{"id":526,"date":"2017-07-17T18:23:36","date_gmt":"2017-07-18T01:23:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.blowingawayoutwest.com\/?p=526"},"modified":"2018-01-24T11:38:57","modified_gmt":"2018-01-24T18:38:57","slug":"above-garage-door-storage-tutorial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blowingawayoutwest.com\/staging\/above-garage-door-storage-tutorial\/","title":{"rendered":"Above Garage Door Storage Tutorial"},"content":{"rendered":"

Can you ever have enough Garage Storage?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Garage storage, in some form is a necessity. \u00a0If your family is like mine, then you will relate. Every time someone needs to store or hide something that doesn’t “work” in the house, it ends up in the garage. \u00a0Right inside the garage door in the middle of the floor, begging to be tripped over. \u00a0Dad knows best, or maybe Dad knows where it goes better then me. My pet peeve is having a garage stuffed so full of junk that you have to park your cars outside. \u00a0So, garage storage has to be built around getting those cars back in the garage.<\/p>\n

The problem with garage storage is that some items need to be accessible daily, some monthly, and some once a year. \u00a0So, it makes sense to design garage storage based on frequency of use. \u00a0You also need the type of storage that allows you to\u00a0use<\/em> your garage. \u00a0You should be able to park two cars in a two car garage and still have storage.<\/p>\n

I have in my garage right now enough Christmas decorations for at least 6 trees, two houses (we only own one), camping equipment for a family of five, car cleaning stuff, and boxes that we haven’t unpacked for at least 7 years.<\/p>\n

I decided to tackle garage storage for the stuff that is used really infrequently–holiday decorations.<\/p>\n

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Above Garage Door Storage Solution<\/b><\/p>\n

I did get lucky in this house, it is a extra deep garage with 10 foot ceilings. \u00a0Obviously, extra deep and tall garages offer the most options for creating storage. \u00a0If you’ve been blessed with high garage ceilings, then this garage storage project is for you.<\/p>\n

I saw a infomercial for overhead garage storage that solve my garage storage problem. It’s allows you to store containers on a rail system above your garage door. \u00a0Whether the door open or closed, they are out of the way hanging out above your parked car. \u00a0Perfect except that the cost was way more than I wanted to spend.<\/p>\n

I went on the look out for a cheaper way to build the same type of rail system. \u00a0 I found some discontinued metal shelving rails at Lowe’s, which I used for a few of the sections. Normally, I know better than buying discontinued items unless I’m sure that they have enough to complete the project. \u00a0But I bought the eight rails (that’s why you see rails in the pictures) and then had to finish the project using a wood I-beam system. \u00a0So, this tutorial shows you how to create the entire project using the wood I-beams.<\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Pick out the containers for your project.\u00a0<\/strong>I liked the idea of 25 gallon containers, but was a little unsure if the weight would become a problem, and settled on 17-gallon containers. \u00a0I made sure to buy rigid plastic containers with lids that attached securely. \u00a0Avoid containers made of flexible plastic, or containers with a lid that pops off when you pick it up. \u00a0Remember, these are going to be hanging above your car. Very important: the containers must have a considerable lip to be supported on the rail system.<\/p>\n

Measure the containers to determine 1) how wide your rails need to be and 2) how many containers will fit along your eight foot long stud.<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0Buy I-beam lumber. \u00a0<\/strong>You’ll need 2 studs for a single row, three studs for two rows, four studs for three rows and so forth. Each I-beam contains 1 2″x3″ stud and 2-1″x4″ pine boards.<\/p>\n

3. Assemble the I-beams.\u00a0<\/strong>Assemble the beams on the ground by sandwiching a stud between 2-1″x4″ planks using 2 5\/8″ grabber screws. \u00a0Pre-drill the screw holes \u00a0(aka pilot hole) to prevent your lumber from splitting.<\/p>\n

\"I-beam\"<\/a><\/p>\n

3. \u00a0Mark the truss for your rails.<\/strong> \u00a0 \u00a0Locate where the garage door opener outlet is attached to the ceiling. \u00a0That is attached to the side of a truss.\u00a0The rafters are on 2 foot centers, so you can measure from the outlet 2 feet all the way across. \u00a0But the easiest way to find your studs is with a stud finder, a cool tool that you drag along the drywall that beeps when it locates the stud.
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