Garage Storage

This is a storage loft I built in our garage so I could free up some floor space.

Fortunately I have 14’ ceilings in our garage and that allowed me to build this convenient storage area for my wife’s decorating stuff.

The basic construction is 2×6, 5/8” osb and 5/8” ply. I didn’t want to have an outside corner post because it would interfere with the existing stairway, so I utilized the glulam beam (which is wrapped in drywall) to help support the loft.
I knew I wanted pull-down stairs but the big box stores didn’t have anything that would work.

I built the stairs to come down onto the landing of the existing stairs that go from the garage to the house. This allows my wife easy access to her stuff without having to move cars out of the garage. The hard part was trying to figure out how to allow the stairway to raise and lower easily. I tried and tried (unsuccessfully) to use pulleys and weights but it just wasn’t working. Then one night when I was in bed, I wasn’t able to sleep. So, I began to ponder my delima. Alas! I had a great Idea. My inspiration came from the garage door spring mechanism. I went down to a local garage door supplier and told them what I wanted to do. They promptly snickered at the idea but said they would be happy to sell me the parts.

It took a little time, but I got the spring tension and the cable mounting point just right. The spring has just enough tension on it that it holds the stairway up, when it is in the up position; but it can be easily pulled down. Once it is in the lowered position, the stairway has just enough weight to hold itself down. Surprisingly the stairway can be raised or lowered with one finger!!!

One last note… the stariway handrail was made so that when the stairway is in the raised position the top handrail newel post, provides a positive stop so that the bottom of the stairs doesn’t slam into the ceiling.

-- Imagine It... Build It... Enjoy It!