How can I tell if the garage ceiling of my 30 year old house is strong enough to support an overhead lumber storage rack? I would like to utilize the small 7″ space between my single piece garage door and the ceiling to store 5 sheets of storm protection plywood (about 250#). I plan to use 4 rows of 3/4″ o.d. pipe spaced 18″ apart for support. The pipes would be inserted into plywood holders that are bolted to some steel angle; the steel angle strips would be lag-bolted to the ceiling.
The design is similar to the attached article but uses small strips of 24 ga steel angle (1.25 x 1.25 inches) instead of the 2×2 wooden rails on the ceiling and only 4 rows of 3/4 pipe instead of 6. The design in the article is also not wide enough for ply sheets.
Will this be safe enough to hold the wood? The ceiling joists look strong enough to support more than just the door but I’m not sure. I want this to be safe, and I need the floor space for a lathe.
Thanks for the feedback,
Brian
Replies
do you have trusses or site built rafters? larry
hand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
There are site built rafters - the roof over the garage is gabled but I don't see trusses in the attic.
someone will come along and know how to figure load.my thoughts are that it is probably to much weight for the ceiling. what happens is you start with 5 sheets then throw a couple cut offs up there and so on.is there anyway that you can get a rack on the sidewall? if you decide to do the ceiling thing would stay as tight against a wall as possible ,instead of in the center. make sure your car insurance is paid. larryhand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
250# is about what a fat azz weighs... like me holding a 25lb. weight. Chances are, you are probably somewhere near that number too... give or take a few pounds. Easiest way to check is to climb up there and see for yourself.
250# is not alot of weight, especially if you can spread it out over a few mount points. If you can spread it out over four places, each one only holds 65lbs.
If the beams that hold the ceiling up don't seem strong enough, you could tie them to the rafters above (making a basterized truss) to distribute the load.
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
I don't think you should have a problem with this, but neither do I see any mention of what you now have fror ceiling jopists/rafter ties. This, or the bottom chord of trusses is what would be suspending the load for you, so we need to know what that is now and how long opf a free span it is.
Also curious why 18" OC instead of 16" Typo ? or is that what the current roof/ceining layout is?
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