Loft/Deck in garage with 12.5ft ceiling help please

[Bagsf18]

Hi, I have a 2 car garage that is 22ft wide and is 24ft deep for 2/3 of it and 20 ft deep for the other 1/3. Ceiling in 13 ft throughout. I need some help to see if my plan is ok or ****.

I am looking at having a loft/deck built at the front of the garage(opp. end from garage door). After discussion and planning and measuring the "best" we came up with was 18ft wide, allowing for a 3ft staircase on the end to enter house, and 5ft deep. We are looking at using a 11 7/8 inch lvl beam for the 18ft span and 2x8's for floor joist.

The biggest issue is height. The bottom of the lvl beam will be at the 5'1 point. The 2x8's will be at basically 5'6 making the height below 5'6 and the height above 6'3. We won't have to park our current cars under it, but it will limit access to the front of the cars.

The reason I was looking at having this built is to provide a place for me to work while both cars are in garage. My workbench, press, fridge, and other things will be on this deck.

I am just trying to figure out of there is anything I have NOT thought of?
You could park a 2013 suburban in the garage with the deck in the position I have listed. The hood would be under the deck, but just a bit.
I have a quick jack and can lift both cars with the current deck plan.

So any input or ideas I am open to. Thanks

Bags

 

[p_mori7]

How about getting a beam milled at your local sawmill.

A 6x8 out of fir or hemlock ought to do the job.

For 5' deep I would not use 2x8's. Perhaps go with 2x6's that you can always lay closer together to increase carrying load.

EDIT. In re-reading your post, I saw all the stuff you wanted to have up there. I think you can still do 2x6's closer together (say 10" or 12") as floor joists, but unless you can support the beam mid-span, I think you're going to need a beefier beam to span the 18'. 6x10 or 6x12.

 

[KDXSR5]

What about a metal beam?

 

[Bagsf18]

How about getting a beam milled at your local sawmill.

A 6x8 out of fir or hemlock ought to do the job.

For 5' deep I would not use 2x8's. Perhaps go with 2x6's that you can always lay closer together to increase carrying load.

EDIT. In re-reading your post, I saw all the stuff you wanted to have up there. I think you can still do 2x6's closer together (say 10" or 12") as floor joists, but unless you can support the beam mid-span, I think you're going to need a beefier beam to span the 18'. 6x10 or 6x12.

Really? After talking to 2 different builders both thought the 14 inch ( I think 3 inches thick) LVL beam would be plenty of support. Heck one of them was going to do 3 2x12's mated together.

We are discussing using 2 10 inch LVL beams mated together to get me 4 more inches of clearance underneath.

And I am not sure how much stuff I am going to put up there. So I figured I would have it built to hold just about anything I could fit up there..lol.. Sounds silly, but I don't want to worry about load limits when I am on it with a buddy or 2. That's how the 2x8's came to be.

What about a metal beam?

I was curious about this... I did not bring it up to the builder but I was worried about weight. I will talk to the builder. Thanks!

 

[p_mori7]

A 1.75 x 9.5 LVL spanning 18' will only get you about 90 lbs per foot of total load. Using 2 will get you to about 180 lbs if I am not mistaken.

Check the technical data & span charts of the various LVL manufacturers.

What is going to support the other side of the mezzanine ?

Weight of the beam (no matter what the material) is unimportant as long as properly supported down to the foundation of the house/garage. it is a consideration for manhandling it around.

Using 2x6's topside would also allow you to place the beam higher up gaining precious headroom underneath. 2x6's at 12" on center are good to support 50lb per sq ft up to 10'.

 

[RWorth]

You can hang the 2x8s flush with the bottom of the LVL to get more headroom below and not lose any topside.

 

[Bagsf18]

A 1.75 x 9.5 LVL spanning 18' will only get you about 90 lbs per foot of total load. Using 2 will get you to about 180 lbs if I am not mistaken.

Check the technical data & span charts of the various LVL manufacturers.

What is going to support the other side of the mezzanine ?

Weight of the beam (no matter what the material) is unimportant as long as properly supported down to the foundation of the house/garage. it is a consideration for manhandling it around.

Using 2x6's topside would also allow you to place the beam higher up gaining precious headroom underneath. 2x6's at 12" on center are good to support 50lb per sq ft up to 10'.

I should have put all of it huh? lol

Gona cut the sheetrock and lag a 2x12 directly to the wall studs and use a 6x6 post on the ends of the LVL.

I will bring the 2x6's up to the builder and see if that is a good option. Thanks!

I also emailed a company that makes LVL beams and they said almost exactly what you said. A 2ply 11 7/8 LVL will do 100 psf live load. They said this is a typical light warehouse storage application. With that in mind, I think the (2) 9.5's might be the best option for me with a large safety factor that should cover me.

I don't mind the extra money, I want to do this once, and do it right. I plan on being in this house 10+ years. And after I have this done, I don't want to think about it, I just want use and enjoy it.

You can hang the 2x8s flush with the bottom of the LVL to get more headroom below and not lose any topside.

I asked this question and was told I would be "giving up" some support by doing so. And in the interest of 100% safety, I decided to not do it.

I am smart enough to know I am not smart enough to do the proper math to get the smallest beam possible. So overkill is the answer!

 

[Brad54]

If you go with an 8-inch I-beam, you can fit the 2x8 studs into the side of the I-beam--the beam will be flush with the studs, so you will gain the entire thickness of the beam "down stairs" where you park the cars.

-Brad