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I just bought a new/old house with a 900 sq ft garage. Yay! I want to put a few light things in the attic above the garage. The trusses are on 24 inch centers. I am not worried about sag, but it has to support my weight, about 200 pounds. I am thinking 1/2 inch plywood. I will probably...

I know an artist who rents garage space from homeowners in the area. I think that he rents three or four garages, each dedicated to a different type of work. These garages are probably small detached garages, I would guess. Then you could live in an apartment, and save money that could go to...

I would consider a flat or semi-flat roof, which should be the maximum inside space relative to the outside height. The flat trusses would be 28 feet long, about 2 feet deep. That would allow you to have a large garage door without worrying about structural issues, as the load bearing walls...

You are drilling 1 inch holes in a 14 inch joist. The holes are less than 10% of the size of the joist. Generally, the maximum stress on a joist should be mid-span, not near the ends. Should be fine. It is always best to drill close to the centerline, away from the top and bottom, which...

Build or buy a large box or cabinet and put a heater in it. Why heat the whole garage to protect a few cans of paint? My new place has a crawl space rather than a basement, so the latex paint will go down there. I have a 220V space heater that works pretty well in my one car garage, but I...

The web page below shows a 2 psi pressure drop at 25 scfm in 100 feet of 3/4 inch line. 25 scfm is a lot, probably double what an average 60 gallon compressore can put out. https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/pressure-drop-compressed-air-pipes-d_852.html I have heard somewhere that...

Costco has pallet rack rated for 2000 pounds per shelf, roughly 6 foot by 6 foot by 2 feet, four shelves, for less than $200. They have wire decks; if you want to put smaller things on them, put thin plywood over the wire deck. It is the best deal that I have found. Most other shelving is...

I did not find similar load tables for H beams, sometimes called Wide-Flange beams. What I did see looked like a 12 inch H beam, 26 pounds per lineal feet, about 6 inch wide flanges, would work for the center beam. You could use lighter 12 inch beams for the other beams. This page shows how...

Your current compressor, and any 115V compressor, is way too small for sandblasting. For the rest of the uses it would be fine. You want to go 240 volts, and have 15 to 25 amps rating on the motor. Compressor horsepower ratings are fantasy, look at the amps on the motor.

The suggestion to "sister" the joist, put a new joist right next to the old one, is a good one. If desired, you could bolt the two joints together, but even nailing might be good enough. As far as how far to jack it, I suggest that you put a level upstairs, and let the level be your guide. I...

Do not use car antifreeze, toxic. Use RV antifreeze, non-toxic.

OK, let's take my calculations above at face value. 40 pounds per square foot should work fine, if you don't put a hot tub up there. The center columns will have 9000 pounds load each, while the corner columns will have half that load, about 4500 pounds. 9000 pounds divided by 1500 lbs/ft2...

I would describe what you are doing is building a mezzanine inside an existing building with a tall ceiling. 23 feet clear inside would make that easy. If that is the peak of the roof, measured on the outside, you may not have enough headroom. If you put in enough columns you will not need...

10 cfm is plenty if you are just going to run a ratchet occasionally. You may not need that much. Tell us what tools you are going to run. Does the 10 cfm unit keep up now? If the only problem with the current unit is that it puts out a lot of water, run the air through 30 or 50 feet of...

I think that your sketches are of your proposed new arrangement, but I did not see a sketch of what you have today. Not sure where the house is located relative to this large slab, or where the driveway is. Realistically, you should sketch up a couple of options, and then figure out the cost...

I am with lakeroadster. A bad plan. Trusses and welds both an issue. If you want a beam trolly, buy a H-beam for the trolly, long enough to meet your needs. You could then use the shorter pieces you have already to make a support structure, bolted to the floor. Splicing I-beams is a...

A few comments: Sometimes I use an air brush, and that is when I had trouble with a cough. The air brush really atomizes the paint, so it hangs in the air. Lots of overspray. I like the idea of a folding paint booth, thanks. That makes a lot of sense for something that would only be used...

I was not sure what forum to post this on, but here goes. Anyone have any suggestions for a simple small spray booth? One that would be more or less sparkproof, for safety? This is not something that I would use often, but the last time I sprayed, I coughed for days, even with a respirator...

Horsepower ratings for compressors are fantasy numbers, to be ignored. The motor amps are probably the best indication of horsepower. I would note that the unit that draws fewer amps claims more cfm, which seems unlikely. I am not a fan of any 110V compressor, they will not run sanders or...

When I priced fiber optics, the prices were prohibitive. The various WIFI solutions would be much more cost effective, and also avoid increasing your risk from lightning hits. Fiber optics would only be appealing if you did not have line of sight between your house and garage. Lightning...