adding "attic" stairs to access a garage loft (PICS)

[thecoalman]

Those appear to be just 2*4's? If they are just 2*4's they really aren't suitable even for the weight of the sheetrock and the flooring. They make trusses out of 2*4's but it's a truss and even those aren't made for much weight on the floor/ceiling.



Take a string and go from the outside wall to the support in the middle, you undoubtedly have significant dip in the ceiling/floor if they are 2*4's.



That's not to say it can't be used by I'd probably leave path over the support bean and just put boxes on either side.

[karen_in_nh_2012]

Originally Posted by thecoalman

Those appear to be just 2*4's? If they are just 2*4's they really aren't suitable even for the weight of the sheetrock and the flooring. They make trusses out of 2*4's but it's a truss and even those aren't made for much weight on the floor/ceiling.

Take a string and go from the outside wall to the support in the middle, you undoubtedly have significant dip in the ceiling/floor if they are 2*4's.

That's not to say it can't be used by I'd probably leave path over the support bean and just put boxes on either side.

The picture is misleading -- they are at least 2x6's and maybe 2x8's (I couldn't get close enough to measure). And again, I will ONLY use the space for very lightweight stuff (like Christmas ornaments) -- no furniture or other heavy stuff up there! It would have made a nice exercise studio but I don't think my treadmill would work up there.

Clearly they put the flooring on for a reason, i.e. to USE the space for something. They definitely did the entire addition by the books (i.e. it was fully permitted and inspected), and this loft area was part of the addition, so hopefully it's OK ... the workers will be here in about 15 minutes (they just called) so I will know more once they start working!

=====
ETA: the guys just got here -- they looked at the framing of the opening and said "That's a hell of a beam." So I don't think they cut corners back in the late '70s when the original work was done!

[thecoalman]

Originally Posted by karen_in_nh_2012

and said "That's a hell of a beam." ....

That's what I thought when I saw it. Garage at my parents house is steel I beam that is about a foot high but I think the original owner may have been a mechanic and had intentions of using it. Ceiling is 2*4 though which makes it even more ridiculous.

[karen_in_nh_2012]

I have taken some seasonal "stuff" to the loft area -- the head space isn't much (although I'm only 5'3" so it's not too bad for me!) but the floor area is pretty large. I keep forgetting to take photos of the space up there -- will try to remember to do that the next time I take stuff up.

Here's a photo once the drop-down stairs were up ...



The beam that you see on the right runs the full width of my garage (3-car garage, about 30' wide); the window in the above photo is the side-yard window (to the right of the garage, looking at the garage from the front of the house).

Oh, the installers also installed a pulley system that I'd bought from amazon -- that's in the open space next to the loft stairs. (I'll take a photo soon!) I'll be installing railing (probably pipes & fittings) around the open area of the loft very soon.

Since the stairs were installed, I've also built a 4' wide by 7' long workbench nearby ...



Its 4' side is on the wall perpendicular to the loft stairs (see the window in the picture above? the loft stairs are in line with that window). The workbench's 7' side is long enough that I can put a large bin on it, then attach the bin to the pulley system, fill it, and lift it to the loft. Will have to take photos as this is probably hard to picture!

Oh, I am LOVING the workbench -- have already completed several projects that I should have done YEARS ago ...


That's 2 dining chairs (for my kitchen remodel), a 3-drawer modular unit (see next photo!), and a couple of wagons that will be filled with seasonal items and go on my front porch once that is built (that's a different thread!).

And here is the wall BEHIND the workbench (i.e., standing right underneath the drop-down stairs looking toward my back yard, the workbench is on the left, the window to my back yard is straight ahead, and these modular units are on the right-side wall) ...



The units are mostly 30x15 in various configurations; I also have a few 15x15's. I'll be adding plywood backs to them all (already cut into 30x15 sections -- just need to nail them), stacking them (with heavier ones, like the 3-drawer unit on the workbench, on the bottom), and screwing them to studs at the back -- probably don't NEED to do that but I might as well. I'll use them for tools, some gardening stuff, etc. I have enough space for 15-18 of the units (counting the 15x15 ones as 1/2 a unit), depending on how high I want to stack them.

Actually, here's a diagram to hopefully make sense of the space ...



It feels great to FINALLY be organizing my garage after 6-1/2 years in this house!