Can I open my ceiling?

[jeremy_cherokee]

After a LOT of back and forth and having no idea what we were going to do or where we were going to live, my wife and I have finally found a beautiful house just a little bit outside of our original "goal" location.

This house has a 24 x 48 detached garage that is separated into a parking section for the first 20 feet and then the remaining 28 feet is separated by an insulated door and is the real "shop" part of the garage. I'm really excited so, naturally, I'm already brainstorming plans on how I'm going to make this garage MINE

So - on to the question. Right now, above the shop part of the garage there is an attic area in the rafters. I don't need that much storage space because of the way I'm doing the rest of the garage and the basement of the house. Is it possible for me to open up the ceiling of the shop portion of the garage to allow me to install a 2 post vehicle hoist? I am pretty sure the ceilings are only 8' or 9' (I don't get to move in until November) but the attic is at least 4' tall, which would give me the necessary 10-12' for a hoist. This could be a crazy idea but I thought it'd be really nice to have the lift in my shop.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

[Gixxerboy63]

I have considered doing the same with my garage attic... I have seen people move walls and vault their ceilings, however the last thing you want to happen is to compromise your supporting structure. Start with a licensed building contractor and you should be fine.

 

[kbs2244]

Depending on your location, maybe.
The local building department will tell you how high you can go with "collar joists."
It can be anywhere from 1/3 to 2/3 of the distance fom the wall top to the ridge board.
It depends on snow load.

 

[jeremy_cherokee]

Hmmm ... I'm more of a DIYer than a "hire a contractor" person. I wonder if I can find the local building code somewhere. I'm in Iowa. The collar joist is what I was thinking my head but head no idea that's what it was called.

Would that require some sort of beam going along the insides of the open areas and additional support beams or, with the collar joist, does that omit the need for the added support?

 

[hoho98925]

Hire a structural engineer to design what you want! Lots of people have modified roof structures without an engineers design. Lots of people are lucky so far there garages have not yet collapsed. It's not worth the gamble. Most engineers can do this for a few hundred bucks, and you won't loose any sleep at night anytime it snows wondering if this is the time that it comes down.

 

[Falcon67]

Think "tray ceiling". One idea anyway.

 

[jeremy_cherokee]

Tray ceiling is what I'm trying to accomplish, basically. Might just have to **** it up and hire someone to design it.

 

[kbs2244]

This should get you started
http://www.dps.state.ia.us/fm/building/provisions/index.shtml
It is the state code.
Realize that if you are inside town limits there may be a different code.

The biggest thing about modifying to collar joists is that you may need to strengthen the rafter to wall top plate joint since you are removing the flat joist to wall attachment.
Some of those sheet metal "hurricane ties" would be the easy way.