Cable supported hanging shelf

[bobbywolf]

Hi everyone. Been lurking for awhile, and I now have something I need opinions and advice on.

I am finishing the interior of a 26x30' garage with cathedral ceiling 15'6" at the inside peak. I want to put a large hanging shelf up high on one end of the garage, with the front edge supported by cables. Please see my MS-paint doodle below.

My main concern is the load on the roof truss. Since this will be parallel to the truss structure, 1 truss will essentially be carrying the load. Since the ceiling is cathedral, shouldn't it be stronger?

Here is an older pic of when the garage was first built, but shows the roof structure. The shelf would be just above the windows.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Rob

 

[homebuilt burner]

Your truss manf. is going to tell you no way.

What do you plan to placeon the shelf? Extra pillows and blankets I say go ahead. Lead weight for your garden tractor maybe not.

What if you run the cables back to the wall instead? Then the wall caries the weight.

 

[elba]

I built lofts similar to your drawing but I used chain instead of cable and ran the chain to the wall. It works great !

 

[rsanter]

It all depends on what you are going to put up there.
If is was me I think I would tie the ends and the center to the wall and the roof truss to spread some load out. You can use turnbuckles on the cables to apply even tension to each.
The other ones I would just go to the roof truss and more minor support.

While you still have it apart ( before drywall) you have a couple of options.
One I would look at sintering a 2x6 to the existing roof truss that will cary the load.
I would also *** a 2x4 to go across three of the end trusses where the cables will go to so you are at least spreading some load to more of the trusses.

And then I would still limit what I put up there.

Bob

 

[bobbywolf]

That is an older picture. The ceiling is insulated and vapour barrier'ed. However, I would not be opposed to opening it up to add some lumber to spread the load across multiple trusses.

Or I could run the cables back to the wall at a 45deg angle. Tripping isn't a worry as it is only storage. It could get a little heavy with tires, misc car parts and other clutter I have laying around, so I'd like it to be strong.

Hmm.

 

[nehog]

...

Or I could run the cables back to the wall at a 45deg angle...

I have some shelves done like that (about 45 degree angles, I used lightweight chain) and it works well.

 

[bottom feeder]

I'd lag bolt heavy duty shelf bracket standards to the studs in the wall, then attach the deepest shelf supports you can find to them, and put the shelf on top. I've done this in my own garage with great results. If you still want a really deep shelf you could add the wires to the front of the shelf and angle them back to the wall to take some of the load.

 

[CNGsaves]

Do BOTH . . . cables at 45 degree angle from upper wall to shelf . . . .
. . . AND . . . .the 45 degree angled supports underneath (ie wood, steel, etc).

Thus, all the load would be on walls and spread across the entire wall . . .
. . . and . . . more importantly, no additional load on roof.

With proper materials and attachments, this style of shelf would hold lots of weight.

 

[bobbywolf]

Do BOTH . . . cables at 45 degree angle from upper wall to shelf . . . .
. . . AND . . . .the 45 degree angled supports underneath (ie wood, steel, etc).

Thus, all the load would be on walls and spread across the entire wall . . .
. . . and . . . more importantly, no additional load on roof.

With proper materials and attachments, this style of shelf would hold lots of weight.

I think I'm sold on this idea. Not really stoked about having angled supports below, but its likely for the best.

Rob

 

[wssix99]

+1 on the supports to the wall. The wall has tons of excess load capacity in your application and the roof does not.

 

[bobbywolf]

How would you feel about these type of of mounts for the cables. 2 lag bolts into each on on a 2x6" stud, every 3rd stud (4').

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200326985_200326985

Rob

 

[matt_i]

I have built many shelves using a variation on this theme. Instead of the cable, I use 3/8" steel rod, welded to something like a 3/8" x 1" wide flat bar, approx 3-4" long. I use 2-1/2" or 3" torx-drive deck screws, either 2 or 4pcs to attach each "T" shape to the ceiling joist.

On the bottom end of the rod, I use a die to thead the smooth rod for 3/8-16, and use thick unistrut washers and nylock nuts for adjustability and obviously to transfer load to the rod. I feel certain 1/4" dia would work given the loads involved, but the 3/8" gives a more visual feeling of heft. Can take some pics....

Its not for supporting rear axles or loading it up with spare I beams and channel but I have it full of seasonal stuff like boat life jackets, tubes, ropes and lines, BBQ stuff, pedal tractors...you name it.

 

[Nowater]

Find out the load bearing capacity of your trusses first and base other decisions on that.

 

[bobbywolf]

I'm skipping out on attaching to the trusses at all. As others have suggested, the wall itself will take the load.

matt_i, Id love to see some pics. More than one way to skin a cat.

Rob

 

[theoldwizard1]

...My main concern is the load on the roof truss. Since this will be parallel to the truss structure, 1 truss will essentially be carrying the load...

Trusses are designed to carry the weight of the roof sheating and singles and not much more !

 

[thomasj1]

I'd be worried about the load too..

 

[bobbywolf]

This is what I'm going to model my shelf off of. I'd love to buy their kit, but I'm sure I can make it for much less. I'm no longer sold on using cables now lol. My mind changes like the wind...

 

[wssix99]

I'm no longer sold on using cables now lol. My mind changes like the wind...

Cables could still be stronger. The longer you make the cables, the more the angle changes where they connect to the wall. This causes them to pull down more on the wall than pull outward. (BTW - With the cables, I'd use a simple screw eye vs. the bracket that you post above.)

If you have a bracket (or cable) that forms a 45 degree angle with the wall, it will pull outwards with the same force it pulls downwards. (In this mode, the pull out force of the hardware threads are as important as the shear strength of the fastener.)