Garage storage, hoist idea

[Mosby]

Recently moved into a new house with limited storage. There is a medium sized outdoor storage shed that I would like to keep for a workshop. No attic nor basement. Has a two car garage, that I really prefer to park my cars in. The garage is fairly shallow, enough room for a small workbench in from of one car, but the other has a set of stairs and small landing to get into the house.


The one thing it does have is height. It is 12 foot tall. But no attic space above that, so I can't get above it.

My thought was use an electric hoist and build a platform out of unistrut, mount it on the wall so the wall is supporting the weight, not hanging off of lag bolts into the rafters.

The thing I can't figure out is a way to lock the platform in place, so it isn't hanging off the electric hoist all the time. I want to raise the platform up as much as possible, and I guess the easiest thing would be just to climb a ladder and put a pin through the strut on each side, but that's pretty inconvenient. And not very good option for my wife or teenage daughter to use.

Any ideas on a locking mechanism to support the platform when it's raised? Ideally I think the locking mechanism should relieve the weight from the cables as well, so there isn't constant tension on the cables.

Any overall thoughts on the feasibility of this idea?

 

[firebirdparts]

All my ideas are inconvenient.

I would use a diagonal made simply of a 2x4 and have it sit on top of a block on the wall. The 'action' can be as low as you want it.

 

[Kaizen]

Confused. You say the wall will be supporting the platform. Where does the cables come into play?



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[Mosby]

Cable would be used to lift or lower the platform, via an electric lift. The unistrut would be bolted to the wall. So that is where the majority of the load would be, especially if I can figure out some way to lock the platform when it's raised.

 

[Kaizen]

so the platform will be riding up and down on the wall not just attached. if it was in the corner (4'x4')you could have two 2 foot rods under it that could push into a hole on the walls. like 3/4 inch pipe into steel wall brackets.
if it was say 2x8 feet i'd have several 45 degree steel hinged on the front of the shelf and sitting in supports on the wall joists. so raise the shelf a little so the supports swing, lower the shelf. to put the shelf on the floor they just have to make sure the supports are tucked under.

 

[ddawg16]

Personally, I'd go fixed. I'd nail ledger boards against the wall and run 2x8's across.

With that high ceiling, you could do a section above the garage doors and another one in the front.

If you wanted to get fancy, have a pull down stair in the middle.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I have a similar situation and my vision has always been a fixed platform above the garage door. And then either a hoist or just one of those little electric platforms you can buy to get stuff up there.

Really a hoist on a beam trolley would be pretty nice.

 

[gahrajmahal]

Look in the “unistrut ideas” thread. A guy built that exact thing and keeps his riding lawn mower up there.

 

[Mosby]

gahrajmahal

I did see that after I posted this. I'm reading through his build post now.

 

[Mosby]

His idea looks like a good one, unfortunately for me, I don't have a welder, nor metal bender that he used to make his locking system. So this idea is out for me.

I am wondering about the garage door lock solenoids that the Liftmaster uses for their jackshaft operator garage door lifts. That might work I think.

 

[Jarcese]

I bought some ceiling storage, ran box beam for a trolley down the middle with some of the trolley track running past the storage. Hoist stuff up, slide it across the track onto the platform. I'll post some pics later when I can get out in the garage.

 

[bad_idea]

Platform that moves up and down on a hoist + teenage daughter + parked cars = disaster.

I recommend you have a fixed platform and use a hoist with a small platform to hoist stuff up to the storage loft. A fixed ladder on the wall will make it easy enough to get up there to get stuff. A simple block and tackle could be used for hoisting lighter items up and down.

Also, what is above the garage ceiling? A second floor or the roof? Is the ceiling flat? If the roof is above and the ceiling is flat then there is an attic space there. There just isn't an access scuttle. You can cut one in, did it in my brother's garage. Keep in mind the roof trusses (the member the ceiling is mounted to) is not load rated. Keep the weight down and keep items closer to the walls than to the center.

 

[4x4Petr]

I have a 20x26 garage with 13' ceiling previous owner put a loft in at the back 10' deep and 8' clear under. He had a wall ladder built to access it. Incredibly difficult to carry anything up there! I removed the wall ladder and just use a piece of extension ladder laying on the loft. I put a rope on it to pull it down when access is needed. Simple but effective and the wife or daughter never go up there which is a good thing too. Lol
I would have a hard time trusting someone to use a lift that isn't completely foolproof- you may never have a problem but strange things happen when you're not around at least it seems that way to me. Good luck in whatever you do

 

[mmb617]

The requirement of having a movable hoist really complicates the issue. I can't imagine you're going to find a way to do that without incurring a very big expense.

I have 13 ft to the bottom of the trusses in my garage. In order to utilize the extra storage space I ran a shelf 2 ft wide and 8 ft above the floor along two walls. I have to use a step ladder to put things up there so I'm limited to things that are somewhat smaller and lighter, but it's still a very valuable space that would otherwise be wasted.

 

[Mosby]

Bad Idea - There is living spaces above it. A past owner put an addition over top of the garage. The garage extends outside the front of the house by 6 feet or so, So I assume there is some space there, but the garage doors will interfere with anything up there.

 

[Verado1250]

I built one just like you described, and wanted to prevent any load on the cable when not in use. I just put a long 1"x3" that sides into one of the unistruts when the platform is raised. After it is in, I lower the platform onto the board and the board holds the weight of the platform. The sides of the strut keeps the board from bowing. I put some slack in the cable and leave it. Then when I go to use it again, I raise the platform slightly, remove the board, then lower the platform. It is not necessary to have a board in each strut.

 

[LX-Markham]

why not buy a 4 post lift and use it for storage?

I used my lift to temporarily store the contents of my basement while we re-finished it.

 

[pbon]

Build an attic over half and install pull down stairs. You might be able to put an inexpensive light duty hoist into the peak and use it to lift heavy loads to the edge. If it’s sliding, you could slide them further in. But I think you will have to be willing to go up to help.

A large hanging platform with an electric hoist hoist might be too heavy for the peak of the roof to support, especially if you were leaving all your junk on it rather than moving it off onto an attic floor.

 

[A**holes Garage]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009I8AO6/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[DynoDave]

I built one just like you described, and wanted to prevent any load on the cable when not in use. I just put a long 1"x3" that sides into one of the unistruts when the platform is raised. After it is in, I lower the platform onto the board and the board holds the weight of the platform. The sides of the strut keeps the board from bowing. I put some slack in the cable and leave it. Then when I go to use it again, I raise the platform slightly, remove the board, then lower the platform. It is not necessary to have a board in each strut.

I like this idea. Though I don't need it for storage...I have a loft of sorts for that. I need it for lifting larger, bulky items that would be more dangerous to carry up a staircase.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009I8AO6/?tag=atomicindus08-20

That's cool. Might work for me, as I won't leave a load on it. More of an elevator. Sort of lacks the "safety" or lock that the OP is looking for?

 

[Verado1250]

I like this idea. Though I don't need it for storage...I have a loft of sorts for that. I need it for lifting larger, bulky items that would be more dangerous to carry up a staircase.



That's cool. Might work for me, as I won't leave a load on it. More of an elevator. Sort of lacks the "safety" or lock that the OP is looking for?

That's what I use mine for. Just for moving heavy items up to the upper attic. When it's not in use, I store it high and out of the way, the way I described earlier.

 

[Adriatic Machine]

I would get some "teardrop" configurable shelving/ pallet rack like they have in warehouses / Home Cheapot. You can assemble it to your convenience, it comes in different sizes. They are very strong and when you leave, you can take it with you.