Loft with 14' ceiling?

[Innovate1]

Have a framed room in the corner corner of a 30 x 40 garage with 14' ceiling to be built. That corner houses the furnace, a bench with sink, and a half bath. Thinking the space above it is wasted although I will be hanging the furnace. The total size is about 14 x 16. If I put a loft in I could have 7' ceiling below and 6' in the loft (figuring about 1' for floor thickness). I could have 8' and 5' loft but that would be a little short for the loft. Or I could just build some really sturdy shelves with joists from wall to wall at a later date. Or I could put up some shelving or pallet racking.

Just looking for some ideas on how to proceed. I don't need the space now but expect I will later on. Will have a bunch of light stuff that takes up some room.

 

[JackAndy]

6' feels about 20 times lower than 6'6". If you can work in another 6" somehow, it'll be really nice. Otherwise, most adults will have to be ducking down all the time and they'll be uncomfortable. In my basement I have sections where the ceiling is 6'6' and its perfectly 'cozy', especially for little people. Once you get below 6'1", it goes from being acceptable for 90% of people to being unacceptable for 90% of people.

Is there any way you could make the floor joists thinner and still strong? Use steel or something?

 

[NickTheGreat]

A loft for what? Storage? Sleeping? Dancing??? :

 

[Innovate1]

It wouldn't be for a work area - just storage so the lower height might be ok although not ideal. I don't want to make the lower area so low it is uncomfortable. I may just go with shelves of some sort. Otherwise I will need stairs, railing, etc.

Wonder if I could frame the half bath with 8' walls and use the area above for storage? It's easy enough to build - just wondering what would be needed for code... Maybe nothing more if I don't have stairs up to it.

 

[Kburk09]

I have 14' sidewalls in pole garage. over our 10x12' bathroom utility room we put in a small loft play area for the kids with a circular slide back down to the floor. The bathroom has 7'6 for headroom and the upstairs has about 5 1/2' of usable headroom. and that includes the metal ceiling in place. figure it will be a decent storage spot when the kids outgrow the space. I am 6'3" and while i can maneuver fine up there. I was tired of the lack of height by the time we finished it out though.

 

[86turbodsl]

i have 14' ceiling height, and had a loft for a while, with about 7' below, 8" joists, and about 6' 3" ceiling in the loft area. It's do-able if you're not tall. I didn't mind being up there, but i'm only 5'8-9 or so.

 

[foolio]

I have 14’ ceilings and built out a workshop in one part of the barn. I was deciding basically the same thing you were. In the end, decided on 8’ ceilings in the shop and ended up with about 5’ ceilings in the loft. It’s only used for storage. It’s a little bit of a pain when I have to go up there and look for stuff but worth it for the extra space below. Picture gives you an idea.

 

[Matti]

I have a small loft. Its floor is over 11 feet up and is a pia to access via ladder let alone dragging heavy pieces up and down. I had no room for stairs so I bought a used rolling staircase and cut off everything except the stairs and rails. I then fabricated a hinge so the stairs can be pulled up off the floor to horizontal. I mounted a cheap electric hoist to the ceiling to lift and lower the stairs. It works.

 

[foolio]

I have a small loft. Its floor is over 11 feet up and is a pia to access via ladder let alone dragging heavy pieces up and down. I had no room for stairs so I bought a used rolling staircase and cut off everything except the stairs and rails. I then fabricated a hinge so the stairs can be pulled up off the floor to horizontal. I mounted a cheap electric hoist to the ceiling to lift and lower the stairs. It works.

Would love to see a picture of this. I have been thinking of coming up with some sort of folding staircase but have not figured out the best approach yet.

 

[bad_idea]

I plan to build a 15x30 section along one side of my 30x40 for a 15x10 'shed' and a 20x15 'fab shop'. Will have 9' ceilings below. I have 12' walls, so that would be a 3' ceiling height if I put a ceiling on the bottom of the trusses in the loft. I'm not going to do that. I will build the wall separating the 'garage' from the 'shed/fab shop' up to the trusses and leave the trusses open above the loft. Walking between the trusses I will have plenty of headroom for most of the loft. Mine is for storage so I am not worried about climate control for the loft. If you are, then you can insulate the bottom of the roof in the loft and heat/cool it. For a finished look you can install a ceiling on the bottom of the top chord. Will be a nuisance finishing around the truss bracing, but do able.

 

[pogrelis97]

I have 14ft ceilings and my living area is 8ft leaving me with 5ft in the loft. It ***** moving stuff up there but if your only using it for storage you'll be fine.

 

[f150skidoo]

I also have 14’ ceilings in my shop with a storage loft, the framing of the loft is 2”x8” with 5/8” plywood floor and 5/8” drywall on the bottom side of the loft. From the floor to the bottom of the loft I have 93” and from the loft to the ceiling is 66” standing on top the loft is a pain due to the height but I only go up their once every few months but, having decent height is nice since my milling machine lives below the loft and the machine is 7’ tall.


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[Matti]

Would love to see a picture of this. I have been thinking of coming up with some sort of folding staircase but have not figured out the best approach yet.

Here is a shot....ignore the ceiling damage caused by a small projectile

 

[bad_idea]

Matti,

I like the hoist mounted on a rail to self adjust for the angle of the ladder as it is lowered. Looks well thought out. I am curious about your loft. It looks like the opening to access it is only 2' or so high by 5' wide. If so, seems fishing through there would get old quick. Do you have more details?

 

[Matti]

Matti,

I like the hoist mounted on a rail to self adjust for the angle of the ladder as it is lowered. Looks well thought out. I am curious about your loft. It looks like the opening to access it is only 2' or so high by 5' wide. If so, seems fishing through there would get old quick. Do you have more details?

Its only about 6 x 5 x 4 foot high. The truss designer suggest leaving the last few trusses open for storage rather than closing it in. I have vaulted trusses.

 

[climb.on]

I have 12'-4" walls. I have a small loft above my bathroom and utility room. I made a lumber and steel storage rack. Hasn't been as much of a pain getting stuff up and down as I thought it would be. More pictures are at the end of this post here.

 

[pogrelis97]

Here is a shot....ignore the ceiling damage caused by a small projectile

Great idea, I'm going to have to do that since I also don't have room for stairs.

 

[ForceFed70]

I have 12' ceilings, I managed to get a small 12'x12' loft to work. About 6'2" of head room below, 5' above. You need to constantly bend over while up in the loft area but it's not too bad. With a 14' ceiling and the extra 2' you could totally make something work.

 

[Slabo]

I put in a storage loft across the back of my garage (12' ceilings). Creates a 3' high storage loft with 8' ceiling underneath. It covers the back 7' of garage depth. It creates my shop area in the back. Put a beam across the front so I can use a collapsable extension ladder to lean against to access the storage area.