making more storage in attic above garage (1 car garage build)

(1 car garage build) making more storage in attic above garage

I guess i will start at the beginning.
I bought this house (first house) over a year ago. I used to rent a 2000sq shop before so i had a lot of ****.
i ended up selling a lot (car lift, big compressor, bla bla)
being that this was our first house and living in SOCal our money didn't stretch very far

this is what it looked like when i bought the house (i have added a door to the house)


so this is what it looked like when i moved in.


bought some shelving to help put stuff away. largest items i had were a tubing bender, 4ft brake, sand blasting cab, and air compressor.
(garage is filthy as the house was a foreclosure and been redoing most of the house)


on the other side i added some stainless topped benches and some tool boxes. and got a good deal one some gladiator cabinets.


did can lighting above the benches and 3 sets of 2 4ft florescent lights on the ceiling. i love having lots of light


soo now i need more storage space. i need to bring a car into the garage to work on it (i used to work in the carport or driveway, but thanks to a ***** of a neighbor across the street, i am being told to stop working on cars or i will be fined from my wonderful HOA) so i decided to open up the attic ceiling to i can add some storage. i original put in a ladder setup but the space is small and a ***** to get stuff up there.

so this is what i have done so far.
in the is pic, you can see the storage shelf i made on the left side above the benches. i made it so i can fit a single bin.


now for the other side i should have much more room but i have this damn cross brace in the way. is this something i can remove? its just some 1x6 and only nailed with one small nail per joist. having it there is killing my space. the way i am building the floor is using metal hangers to lay cross wood then 1x6 wood across. all nailed in. figure that should be strong enough. and dont worry about the wires, i am going to re run them so they are out of the way. as i would also like to put a small winch up there so i can hoist up my portable table saw and maybe small welder to get them off the floor.



thanks for reading all this and any help would be great. or any comments

and since everybody loves pics. here are some of my projects i am currently working on.
my fj40 and a broed out 2wd toyota
pick of the fj40 i am working on. (currently looking for a 4link/3link setup for it, its on a toy pickup frame)


bro truck, running a total chaos long travel kit with 12" coilovers


yet another project, currently making it more tarded.


then my pride and joy
bad pick but you get the idea

First of all, nice work on a small space. I think that you can remove that 1-by without any problems. Next, if you haven't already done so, get a copy of the HOA rules and become very familiar with them. You might not be violating them, just one persons interpretation of them. But, you do need to know them in order to protect yourself.

Good luck

Ray

PS: Where in Southern CA are you?

i am in san diego, and yea, i am violating the rules i just love cars. it clearly says no working on cars, only emergency repairs. now i have talked to the HOA and they dont seem to care, but they have to take action when people complain and i have this old lady bitching every other day. they are also trying to get me to remove my welders (mig and tig) from the premises. that one is a bit fish, as there is a snippet about no machinery or equipment that isnt ordinary for a house. which is very vague. but hoping the old lady passes away shortly but in the mean time i need to finish stuff and having more floor space is always nice to have.

so whats the reason for that 1x? i am also isolating the back wall (shared double wall with attached neighbor) and going to put up a wall to separate the attic from the rest of the house.

San Diego??? We are looking at a home out in Santee. Currently live in the Central Valley, but used to live in Allied Gardens and then Poway.

I think the 1x was used to keep the rafters/joists from shifting as they were installed, but I'm not sure.....

As to the welders etc. who is to say what is "normal" for a house? If you ask here, you'll find that there is a lot of equipment that is considered "normal." Anyone have any woodworking equipment in their garages? Or other "home hobby" stuff? Why should they be allowed to enjoy their hobbies while you are precluded from yours?

Ray

lol oh i know. HOA has been fun three people got letters about this kind of stuff and all three of us are all around the lady on the corner. but like i said, its fine. I need to get my stuff better setup anyways.

Just sneak over in the middle of the night and super glue all her doors shut and cut her phone lines no more contact with the HOA LOL.


Rick

That 1x6 was put in place to hold the trusses while being set in place. You can remove them without causing problems.

sweet, i guess i will pull those out so i can finish up that area.

thanks for the help.

welders can be bought at home depot and lowes
pretty standard stuff

I have Bport mill and 2 lathes in my garage. I guess they wouldnt like that

bob

yea, and sure they arnt going to like the new cnc router i am buying lol. but with all this added floor space it will help a lot now.

I had a run in several years ago with my HOA. I wanted to put a driveway around to the backyard, and install a garage door into my walk out basement. No way.

So my second attempt was to install a wide SIDEWALK and a larger access DOOR on the back, no problem. Oddly, the sidewalk looks a lot like a driveway, and the access door looks a lot like a garage door.....

thrifty bill said:

I had a run in several years ago with my HOA. I wanted to put a driveway around to the backyard, and install a garage door into my walk out basement. No way.

So my second attempt was to install a wide SIDEWALK and a larger access DOOR on the back, no problem. Oddly, the sidewalk looks a lot like a driveway, and the access door looks a lot like a garage door.....

Click to expand...

Wording has lot to do with it


I also think if it can be bought at the depot or lowes its standard house ****

Ray-CA said:

San Diego??? We are looking at a home out in Santee. Currently live in the Central Valley, but used to live in Allied Gardens and then Poway.

I think the 1x was used to keep the rafters/joists from shifting as they were installed, but I'm not sure.....

As to the welders etc. who is to say what is "normal" for a house? If you ask here, you'll find that there is a lot of equipment that is considered "normal." Anyone have any woodworking equipment in their garages? Or other "home hobby" stuff? Why should they be allowed to enjoy their hobbies while you are precluded from yours?

Ray

Click to expand...

I know some people in Santee. They live on some huge freaking hill

Paranoid - I was mulling that same storage idea in my head (I have a 2 car) as my wife has tons of those plastic tubs with "decorations (ie ****)" that ends up in my garage.

What was your plan for the open part of the ceiling? Just leave it open? I would want it to look more finished. And was thinking I could put doors (sliding) on the sides to hide the plastic totes and then somehow finish off the exposed area. The problem is getting rid of the joists. If they could be cut out and the roof supported in another manner, then I could clean up the open area. It would be like a cathedral ceiling in the garage. In your case, you could mount the winches way up.

I am surprised the HOA is giving you **** if everything is in the garage. Now the vehicles in the driveway can be an issue, but close the garage door and they cannot tell you what you can have in your garage or house. They are typically run (HOA's) by old people with nothing better to do with their time and gives themselves a little power trip. No offense to anyone on the board, just stating some experiences that I have had. "Results may vary HOA to HOA"

so a little work done. ended up using some toung/groove 20ft boards to wall up the back wall. i also used some of the left over insulation to help keep noise down to my neighbors house.
kinda a odd pic, but its of the back wall. i ran out of boards lol.


and how the flooring is coming along. i am going to paint everything white so to help reflect some light to make sure its bright enough.

PDACPA said:

Paranoid - I was mulling that same storage idea in my head (I have a 2 car) as my wife has tons of those plastic tubs with "decorations (ie ****)" that ends up in my garage.

What was your plan for the open part of the ceiling? Just leave it open? I would want it to look more finished. And was thinking I could put doors (sliding) on the sides to hide the plastic totes and then somehow finish off the exposed area. The problem is getting rid of the joists. If they could be cut out and the roof supported in another manner, then I could clean up the open area. It would be like a cathedral ceiling in the garage. In your case, you could mount the winches way up.

I am surprised the HOA is giving you **** if everything is in the garage. Now the vehicles in the driveway can be an issue, but close the garage door and they cannot tell you what you can have in your garage or house. They are typically run (HOA's) by old people with nothing better to do with their time and gives themselves a little power trip. No offense to anyone on the board, just stating some experiences that I have had. "Results may vary HOA to HOA"

Click to expand...

yea, i was thinking of a way to finish off with door. as i agree, would make it much cleaner. so its not off the table, but not sure when.

also, i cant get ride of the joists. making a vaulted ceiling would be killer, but would need to spend much more money having somebody design all that. then i would need to get permission from the HOA and permits and all that. this is much simpler and will give me what i want.

and the HOA is only giving me **** about me working on cars in my driveway or carport. i am trying to make room so i can bring a car into the garage so they cant see. then they would have nothing to ***** about

So with the ceiling open the garage gets hot as hell. living in so cal, i am not sure what i should do. so i am going to put tough and groove over the roof joists but what type of insulation should i use? can i just fill the 4" cavity? or do i need to leave a space? i need to double check but i dont think the eves are vented. at least on that wall. or should i do foam insulation and leave a 2" gap above it for air flow?

I needed some storage space above my garage too. I had similar scenario. I put insulation down, sheeted the floor. Then to really free it up, I put in a "pony wall" or bracing under each truss where the gussets were. Then I cut out the cross braces. Really freed up some space.

Just as a mig welder is a 'normal' tool for you, so is the 'walker' for your lady friend.

I'm a firm believer in 'quality of life'.....and it works both ways.....

Wait it out.....you have more years left on your body than she does....

Sounds like the Old Lady needs attention. Maybe you and her other "victims" can team up and take her shopping or otherwise befriend her and give her some self-esteem.

Check the loading of those trusses. Most only are designed for 20 #/ft. With the weight of the flooring you are probably closer than you imagine. Also, you need something to tie the trusses at the bottom if you remove the 2 X 6. Flooring would count if it spans perpendicular to the truss. Your heat may be worse if you block the airflow above the garage and your neighbor with the wood wall. Just for thoughts. I'd be real careful about lifting tools unless you spread the load with a length of 2 x6, maybe two nailed together about 10' long again perpendicular to the truss bottom stringer.

I in the same spot as you with trying to add space to my garage overhead area. i think i need to build a better structure first to be able to attach a "floor"

so if you share a wall with another home after you removed the ceiling is the attic space open over thier home? was that cieling a firestop?

no, there is still a fire stop between us. because its attached, there is layer of drywall in the attic between us.

another question, i want to add outlets to the ceiling so i can have plugs for lights. can i drill though top rafters? like the ones that the roofing attaches to?