Garage Layout Feedback (And How Do I Engineer a Mezzanine?)

My shop has a little enclosed room built in and has some of those pull-down attic stairs which is great for us - I don't keep anything heavy up there (it's the usual family storage - Christmas decorations, keepsakes, etc) and I don't have a stairway in the way. 
 

I don't know if those style of stairs would work for you but maybe you could make your stairs pivot on the top and be able to lift the bottom up and out of the way if you're not going up there often?

also, regarding the lift placement, I'd push that lift up (relative to the drawing you posted) so that the right post is up/close to the cabinet on the wall.  It's similar to how I have mine and I've never wished I had it closer to the door.  

Slippery said:

Stupid question, would a mezzanine on the left wall with the stairs against the back wall work better for your use case? I made it 9' x 49', so you end up with 441 sqft and you have 13' open space for the lift.

I have seen these with spiral staircase also, but its a pain to move stuff upstairs ... maybe not?

Sort of like this:

I like this arrangement but built using the @nocones kit of parts. Racks every 12' creating little storage modules underneath and a big open deck up top. You could rig up a hoist to pull things up. 

In reply to OHSCrifle :

Problem with that is parking underneath, it might be difficult. Maybe not. 

I was looking at Andy's thread, he has a a great setup.

Lof8 - Andy’s shop

Some good ideas there:

What will you be putting in the mezzanine?

I like to store big light stuff in a mezzanine. Body panels, seats, etc. Gets them off the floor and out of the way. I'd be perfectly comfortable storing this kind of stuff in a wooden mezzanine. Exception... if attaching post to the floor is an issue (rental?), or if the floor load is questionable.
 

Engines or heavy stuff?  Nope. I'd want it to be steel. 
 

A prefab steel mezzanine can be assembled in a manner that it can be moved later.  It can include large base plates if the floor rating is questionable. 
 

+1000 to engineering.

Mezzanines aren't cheap.

In reply to Tom Suddard :

Will you be buying, or renting?

I have a nearly identical mezzanine in my shop.  Hybrid- wood and metal.  I'll send some details. 

BTW... I like your plan. It lends itself well to an inexpensive mezzanine. 

Slippery said:

Stupid question, would a mezzanine on the left wall with the stairs against the back wall work better for your use case? I made it 9' x 49', so you end up with 441 sqft and you have 13' open space for the lift.

I have seen these with spiral staircase also, but its a pain to move stuff upstairs ... maybe not?

Sort of like this:

I don't think this works as well for what Tom is doing.  The long run would most likely need posts to support it, and the diagonal parking underneath would be tricky with the posts. 
 

I think his layout makes some really nice dedicated workspaces without posts.  And machine tools fit nicely under a low ceiling. (And it's easy to make great task lighting with a low ceiling above)

Is the bathroom already in place?

If not, why not bathroom upstairs and parts downstairs? I'd rather run upstairs to "read the constition" than carry a driveshaft up the stairs.

In reply to buzzboy :

I definitely prefer the bathroom downstairs.  It makes the sink super easy to use (hand washing, water source for paint, etc)

I consider a mezzanine as a place you climb up to only occasionally. Less than once a week. The toilet gets used much more frequently. 

I'm a huge fan of pallet racks. Dollar for dollar you won't find anything as simple and easy to adapt to almost anything. The only time I've run into load limit concerns is when I've put the lowest shelf up above 4' off the ground. All the specs are supplied by the manufacturers but when you are looking at a basic set of 5" tall beams that will handle 5500 lbs its pretty easy to build a safety factor in.

Figure out where you can fit the uprights and throw a deck between sets of racks.

One note...

Previously posted in this thread floor load ratings aren't quite right. Standard minimum live load for a residence is 40 psi (not 25), and for a commercial floor is 100 psi (not 50).

Carry on...

SV reX said:

One note...

Previously posted in this thread floor load ratings aren't quite right. Standard minimum live load for a residence is 40 psi (not 25), and for a commercial floor is 100 psi (not 50).

Carry on...

Correction to the correction: psf, not psi*

Carry on!

In reply to Spearfishin :

Oops! 😂

We haven't talked about height. You are gonna need about 16' in height at the top of the stairs to make this work. 

I like the pallet rack idea, but I think it offers too many limitations for this application. 
 

Here is how I'd build it...

- I'd put 1 supporting column at the corner of the bathroom. That would make the beam span only about 14'.  This is a super easy span for either wood or metal.  This span is the only thing you'd need an engineer for.  If you do it with wood, the supplier can do the engineering for free.

- Then I'd run a beam across the width of the building. (22') Supported by the column and a post at the LH wall.

- At the rear wall, I'd install a 2x12 rim joist. This would be attached to the existing wall.  Add 2x4 posts under it every 4'.

- Install 2x10 floor joists 16" o.c. spanning 14' to the beam.  Hang them on a ledger strip on the 2x12.

- Use 3/4" Advantech for the floor.

This should give you plenty of capacity, and be very cost effective. Almost everything can be bought from Lowe's. 
 

I'll attach a few pics in a little bit...

Thanks for all the advice so far--reading every post and taking notes as fast as I can here. 

To answer a few questions in no particular order: The bathroom already exists, I'm storing heavy stuff on the mezzanine (the cones from the $2000 Challenge, boxes of magazines, spare engines, etc.), and I think I have plenty of ceiling height to do this--16' at the front and rear walls, and a claimed 18' in the middle (near where the staircase would be) though I didn't have a way to accurately measure it myself.

In reply to Tom Suddard :

Perfect. 
 

Here's a couple sketches:

Floorplan:

Beam/ column detail:

I really prefer this to be an I Beam because it would enable a gantry chain hoist hanging on the underside, but it could be done with wood cheaper (and no gantry hoist)

Detail at rear wall:

On the height measurement...if you've got a little tool budget, these "laser tapes" have proven invaluable on the jobsite, and pretty darn accurate.

On the original mezzanine question, I've wanted for exactly what you're after... cheap/easy access to a planning tool or generic plans. My use case is slightly different as I've got a different shape shop, and I've got many of the parts and pieces (tube columns and i-beams) from a larger warehouse mezzanine from a past project that I salvaged, but I hesitate to "guess" at how to assemble said pieces for my uses. 

You were typing while I was posting...

Considering spare engines, it might be worth putting your floor joists 12" oc, or making them 2x12's. Check with your engineer.
 

It might also be worth considering a double layer floor (total 1 1/2" thick). The only reason for this would be how much weight you plan to put on pallet racks upstairs.  Engines on a shelf create a point load where the shelving legs sit.  A double layer floor would hold anything you put on it. 
 

Note- it's intentional that I am suggesting the brand name Advantech. Other subfloors aren't as good. 

Here's another idea...

If you make the column 16' tall and add a 2nd one by the stairs, you could mount a chain hoist or winch to the top of the 2 columns and use it to lift engines to the 2nd floor. 
 

This is all extremely helpful--thank you! 

I've got a forklift, so I'm not that worried about installing a hoist. Would be cool, but forklifts are just so much easier/more versatile. Plus I've already got one 

In reply to Tom Suddard :

Yep. No need for a hoist. 
 

Where are you gonna park the forklift?

In reply to Tom Suddard :

The forklift concerns me a bit...

The potential to overload this thing becomes too easy.  When we build mezzanines for forklift loading, they have concrete 2nd floors.

I think you can still build it out of wood, but you need to over-engineer it.  I'd consider 120-150 psf, and have your engineer look at the entire design (not just the beam like I suggested earlier).  I think the design will end up being double layer 3/4" Advantech on top of 2x12's 16" oc, but ask your engineer.

The concern is twofold... you could overload it (I know you are smart enough to not do this), but if it's a rental space there is also the possibility of a future tenant overloading it (assuming you left it behind). 

SV reX said:

In reply to Tom Suddard :

Where are you gonna park the forklift?

On the mezzanine!!! 🤪