| Project by TD69Mustang | posted 06-08-2009 11:14 AM | 85343 views | 13 times favorited | 11 comments |  |
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This is a storage loft I built in our garage so I could free up some floor space.
Fortunately I have 14’ ceilings in our garage and that allowed me to build this convenient storage area for my wife’s decorating stuff.
The basic construction is 2×6, 5/8” osb and 5/8” ply. I didn’t want to have an outside corner post because it would interfere with the existing stairway, so I utilized the glulam beam (which is wrapped in drywall) to help support the loft.
I knew I wanted pull-down stairs but the big box stores didn’t have anything that would work.
I built the stairs to come down onto the landing of the existing stairs that go from the garage to the house. This allows my wife easy access to her stuff without having to move cars out of the garage. The hard part was trying to figure out how to allow the stairway to raise and lower easily. I tried and tried (unsuccessfully) to use pulleys and weights but it just wasn’t working. Then one night when I was in bed, I wasn’t able to sleep. So, I began to ponder my delima. Alas! I had a great Idea. My inspiration came from the garage door spring mechanism. I went down to a local garage door supplier and told them what I wanted to do. They promptly snickered at the idea but said they would be happy to sell me the parts.
It took a little time, but I got the spring tension and the cable mounting point just right. The spring has just enough tension on it that it holds the stairway up, when it is in the up position; but it can be easily pulled down. Once it is in the lowered position, the stairway has just enough weight to hold itself down. Surprisingly the stairway can be raised or lowered with one finger!!!
One last note… the stariway handrail was made so that when the stairway is in the raised position the top handrail newel post, provides a positive stop so that the bottom of the stairs doesn’t slam into the ceiling.
!
-- Imagine It... Build It... Enjoy It!
11 comments so far
Todd Thomas
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735 posts in 5397 days
posted 06-09-2009 10:26 AM
good job…looks very useful and a great idea…well done
-- Todd- Oak Ridge, TN
Splinterman
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81 posts in 5255 days
posted 06-13-2009 03:32 PM
Hey Screwge…......does not say much for the Pro’s when you can do a better job and cheaper…...well done.
a1Jim
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160 posts in 5104 days
posted 10-08-2009 01:51 AM
Great design and build super idea
-- a-1contractor.com
Sarit
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7 posts in 5014 days
posted 01-06-2010 04:27 AM
Are there going to be any code violations for drilling into the glue lam and hanging stuff off of it?
I know if its the type that has a cross section that looks like the letter “I” you can’t do anything to the top or bottom portions.
TD69Mustang
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5 posts in 5240 days
posted 02-01-2010 08:06 PM
It’s a Glue lam… not an engineered wood I-beam.
If there were holes drilled through the beam (which there aren’t)... That could potentially be a code violation and a safety hazzard.
16D Framing nails were used to connect the supports to the beam and 6 – 2” lag screws for the stair pulley assembly.
The additional “dead load” that was added to the beam is so negligible that I’m not concerned in the least.
-- Imagine It... Build It... Enjoy It!
hbhjalt
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2 posts in 4094 days
posted 09-12-2012 10:23 AM
Great job.
fredrodriguez88
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posted 11-29-2012 09:30 AM
What a great innovation! I think everyone needs such an addition not only to their garage, but to any other parts of their home. Extra storage is always a benefit no matter how much or how little the stuff you have in your house. However, I wish to know how heavy can the new storage space hold and whether there is any warranty of some sort for the various parts you bought that you assembled yourself. Thanks for sharing this wonderful idea!
-- Fred Segal - http://www.metzlerhomebuilders.com
BillyJ
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253 posts in 5154 days
posted 11-30-2012 02:23 AM
Great job thinking out of the box on the pull-down stairs. I really like the fact they end on top of the garage stair.
Okay, you’ve solved the problem of having the stairs slam, you now need to put a garage door opener so it can be remotely lowered as your wife is walking out of the house. Use a hands-free pad activating switch so she will not have to stop and put the boxes down. :)
Awesome.
-- No matter how many times I measure, I always forget the dimensions before I cut.
MelBrandle
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24 posts in 3213 days
posted 01-15-2015 06:53 AM
It is always good to build storage lofts or portable storage that you could hoist (must be stable!) to your ceiling that could free up floor space. Usually, you should consider in your garage, but try to put it on top where your cars are not parked under it. This way, you avoid anything dropping and damaging your car/s.
-- Mel Brandle, https://www.supereasystorage.com.au/locations/adelaide/
AMQR
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2 posts in 3024 days
posted 06-19-2015 10:49 AM
I wanted to do similar garage loft design, that was great!!
Do you know of somebody that can do that job for me?
Thanks
webbrowan
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6 posts in 2746 days
posted 03-23-2016 05:38 AM
This idea is simply ingenious. I have fully utilized almost every inch of the wall space of my garage but I still need all the space I could get. There are more things in there apart from our car which we would like to stow away to prevent the car from sustaining any facial damages. The ceiling would be the perfect location for all of the knick-knacks to get concealed away from sight for good.