Laying out a loft, need some advice

[drooartz]

Now that I've had 3 years or so in my shop, I'm seriously thinking about putting in a loft. It's amazing how quickly thing fill up! I've had this idea since the shop was built, and now I'm getting serious about figuring out what this will take.

The shop is a pole barn, 36' wide by 40' deep with about 15.5' to the bottom of the rafters. My thinking is a loft space 12' wide by 10' deep in the back right corner, with a long balcony down the right side. This makes a small area where I can put a couch and have some hangout space, and the long balcony down the side allows me to put shelves pretty much up to the ceiling for storage without needing to use a ladder to get to all of it. Under the main loft area would go the engine hoist, spare engines, and all the other bulky/heavy stuff that claims floor space.

So my questions: what am I not thinking of? Is there a more intelligent layout? Is my stair-math correct?

Once I have the layout together, I'll have to figure out the engineering. I'm no engineer, so likely I'll need to take the sketches and some actual dimensions to someone to have them drawn up.

Here's a basic (not to scale) layout of the shop with the loft drawn in:

Here are the specs. They are close-ish, with some inches that could be played with to make the math (particularly with the stairs) come out right:

Here are the calculations I did to figure out the stairs:

Here is the actual corner of the shop, cleared out a bit so I could imagine the space. The red motorcycle lift and row of parts and engines are placed where the stairs would go. You can see a faint line on the wall (join in the OSB) that is close to 8' where I would want the floor of the loft to go.

 

[matt_i]

My initial feedback is it seems that the stair top landing way out on a 34" precipice seems like it would be tough to navigate if you were going to carry boxes up, etc. Seems like if you could change the height of the landing so the top step ends more like 48" or 60" in from the edge it might be easier to walk and navigate. I didn't study that possibility in detail with the rest of your drawings so there could be a very good reason why that won't work.


Is the 48" width intended to house a line of shelves plus also a walkway? Like 18" deep shelves and 30" of walkway? While I can see it economizes sheet goods it also doesn't seem like enough width to me. I assume it will be hand-railed/toe-kicked across?

 

[CombatNinja]

Is the lift already installed? I don't see it in the picture...

If not, I would flip flop the lift and loft side to side and let the loft occupy the wall that has the bench built in. I am a big fan of leaving a wall (in this case the right side of the shop) 'slick' for maximum flexibility for pulling vehicles in and so forth. If you already have a built-in bench on the left, just put the loft on that side. In fact, I would rotate the whole loft 90 degrees so that the stairs come out close to that bench. This way, you will have a clear, straight shot from the service door right up the stairs and you won't have to walk around a project on the lift or partially disassembled all over that area. The way you drew it, there is huge potential for anyone trying to get up to the loft to encounter multiple obstacles on the way to those stairs. I know the way I do projects, sometimes I just want something to sit with all the parts spread out until I can get back to it. With your plan, you might feel undue pressure to 'straighten up' so that you can get to your hangout area.

 

[drooartz]

Thanks for the input, this is just the sort of feedback I was looking for.

My initial feedback is it seems that the stair top landing way out on a 34" precipice seems like it would be tough to navigate.

Is the 48" width intended to house a line of shelves plus also a walkway? Like 18" deep shelves and 30" of walkway?

Yes, the 48" width is intended for a shelf and walkway. Partly for material width, and partly to keep it outside the garage door opening.

The main reason for that stair setup was to minimize the length of the stairway along that back wall, to keep the space free for working around the lift. Could certainly extend the landing a bit (away from the wall) as the 10' depth is flexible.

I would flip flop the lift and loft side to side and let the loft occupy the wall that has the bench built in. I am a big fan of leaving a wall (in this case the right side of the shop) 'slick' for maximum flexibility for pulling vehicles in and so forth. If you already have a built-in bench on the left, just put the loft on that side. In fact, I would rotate the whole loft 90 degrees so that the stairs come out close to that bench. This way, you will have a clear, straight shot from the service door right up the stairs and you won't have to walk around a project on the lift or partially disassembled all over that area.

The lift is not installed (in fact it is not even purchased yet ). The bench is not permanently installed either, so all of it can be moved around at this point. Interesting to think about flipping the loft to the other side.

I'm actually out in the shop right now with a tape measure to see what this option might look like.

 

[larry_g]

In my old garage I put the stairs in the corner of the building so the top landing would come out where the head clearance was best. So in your drawing move the stairs to the right 144" and reverse the rise so you start the climb against the right wall. This gets the stairs away from the lift where I can see them being in the way.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[drooartz]

So in your drawing move the stairs to the right 144" and reverse the rise so you start the climb against the right wall.

Thanks for the idea. Stairs are what I've been fighting as I try and think this through.

 

[drooartz]

Spent some time yesterday out in the shop rethinking the concept, taking into account the ideas that have popped up here.

So the new concept moves the loft over to the same side as the bench and drops the long "balcony". Making the loft area larger should give me adequate storage, and I still have a wall free for normal free-standing shelves if it comes to that.

Width L-R is maxed at 15'. Length F-B could be anywhere from 16' to 13' depending on the exact measurements on the ground.

This drawing is essentially to scale, gives a better feel for the space. The lift I'm considering is a 4-post and would be moveable so it could stay in the back corner, or could even be moved to the front left by the bench.

 

[CombatNinja]

I think that flows a lot better than the first version.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I like the layout in the last drawing with the exception of the tool box location.

Most vehicles get pulled in some most engine work is at the other end of the vehicles. For work on the lift, it's in the complete opposite corner of the building. You'll spend alot of time walking either around stuff or back and forth to grab tools.

 

[CombatNinja]

I assumed his tool chest would be on wheels and would 'migrate' wherever necessary.

 

[drooartz]

I think that flows a lot better than the first version.

I thought a bunch about your comments on my original plan. I agree that this flows much better, and should be much simpler to build as well since's it's pretty much just a box with stairs.

You'll spend alot of time walking either around stuff or back and forth to grab tools.

In addition to the one "fixed" bench I also have a 6' mobile bench, and my primary auto tools are in their own rolling tool cart (neither are shown in the drawing). My thinking was that I'd just roll those over to the lift when needed. That's basically what I do now, just roll over what I need to the car in question.

I'm also considering the layout below for use when in a big project. This is part of why I'm thinking about a 4-post lift. They are moveable when needed, so when I finally get started on the restoration of my Bugeye I could reposition the lift to the front left by the main workbench and use the other side just for parking and spreading out the parts.

 

[CombatNinja]

I would avoid putting the lift that close to the loft or the staircase. Too much of a tripping hazard for the stairs and it artificially restricts your room in front of the lift for things like removing bumper covers/etc. So much work is done right at the front of a car that I would not want the lift pinned by the stairs and loft on one end and the overhead door on the other.

I still like your second version just with the lift backed off the far wall by 2 additional feet or so. What is going under the loft? Why can't you store a car under there?

 

[nadogail]

Hope it all works out.

 

[drooartz]

Hope it all works out.

Me too. Thanks!

I would avoid putting the lift that close to the loft or the staircase. Too much of a tripping hazard for the stairs and it artificially restricts your room in front of the lift for things like removing bumper covers/etc. So much work is done right at the front of a car that I would not want the lift pinned by the stairs and loft on one end and the overhead door on the other.

I still like your second version just with the lift backed off the far wall by 2 additional feet or so. What is going under the loft? Why can't you store a car under there?

Good thoughts. Under the loft is for storage. Spare engines, parts, engine hoist, motorcycle lift table. Basically all the cruft that is scattered around the shop now up against the walls and where ever it will fit. Plan is to get all of that underneath the loft and organized.

Depending on how it all goes in, there may be room to at least nose another car in if needed. Luckily my cars are all pretty small. There's lots of flexibility with the lift if I do go 4-post, as they can be repositioned as needed with fairly minimal effort. Nothing to bolt down permanently.

I'm feeling pretty good about the loft plan at this point (big thanks for the ideas). Now it's time to get some help to get plans and engineering together, and then I think I'll be able to dive in and build it. This version is also pretty simple, so should be fairly inexpensive to build and doesn't seem to need anything special in terms of beams or posts. I'm not much of a carpenter, but this should be within my skill set with a little help from some more talented friends.