Beam Hoist - Construction, etc.

[bwitt]

I've seen barns with beams sticking out just under the peak of the roof and they are used to hoist various items into the loft of the barn. I am curious if one could create something similar although on a smaller scale for the home garage.

I have an upcoming project that will require me to pull a SBC out of a boat, so I need to have a decent amount of height so the motor clears the transom of the boat when lifted out. Yes, I have looked at gantry cranes and even designed one that I could build myself, but I am trying to get around buying/building a gantry crane. I could disassemble/store/sell a gantry crane when done with the project but I kind of like the idea of being able to lift things in and out of the bed of my truck at any given time w/o dragging out a gantry crane. Also, the boat has an 8' beam with an even wider trailer so a commercially available gantry crane (think HF) would most likely not be wide enough for this task.

The garage is already built and is not exactly what I would consider a "strong" structure. It's a typical 1980s 22x22 "builder special" that was never meant to do anything other than house cars. Any ideas as to how such a lifting mechanism could be built and attached to the facade of the garage? It would need to be able to lift around 600 lbs. I am picturing some 2x10s fastened to the front of the garage and an extension added that extends a few feet with an angled support underneath. A chain hoist would be attached to the extension. Is this even feasible for around 600 lbs. and the occasional heavy item in and out of the truck bed?

 

[kbs2244]

What you are describing is an adaptation of the hay mow hoists that have been used on barns for over a hundred years.
I had one on a barn style garage I built.
I just extended the 2x6 ridge beam 4 feet.
But I never lifted more than 200 pounds.

The main concerns are total weight and leverage of it due to how far out you go.
You do not want to build a teeter-totter. (The barns had the whole length of the barn to hold down the outboard end.)

A 2x10 going out 3, or at the most 4, feet and back into the garage at least 15 feet should work.
If you have a single, centered door, you will need to put in a vertical support from the door header up to the 2x10 and also use a temporary support centered in the door opening.

 

[bwitt]

I am thinking of going out maybe 24 inches at the most. If you can picture it, my "soffit" is directly over the garage door, so the whole area above the door is in line with the edge of the roof. With a 24" extension, this would put me about 3 feet from the door. Any of these hoisting operations would take place with the door open anyway. The challenge for me is the ridge beam that's in the garage now. It's like a 1x6 or something; very flimsy. There's really no tying into it since the tops of the trusses are held together with sections of 1x6 perpendicular to and just under the ridge beam (sorry I'm not really a construction guy so I don't know all the terms).

The beefiest piece of wood in the whole thing is the garage door header, which is what I'd most likely have to tie in to somehow or use as the biggest load bearing piece.

This is not my garage but mine is constructed in the same style with the extended soffit over the doors.

 

[bwitt]

This is a similar representation of how the roof is framed. The ridgeboard is 1x6 and I suppose what would be the collar ties are 1x6 nailed to the rafters right up against the ridgeboard.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

You could frame in support inside the garage with new posts and a beam coming out the front as you wanted. I would not use the existing framework except to tie in for stability.

Not impossible, but I'd not use your structure as it is built for this purpose. Siamese it in.

 

[BD1]

Do you have a nice size tree limb ? I loaded many goodies with a chainfall suspended from trees.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

You know, this is going to cost you a bit of money to retrofit that space to accommodate a beam properly without damaging the structure.

For about the same money you could buy a propane powered used forklift. Then you have a very portable and versatile lifting resource that works inside, outside, wherever you nee it. You have the space from the looks of it.

Plus... FORKLIFT. Come on, that's a whole lot cooler than a beam sticking out of the end of the garage. I wish I had space to store one.

 

[Cyberbear]

This a tricky one but not impossible. If this were mine and I wanted to create a lifting point, I'd install a strong properly supported timber completely inside the soffit , similar to a large ridge beam, and attach a removable or permanent lifting eye to be used for lifting the weight.
This way you would not have any exposed beam that would take away from the clean appearance of the existing structure. You may wish to contact an experienced framer for advice about doing this w/o over stressing the original building.

 

[Justanoldguy]

WHY do people ALWAYS suggest things that the op obviously doesn't ask for or even want.

 

[holt2ton]

Not everyone can think of all the possiblities that are available to them....

 

[kbs2244]

With that deep an overhang I would just put a 1 x 10 beam across the interior on the driveway side.
Assuming the doors are 10 feet wide a 14 foot beam would be enough.
Sockets for temp support posts at the end of the beam and a eye bolt attached to angle irons bridging 2 feet in the center will give you enough strength to unload, hang and then support your load.

With some thought, the only thing visible from your current set up would be the eye on the eye bolt.

 

[bwitt]

WHY do people ALWAYS suggest things that the op obviously doesn't ask for or even want.

Ha! I don't mind...a forklift could be fun! No room for it though...

Thanks everyone for the ideas. I have some thinking to do on this. I know a few guys in construction so I'll probably have to have them check it out for me. I can almost guarantee the existing structure is not intended for anything like this. It is VERY inexpensive construction; literally just to cover parked cars and that's it. The fascia above the door is some sort of compressed sawdust board (I could literally punch a hole in it with my fist). It's not even particle board and nothing even close to OSB. The framing inside isn't much better...

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

WHY do people ALWAYS suggest things that the op obviously doesn't ask for or even want.

Because if you keep your mind so narrow and closed as to only accept answers you want to hear, you may totally miss out on alternative options.

If we all followed that policy, we'd never use our tools in any way other than the OEM's instructions. How boring would that be?

 

[matt_i]

I would make a giant wooden "sawhorse" big enough to span the boat and give enough headroom. Brace every way imaginable. Triple 2x10s or -12s for the bridge beam. Use steel strapping and bracing to back up deck screws.

As flimsy as your garage seems to be described, I'd not try it.

 

[metalmagpie]

Just build a gantry to sit outside your barn door and be done with it.

 

[bczygan]

Here's the simplest and most economical solution.

In the photo you posted above are 3 doors.

Pick the short wall section on one or the other side of the middle door. You will install a vertical member in that wall that will be one support column. This can be any height you desire. But it needs to be substantially taller than the beam height you are proposing.

Then you will install a beam from the front face of that column, running perpendicular to the front face of the garage, and extending out past the front face of the overhang, as far as you like to give a trailer or truck access between the front face of the garage and the end of the beam.

Now, you need 2 ways to support the end of the beam. The first is simply adequate support for the weight of the beam itself. This could be a cable from the top of the column to the end of the beam or a rigid member.

The other support you will need will be a column for under the free end of the beam, when you want to use it for lifting.

Do you understand what I am proposing?

Bill

 

[BFBOB]

OK, here's what I might do if it were mine, depending on the details of construction: First, bear in mind that code requires a cantilever beam to extend twice as far into the structure as it does beyond the structure. If you want it to extend 3', then it must extend back at least 6' into the structure. Check beam strength tables for the proper size for your cantilever distance and load (remember it is a point load!). I'm guessing at least a 2x10 is needed; I'd probably double it. Better yet, a Flitch beam of doubled 2x10's and plywood. Use treated wood, caulked and painted. lnstall collar ties on the rafters just far enough down that your beam will fit atop them, under the ridge board. I'd use double 2x6's for that, bolted. Remove the existing collar ties and thread your beam in. Secure with joist hangers upside down, fastened to your new collar ties. Install an OVERHEAD LIFTING RATED eyebolt with a BIG, heavy washer at the end of the beam.

If you're really concerned about the sturdiness of the garage's construction, you could make an A-frame of a couple of 2x6's at the gable supporting the beam and bearing on the tops of the posts between the doors. That would take the weight off the beam over the center door.

That's what I would do for my own use.

 

[Jeep07]

I'm in the Forklift boat too, I use a set of forks atleast once a week. You can get a used one for 1-2k. Very handy....