My DIY Attic Lift Video

Milzo · Jan 20, 2014

Built a 1.5 car garage just for my toys about 2 years ago. When i built it I had girder trusses made so i could create a clearspan opening of 36" x 60" for the attic lift i planned to build. I finally this year made the time to build the lift so i can store large items in my attic and out of my work area. Some pics and videos below.

Video

alecmcmahon · Jan 20, 2014

awesome!

what sort of weight can it hold?

Milzo · Jan 20, 2014

thanks!

lift is rated at 880lbs. i will never need to lift anymore than 200 which is what my snowblower weights

upndown · Jan 20, 2014

Nice! Looks like it does the trick.. :thumbup:

PCMusicGuy · Jan 20, 2014

I thought about doing one like that but can't afford to give up the wall space. My garage is stupid tiny as is. I'll likely try and use the Versa Attic Lift if it can be installed in a reasonable place.

Dan in Pasadena · Jan 20, 2014

Milzo,

Very nicely done. Are those just Unistruts on the wall to serve as guides? I assume you built this system, didn't buy it commercially? If som what brand and model is the lift itself?

One detail I'd be interested in seeng is how the attachments to the trusses work?

Also, after reading the posts here I looked up Versa Attic Lifts and see they start at about $1800. What kind of money do you think you have ******* in your system?

bmxdukie · Jan 20, 2014

Incredible!

Milzo · Jan 20, 2014

Dan in Pasadena said:
Milzo,

Very nicely done. Are those just Unistruts on the wall to serve as guides? I assume you built this system, didn't buy it commercially? If som what brand and model is the lift itself?

One detail I'd be interested in seeng is how the attachments to the trusses work?

Also, after reading the posts here I looked up Versa Attic Lifts and see they start at about $1800. What kind of money do you think you have ******* in your system?

Yes those are unistrut tracks, yes i built it all. Its a harbor freight 880lb hoist. On the backside of the frame are 4 two wheel trolleys that ride inside the unistrut. I used 4 superstrut brackets with 1/2" all thread to support the unistrut track the hoist rests on. The L brackets are lag screwed with 1/2 lag screws 2 per bracket. I plan to gusset the L brackets. I have about $350 in it total. I can get more detailed info if you want it just ask.

larry4406 · Jan 20, 2014

Nice build.

Would be cool if the platform tilted 90 degrees to be flush with the wall when not in use. Could recover the floor space then with roll around equipment.

lessersivad · Jan 20, 2014

larry4406 said:
Nice build.

Would be cool if the platform tilted 90 degrees to be flush with the wall when not in use. Could recover the floor space then with roll around equipment.

Couldn't it simply be lifted to clear the floor space?

Milzo · Jan 20, 2014

originally i planned to make it so the platform was on hinges but after seeing the cost of load bearing hinges i changed my mind. I will store the platform up in the attic so no floor space is compromised in the garage

87jeepwrangler · Jan 20, 2014

I'm all for overkill, and in fact I'm building a hoist system in my garage using some of the same parts, but why not run the cable as a straight pull instead of looped back on itself? The winch is rated at 800+ lbs and therefore over 400 single pull. It will double your line speed.

Also, I'd think if your welds are good, you could easily ditch those chains which are definitely in the way. If nothing else, put a small gusset in the corner if you are still concerned. Just saying.

Looks awesome though.

ADSR · Jan 20, 2014

I love the lift, but the roof not lining up with the other roof with one continuous gutter would drive me crazy.

va944 · Jan 20, 2014

Great freight lift. I am interested in more details for parts attaching points etc. thanks for posting

C96 · Jan 21, 2014

87jeepwrangler said:
ditch those chains which are definitely in the way. If nothing else, put a small gusset in the corner if you are still concerned. Just saying.

Very nice, looks super clean. I like the way you kept the red color scheme. :thumbup:

2 things though, as much as I like it, I agree with 87jeepwrangler about ditching the chains and welding in some corner gussets. The other is, I didn’t see your bed up in the attic….LOL :lol_hitti

Bearkat · Jan 21, 2014

Looks great. Would you provide a link to the wheels that are inside the unistrut or at least a picture. Thanks

Milzo · Jan 21, 2014

87jeepwrangler said:
I'm all for overkill, and in fact I'm building a hoist system in my garage using some of the same parts, but why not run the cable as a straight pull instead of looped back on itself? The winch is rated at 800+ lbs and therefore over 400 single pull. It will double your line speed.

The way i set it up the cable would be slightly off center if it wasn't looped back up so i will just leave it looped.

Also, I'd think if your welds are good, you could easily ditch those chains which are definitely in the way. If nothing else, put a small gusset in the corner if you are still concerned. Just saying.

Looks awesome though.

Yea i probably could. I have turnbuckles on the chain so i can easily remove the chain to roll stuff off it onto the attic floor.

LORDDiESEL said:
I love the lift, but the roof not lining up with the other roof with one continuous gutter would drive me crazy.

I wasn't a big fan of the frieze not lining up from garage to garage either but i had to have a taller plate height to fit the LVL header and the 9ft garage door. I needed a 9ft door to get my enclosed trailer in there.

va944 said:
Great freight lift. I am interested in more details for parts attaching points etc. thanks for posting

Pm me your email address and i will send you my sketches and a parts list + any additional info you need

C96 said:
Very nice, looks super clean. I like the way you kept the red color scheme.

2 things though, as much as I like it, I agree with 87jeepwrangler about ditching the chains and welding in some corner gussets. The other is, I didn’t see your bed up in the attic….LOL

Thanks Yea i am a geek when it comes to stuff matching. The chains aren't pretty but i am keeping them for now. I might just take them off and only put them on when moving a heavy load.

Jim B · Jan 21, 2014

That's a really slick lift. How about posting the parts list for the unistrut track system. I'm sure there are a bunch of us that would be interested.

St-rider · Jan 21, 2014

very nice. did you have a man door on the side before you built the addition?

pm'd you with a question

Strouty · Jan 21, 2014

PCMusicGuy said:
I thought about doing one like that but can't afford to give up the wall space. My garage is stupid tiny as is. I'll likely try and use the Versa Attic Lift if it can be installed in a reasonable place.

You could do one in the middle with cables, those seem to work well and you wouldn't lose any wall space.

Milzo · Jan 21, 2014

St-rider said:
very nice. did you have a man door on the side before you built the addition?

pm'd you with a question

Sure did. The plan was to build a 2 car but i lost about 7x12 to my wife :lol_hitti

. The old laundry room was between the 3 car garage and kitchen and my wife hated walking through it or having guests come through it. So I built a new laundry room inside the garage and converted the old laundry room into a mudroom. Now visitors can come in the back door and into a mudroom and the laundry room is behind closed door.

This is the new laundry room i framed in the garage.

This is the old laundry room and that doorway & hall leads to the new laundry room. That is a mudroom bench with cubbies & coat hooks that hasn't been painted yet.

Here is a shot of the framed attic with the trusses designed for a clearspan opening for the lift

Milzo · Jan 21, 2014

Gotten a few PM's for more info so here is a basic material list of what i used to build the lift.

Lift frame
1"x2"x.125" wall rectangular tubing about 30ft total
2 pcs of 20' Unistrut P100HS
4 unistrut trolleys http://www.mcmaster.com/#strut-channel-systems/=qcqae0
1 -5/16" u-bolt
4 - 5/16" eye bolts
2 - 30" chain lengths
2 - turnbuckles

880lb Harbor Freight hoist
1 -3ft leftover piece of unistrut
4 - L Strut Brackets
4 - Pcs of 1/2" Threaded rods
12 - 1/2" nuts
8 - 1/2" washers

ADSR · Jan 21, 2014

Thanks for the parts list, Milzo!

Jim B · Jan 22, 2014

+1 ^^^

James_B · Jan 22, 2014

Great idea. Thanks for the parts list. Haven't played with Unistrut since I left work 14 years ago, but I loved the stuff when I was using it regularly.

jdub63 · Jan 30, 2014

I like it! I'm going to ditch my retractable stairs and install this setup...

TractorJeff · Jan 30, 2014

Its too simple!
I like it!
Will definitely keep this idea tucked away in the back of my mind!

JakeKohl · Jan 31, 2014

jdub63 said:
I like it! I'm going to ditch my retractable stairs and install this setup...

YOU still need to get up there though...and I wouldn't recommend riding on something like this that doesn't have redundant mechanical configurations that personnel lifts do. This has several single point failure locations (the cable, several winch components, the cart platform, etc.) - which is fine for transporting goods...but not for people. You still need the stairs.

Milzo · Feb 3, 2014

JakeKohl said:
YOU still need to get up there though...and I wouldn't recommend riding on something like this that doesn't have redundant mechanical configurations that personnel lifts do. This has several single point failure locations (the cable, several winch components, the cart platform, etc.) - which is fine for transporting goods...but not for people. You still need the stairs.

yea i agree my friend did ride mine up just to see how it would do but never again will mine be ridden on. I had thought of making the controller longer so it would reach the garage floor but decided not to because by leaving it up in the attic i will be out of danger's way if something were to fail or fall off the lift.

3v0 · Feb 3, 2014

Milzo I like your lift. I have one to access storage above an interior room in my shop. Mine uses wood tracks and 4 garage door rollers in metal conduit axles. It has lifted about 200 lbs would not want to go much more.

There is also a fixture I can attach to the bottom to lift lawn mowers to working height.

My cost was the winch and 4 garage door rollers as I had the wood and conduit on hand.

EDIT: the loft is over a sewing room for my wife and a larger bathroom for me with a shower.

PCMusicGuy · Feb 5, 2014

Where did you find 20' pieces of unistrut?

PCMusicGuy · Mar 18, 2014

How the heck did you mount the unistrut to the wall without the trolleys hitting the mounting hardware?

AndyCFI · Mar 24, 2014

Jason,

That is very cool. Also, I am practically your neighbor. I live in Strongsville. Nice garage!

Andy

Milzo · Mar 30, 2014

PCMusicGuy said:
Where did you find 20' pieces of unistrut?

Unistrut cleveand

PCMusicGuy said:
How the heck did you mount the unistrut to the wall without the trolleys hitting the mounting hardware?

I used lag screws and centered them perfectly in the channel, the trolley passes right by with no contact.

AndyCFI said:
Jason,

That is very cool. Also, I am practically your neighbor. I live in Strongsville. Nice garage!

Andy

Thanks Andy!

Fyrme · Mar 30, 2014

Nice job! It looks like getting the snowblower off the lift once in the attic would be difficult due to the chains, wall, and frame. Or am I looking at it wrong?

Milzo · Mar 31, 2014

Fyrme said:
Nice job! It looks like getting the snowblower off the lift once in the attic would be difficult due to the chains, wall, and frame. Or am I looking at it wrong?

its not ideal but its not too bad to get it off

87bob · Apr 8, 2015

I am very interested in all the details of your lift. Please send me the details. [email protected]. Thanks!

St-rider · Apr 8, 2015

87bob said:
I am very interested in all the details of your lift. Please send me the details. [email protected]. Thanks!

see post #22 for a parts list.

G19Tony · Apr 9, 2015

Nicely done! :thumbup:

bgarrett · Apr 9, 2015

Milzo said:

I have got to be missing something. Please tell me that you and your guests dont have to carry groceries and babies 50 feet from the driveway to the door of your house in the rain.

My DIY Attic Lift Video

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