# pull down ceiling storage



## Bondo (Dec 8, 2007)

What is Above this Ceiling,..??..??

It sounds like an admiral Idea,...... But not very Practical.....


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## crimsonalucard (Jan 23, 2008)

empty space is above the ceiling. It's not even an attic cuz their's no flooring or anything. 

and you're right, it's not practical at all for most people.

The reason why I want to do it, is because I like the minimalist designs I see in magazines and pictures. Unfortunately, I have a lot of junk, gadgets and random stuff I like to be able to access conveniently which sort of conflicts with the whole minimalist design thing. If I store all my stuff in shelves that drop down from the ceiling, bam! problem solved.

Also, I got this idea after looking at my table. I don't really need my table every time I'm in the house, plus it makes the house look smaller because it takes up space, why don't I have the thing drop down from the ceiling with spring loaded inverted legs? Same with my bed... I don't need my bed during the day, it's taking up space... why not shove it up the ceiling? 

All those racks and tables that fold into the walls work, but I have no room inside my walls, plus all the stuff I put on my table must be taken off before I fold it, and all the stuff on my rack must be hinged or hooked onto it or it will fall off if it's folded into a wall. If i'm doing some sort of project on a table and I suddenly need a break, I can shove the whole thing into the ceiling and go take a nap or whatever then comeback later pull the table down and start instantly where I left off.

plus I swear I seen this somewhere before, probably in a movie, and it was quite cool. 

Anyway back to the topic:Anyone know where I can get springs/suspension/ or dampeners that are required for this sort of device? and if so what are these things called?


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## Bondo (Dec 8, 2007)

> empty space is above the ceiling. It's not even an attic cuz their's no flooring or anything.


Ayuh,..... I guess you're missing my point,....

There has to be some sort of Structure up there to support the Ceiling,+ then to support the Roof......

If you start cutting Holes in it,.... The Support has to come from Somewhere.......

Due to the fact that your Idea is Soo off the wall,.....


> Anyway back to the topic:Anyone know where I can get springs/suspension/ or dampeners that are required for this sort of device? and if so what are these things called?


You're going to have to Design,+ Create it Yourself.......


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## tigerbalm2424 (Feb 28, 2007)

Once you have figured out your supports for all this added weight, buy a couple of linear actuators and attach it to a vertical rail system, add a switch or some smarts in a PWB and presto. I did something very similar for an engineering project back in college. :wink: It would actually be quite easy if you make the shelf or structure fit in between the trusses. Just verify and calculate out the loads before building, wouldnt want the whole house coming down:no:

Note: Just realized you want this to extend all the way down to the floor....linear actuators are out unless....you use some pretty advanced linkages. Better hire an engineer!


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## skeeter_ca (Jan 14, 2008)

Cool idea,

I think it would work great out in the garage. Be cool to be able to retract shelving into the lofts when not needed. 

Crimson, 
maybe you should design something and patent it. Might make alittle $$$.

skeeter


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## tigerbalm2424 (Feb 28, 2007)

skeeter_ca said:


> Cool idea,
> 
> I think it would work great out in the garage. Be cool to be able to retract shelving into the lofts when not needed.
> 
> ...


 
Shelving would be easy if you just want it to drop down a cabinet or two with power tools or something but beds and tables are a different story. Extra garage space is HUGE to us homeowners:thumbup:


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## DIYtestdummy (Jan 16, 2008)

Right, I've seen this done in garages. You'd have to design it yourself, and like Mister Ayuh said the support has to come from somewhere. Definitely custom.

I was thinking of doing some sort of "Murphy" system to utilize the wasted space in the roof slant of my toolshed. There's no crime in being creative, just don't kill anybody.


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## tigerbalm2424 (Feb 28, 2007)

Offshoot patented.

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6336692.html

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5203619.html


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## crimsonalucard (Jan 23, 2008)

Thanks for the responses guys.

"There has to be some sort of Structure up there to support the Ceiling,+ then to support the Roof......"

I was thinking of using the horizontal wooden beams. If that's not sufficient for handling the load, I'll learn/find out about adding more support. 

"Right, I've seen this done in garages. You'd have to design it yourself, and like Mister Ayuh said the support has to come from somewhere. Definitely custom."

Designing it and creating it myself is okay, it's just where would I find the parts to build this type of thing, what process do I have to go through to design it.. and if I had to fabricate the parts myself... how would I do it? For example where would I get a custom spring? 

Also does anyone know any good books to handle the mathematics behind this type of thing? A textbook on statics probably isn't sufficient, I need a book that has a lot of specific info on practical stuff as well.


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## sestivers (Aug 10, 2007)

What if instead of using linkages and dampers, you used a cable and pulley system?


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## steve1234 (Sep 13, 2007)

take a look at the mechanism on a double hung window....cables and pulleys. A friction source will prevent the crashing. Definetely not something you will find on aisle 5 at a big box store


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## CalMvl (Jan 30, 2008)

"Murphy beds" fold up into a wall. And what keeps the bedding on them when they fold?

Garage door kits require side rails.

I remember on Star Trek and other sci-fi TV of 50 years ago, and up until today, all doors slide sideways into walls. A neat techie effect, but 50 years later we still find such doors a rarity. And impractical.

To hide clutter, you need cabinets with doors on the front. And an old-fashioned roll-top desk.


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

after pushing ideas in and out of my head on this thread, (also considering if this might be a practical thing for my packrat wife) i've come up with a couple ways how i might do the same thing. you certainly should consider going in between the joists only, not only for safety, but ease of installation too! and once you've established a way to work on it up there, and support it when done, how about 
A: a 'truck bumper winch' which already has a switch to operate it. (needs to be reversible, of course) with 12v adapter or 
B: study up on how dumbwaiters are installed, might adapt the knowhow there to this or
C: a remote garage door opener motor might be adapted to serve this purpose. (chain drive, not screw i should think with pully wheels as suggested above) i really like the idea though, now to find the right spot to put it..... heh heh

DM


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

dangit, now you've got me thinking i can hang a bed from the ceiling with cables and just have it go up into the ceiling in the A.M. i'd better not mention this thread to the wife just yet...........

DM


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

pocket doors impractical? not to me! i have the first one in already, and plan on 3 more! they save a great deal of room. i'm spoiled on Johnson PD frame kits too, by far the best out there i've found. hmmm, now i'm thinking how i can make a voice activated retraction drive on the doors! stop me now! 

DM


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## jtarleton (Feb 28, 2011)

I've been following this discussion and have similar thoughts of creating a pulldown row of pantry shelfs from the ceiling. Creating a dropdown between the ceiling joists would work and a manual counterbalance/spring device seems the most practical. I personally dislike installing an electrical device into an attic area seeing as how the motors will eventually will wear out. Getting back into a crawl space to replace motors and the like doesn't interest me.
Seems to me that you could engineer or maybe will have to engineer a solution to this because each area you would place this pulldown would have different dimensions. 
Finally it seems to me that a reengineering of a garage door trac/opening hardware would probably work. A garage door is typically (single wide) about 12-14 feet wide. Shorten that to 4-8 feet attach some counter weights depending upon the weight of the shelving and what would be placed on the shelving and you might have something that might work. The important thing, in my mind is to use off the shelf (homedepot) hardware to keep cost within reason.
What do you think?


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