Overhead Storage

[chickey]

Folks,

Newbie here, wondering if someone can help me out or get me pointed in the right direction.

I have a standard 2 car suburban garage without a lot of space on either side of the cars. We purchased a snow blower this winter which was a life-saver 6 months ago, but now has become a summer tripping hazard.

Ideally I’d like to get it off the floor, but my options appear limited. I do have 12 foot ceilings, but unfortunately the space above them is finished, so that rules out an attic storage option (e.g., Versa Lift). The two other options I’ve found are the Racor PHL-1R Pro HeavyLift (right footprint, but I don’t trust if to permanently hold a 220 lb. snowblower, despite its weight rating) and the Loft-It (pure overkill and pricy at $2K). I could construct a loft, but would still have the issue of getting the snowblower up into it off-season. In my head I have the concept for an overhead shelf (mounted to both ceiling and wall to distribute the load) combined with a hoist that raises and lowers a cabled/locking platform. But nothing like this seems to exist (probably for good reason).

Has anyone else come across an approach or innovative product that the average DIY’er can use to solve this problem?

Thanks in advance,
Colin

 

[sevnd3z28]

My suggestion would be a storage shed. Not only for the snowblower but for the lawnmower and any other garden tools as well!

 

[MrSnicks]

Check out the Hyloft XL

http://www.lowes.com/pd_270538-15897-00626_4294936624+1005+4294961588_44?productId=3125835

I think it's rated for 500lbs spread evenly.

Patrick

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

If you've got a 12 foot ceiling why not just build what essentially amounts to a wide enough shelf out of 2x lumber with "kickers" (knee braces) that go back to the studs for support. You're only talking about 220 lbs - the weight of a good sized man. Lift it up there with a manual or preferably an electrical hoist from Harbor Freight.

I'm just spitballing an estimate here but you could probably do this for a few hundred dollars and it would be totally safe. Use bolts to assemble it instead of anils if you're worried about its load carrying capacity. Hell, for that matter, make a wide shelf all along one wall up hig (9 or 10 ft?) and use it to store all the stuff you would otherwise store in overhead stroage. Put the stuff in nice plastic bins and it will even be neat and unobtrusive. By the way, put a eyebolt up there to fasten a chain to from the snowblower so there is NO possiblity of it falling off onto you.

 

[28HopUp]

Good suggestions so far (especially about securing the unit to the wall once it's up there).

Instead of raising the snow blower off the floor, could you use the space above the spot for the blower to move other things in the garage? You could stack storage cabinets or shelves over the blower to free up space. Plus, it could be considerably lighter to store things on the wall that way instead of trying to hoist the blower up and maybe losing the space under it. That would also be cheaper than buying a lift.

Just throwing out an alternative for you to consider...

 

[Jack Olsen]

You can use an inexpensive hoist to accomplish this -- like Dan says, it can be a $200 deal.

Then again, there's always a risk of injury with the hoist approach. And a shed will store your snow blower and a lot of other things that would clutter up your garage.

Here's a previous post by a GJ user named wormwood. He used garage door rails as guides for a platform that he could raise and lower for attic access. The videos are sideways, but cool.

I just got finished building a lift in my new garage. It is for getting stuff in the attic that I'm too lazy to tote up the steps.

Here are 2 YouTubes of my new lift. Sorry about holding the camera sideways!! LOL!

Lift is 4x6 feet.

My daughter was tentatively running it for my video session; her first time so a lot of stops and starts.

I used garage door rails for the tracks, cable and a bunch of pulleys hooked to a 1800lb winch in the attic.

the gangplank you see in the opening is movable of course.

 

[The Patch]

Check out the Hyloft XL

http://www.lowes.com/pd_270538-15897-00626_4294936624+1005+4294961588_44?productId=3125835

I think it's rated for 500lbs spread evenly.

Patrick

That product is of very poor quality.

I bought one from Lowes and all the downrods were bent to one degree or another. Therefore, the crossbars would not even come close to fitting. Took the downrods back to Lowes and they opened another box of the product for replacements. ALL the downrods in the new box were horribly bent as well.

I'm going with the Racor PHL-1R. A friend has one installed and he loves it.

 

[chickey]

Thanks folks, I really appreciate all the great input and insights. I'm a little amazed there's not more out there in terms of a preconfigured solution that doesn't run into the thousands. Like you guys have pointed out, a hoist, a platform and/or some garage rails can do the trick quite nicely for not a lot of money. Surprised someone hasn't productized a solution to what I'm sure is a very common problem of limited floorspace.

Thanks again,
Colin

 

[Jack Olsen]

The building code regulations on commercial and residential elevators would probably explain the lack of an 'almost-an-elevator' product. There are so many ways an end-user could screw up the operation of something and end up bankrupting the manufacturer.

On top of that, most roof trusses aren't designed with a huge spare weight capacity. So if a consumer needs an elevator to get something up there, there's a good chance he's also exceeding his capacity. Fifty years from now, with a snow load on the roof, with dry rot setting in on the trusses, it could mean a bad collapse.

 

[regguy1]

Good suggestions so far (especially about securing the unit to the wall once it's up there).

Instead of raising the snow blower off the floor, could you use the space above the spot for the blower to move other things in the garage? You could stack storage cabinets or shelves over the blower to free up space. Plus, it could be considerably lighter to store things on the wall that way instead of trying to hoist the blower up and maybe losing the space under it. That would also be cheaper than buying a lift.

Just throwing out an alternative for you to consider...

If your suggestion is possible here's a method to get stuff off the floor to free up space for the SB:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65557

 

[bazzateer]

My suggestion would be a storage shed. Not only for the snowblower but for the lawnmower and any other garden tools as well!

x 1,000,000 - It's not a car, get it out of the garage!

 

[rockchucker]

I would build a small storage shed for it or build a shelf for it. the only thing would be that you would have to get it up there obviously. This is what I did to store all of my Tools. I could easily throw an Engine Block or whatever I wanted up on my Soffit Shelving.


Just some pics with heavy loads on them.


http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=59818


I have the Upright 2x4's tied all of the way up to the main roof 2x4 of the Roof Truss. All screws. 16" OC with 3/4 Cabinet Grade Plywood. I just build a bunch of 16" OC 2' x 8' boxes. screwed them to the Studs in the wall then brought down my uprights all the way from the Sheathing on the Roof. Tied them in at a few points then leveled and supported the Shelving with them. I could very easily Sheetrock and finish them if I wanted a clean look but I like open spaces for hanging stuff.

 

[bisquicksilver]

The lift that i had seen in your youtube video is awesome!!

 

[chickey]

This is what I need!

http://onrax.wordpress.com/

Need to check out the particulars and safety features, but this could be part of the answer I've been looking for.

C

 

[ludakris04]

This is what I need!

http://onrax.wordpress.com/

Need to check out the particulars and safety features, but this could be part of the answer I've been looking for.

C

I want to do something like that for my 4x8 trailer.