Raising ceiling on garage for lift - need a structural engineer

[garagelogician]

The hurricane straps they used on the posts are probably not rated for that use...

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If you look at the engineer's drawings further back in this thread, that is what was specified.

 

[JackAndy]

The hurricane straps they used on the posts are probably not rated for that use...

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I don't really know a lot about it. I have a drawing from the plans however, is this correct?

 

[Orionrising]

I don't really know a lot about it. I have a drawing from the plans however, is this correct?

Odd I would have expect a post cap type. It's fine then.


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[JackAndy]

Odd I would have expect a post cap type. It's fine then.


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Thanks for the attention to detail though.

 

[lakeroadster]

Sometimes if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.

Amen to that.

 

[JackAndy]

Amen to that.

Who am I kidding though, I would've screwed this up so bad and probably brought the whole building down.

Electrical was finished today. I have a 20 amp 240v welder circuit, 20 amp 240v air compressor circuit, 20 amp 120 volt lift circuit, 23 can lights and 9 outlets. The air compressor is going in the attic. Having a big air compressor on the floor is a pet peeve of mine.

 

[lakeroadster]

Who am I kidding though, I would've screwed this up so bad and probably brought the whole building down.

Electrical was finished today. I have a 20 amp 240v welder circuit, 20 amp 240v air compressor circuit, 20 amp 120 volt lift circuit, 23 can lights and 9 outlets. The air compressor is going in the attic. Having a big air compressor on the floor is a pet peeve of mine.

20 Amp welding circuit? You sure about that? 40 or 50 is more of the norm.

Is the attic space floor rated for the weight of the compressor? Make sure you use some sort of vibration isolators... the compressor will shake the entire building.

 

[JackAndy]

20 Amp welding circuit? You sure about that? 40 or 50 is more of the norm.

Its 20 amp 2 pole Eaton Cuttler-Hammer BR breaker. Thats what was in here when I got the house in May. The previous owner was running an air compressor on that circuit. I just plugged my welder into it. I have a harbor freight mig 170. It says it draws 220v 20 amp. I've been using it quite a bit already on that circuit, even on max power. I don't often need that much power unless I'm welding thick material but its worked as good as you can expect from a harbor freight welder.

Is the attic space floor rated for the weight of the compressor? Make sure you use some sort of vibration isolators... the compressor will shake the entire building.

This compressor only weighs maybe 40 lbs. Its an old belt driven unit from Sears back in the day, maybe from the 70's? The tank is 5 gallons.
The attic space actually doesn't have a floor yet. I'm planning on putting plywood on the top of the 2x6's for a floor. I'm just going to put it up there as is. The compressor is pretty quiet and doesn't shake much. It just puts along quietly which is exactly why I got that as opposed to the newer style super loud ones. Some day I might want to install a larger air compressor but up until now, I don't use air very much.

 

[lakeroadster]

Having the compressor accessible for maintenance items, such as periodically draining water from the tank, cleaning the compressor intake filter and cooling fins, checking the relief valve, etc. is a good practice, some would argue a must.

 

[JackAndy]

Having the compressor accessible for maintenance items, such as periodically draining water from the tank, cleaning the compressor intake filter and cooling fins, checking the relief valve, etc. is a good practice, some would argue a must.

I was thinking of running a line from the drain valve port, through the ceiling and connecting it to a quarter turn ball valve so I can drain the compressor remotely. I'm putting in attic stairs too so I can just pull them down and go up into the attic.

What I'd really like to do is put a door into the attic from the lift bay with a crane so I can lift heavy things into the attic. I can't find the thread right now but somebody built a gantry crane on a trolley with a track that went across their entire garage into the attic. They were lifting snowblowers etc into the attic. Thats like a next next year idea though, I'm really just dreaming with that one!

 

[lakeroadster]

What I'd really like to do is put a door into the attic from the lift bay with a crane so I can lift heavy things into the attic. I can't find the thread right now but somebody built a gantry crane on a trolley with a track that went across their entire garage into the attic. They were lifting snowblowers etc into the attic. Thats like a next next year idea though, I'm really just dreaming with that one!

What's the lower chord weight rating on your trusses? Be careful loading anything up there unless the trusses are designed for the weight you're placing.

 

[JackAndy]

8 lights in the "lift bay". Doesn't help much when you're working under a car!

 

[lakeroadster]

8 lights in the "lift bay". Doesn't help much when you're working under a car!

I have an old free standing floor lamp that I move about under the car when working. Seems to work pretty good.

 

[firebirdparts]

I would love to have a better solution to that than what I have. Maybe someday. I use a tripod-mounted light. I would like to have a row of mirrors on ether side. I might not block the light from them.

 

[JackAndy]

I would love to have a better solution to that than what I have. Maybe someday. I use a tripod-mounted light. I would like to have a row of mirrors on ether side. I might not block the light from them.

That's a good idea. To that same effect, I'd like to get a reflective coating on the floor. That would help. Maybe a light on the post of the lift too.

 

[JackAndy]

I have an old free standing floor lamp that I move about under the car when working. Seems to work pretty good.

Thanks. I'll try that first.

 

[JackAndy]

Sorry if you see the picture twice.

I used 4'x8' sheets of regular 2" thick polystyrene for the 'wall' of the lift bay. Each one has R9 insulation value so I doubled them up. Then I filled in all the cracks with Great Stuff big gap foam sealant. These sheets were $10 each and I only needed 3. Menards had John Mannvile foil faced polysio insulation at R13 which would be fine but it wasn't in stock.

 

[kbs2244]

If we are still on the hurricane straps, the Simpson one holding the rafters to the LVL are standard.
But I don't see anything holding the LVL to the post.
Is that not needed?

 

[johnyg]

here in fla the truss strap must go over the top chord . you end up with so many nails on some of this stuff there is not much wood left.

 

[JackAndy]

I had another contractor come over to help me on something and he pointed out that the framing is starting to come apart.

 

[JackAndy]

He says I should call them back and make them fix it.

 

[ed1le]

Looking to do something similar with my garage and lots of good info in this thread.

What every came of the framing issue? Did the contractor correct the issues?

 

[SHAKEnBLAKE]

Great build. Lots of great ideas in this thread, so I joined the forum! Sorry your builder was sub-par.

I plan to "RAISE THE ROOF" of my carport and enclose it to make a garage soon. So I may have my own garage journal thread soon.

 

[foleymech]

Tear the garage down and build a new one. It’s faster and cheaper.

 

[JackAndy]

Probably true.

I actually haven't gotten the framing issue fixed and it doesn't seem to have gotten any worse. The contractor said they'll come and fix it but I have to move the car out of the way. The car has been on jack stands for over a year. Its a project I started and never finished.

I've been working on a lot of projects in the house instead. I added a legal bedroom to the basement by installing an egress window into a non-conforming bedroom. Then I added a shower to the 1/2 bath to make it a 3/4 bath. I also changed a dry bar into a full kitchenette with a gas cooktop and sink. So there's two kitchens in the house now.

Besides that I added cellulose blown-in insulation to the attic. I also made a ton of changes to a 2nd story bathroom that had moisture issues. I had to put a stain blocker primer on the walls, repaint and move the ventilation fan.

I've had a lot of issues with noise in the house. Basically complaints about noise from other people and people overhearing conversations they shouldn't be etc. So I added white noise generators in the main hallways and I put foam or vinyl bulb seals around the door frames so when the door shuts, it seals.

I've had to rework HVAC ducting and thats still going to need improvement.

I planted 75 trees in the yard and redid gutters. Trimmed trees, cut down a tree.

So yeah just a lot of cool stuff going on. The garage is nice and warm. It was -21c last night and I was working comfortably in the garage with just one of my kerosene heaters turned on. I haven't drywalled the garage yet.