that, but didn't want to be "that guy" jams up the board with multiple threads about the same topic. I'll do that tho. Thanks!


----------

