Costco "SafeRacks" overhead 4'x8' garage storage rack - 149.99 (or $124.99 with amex 25 off) shipping is included

Quote from xceebeex : If your roof structure in your garage cannot support 600-700 pounds then you have a lot worse problems. I certainly hope you don't live in an area where you get snow.

There is a big difference in the load from snow on a roof compared to the load from a garage ceiling mounted shelf. The roof trusses were design to withstand much more load from the top where the rafters are. The garage ceiling shelves mounts to the roof trusses at the joists, which were not designed for excessive downward load.

600-700 lbs spread across your garage ceiling is no problem, but I would be concerned about 600-700 lbs attached to a couple joists. At minimum, install it near the end of the joist. And be very careful not to put too many holes in the joists.

You do realize that many houses now have bonus rooms and other such rooms over their garage which typically equates to even more support. Just something to think about. I highly doubt most people will near the 600lb limit.

Quote from reflection : There is a big difference in the load from snow on a roof compared to the load from a garage ceiling mounted shelf. The roof trusses were design to withstand much more load from the top where the rafters are. The garage ceiling shelves mounts to the roof trusses at the joists, which were not designed for excessive downward load. 600-700 lbs spread across your garage ceiling is no problem, but I would be concerned about 600-700 lbs attached to a couple joists. At minimum, install it near the end of the joist. And be very careful not to put too many holes in the joists.

Quote from reflection : There is a big difference in the load from snow on a roof compared to the load from a garage ceiling mounted shelf. The roof trusses were design to withstand much more load from the top where the rafters are. The garage ceiling shelves mounts to the roof trusses at the joists, which were not designed for excessive downward load. 600-700 lbs spread across your garage ceiling is no problem, but I would be concerned about 600-700 lbs attached to a couple joists. At minimum, install it near the end of the joist. And be very careful not to put too many holes in the joists.

I really don't feel like doing the math, but I am willing to bet that 600-700 pounds is nowhere near too much no matter where you put it on the joists.

is this sold out?

edit nevermind. saw broken link

This Costco model looks nice, but a bit large. I have used these [amazon.com]and found being smaller I was able to use in various space sizes. Fit great in area above the garage door, also in my basement storage area.

For the accessories do you have to buy the saferack brand or are there cheaper alternatives?

Quote from jhillyerd : One other tip - when screwing the lag bolts into the ceiling, use something to lubricate them and go slow. They are fairly long, and once most of the way in, it's not hard snap the head off them.

Bravo sir.... Bravo

Quote from xceebeex : I really don't feel like doing the math, but I am willing to bet that 600-700 pounds is nowhere near too much no matter where you put it on the joists.

If your roof above the garage is like mine, it was built with fairly a fairly common roof truss system. The bottom cord is made up of 2x4 lumber spaced 24" apart. It's not like a standard floor joist which can be 2x10 or 2x12 (depending on span). These roof truss were not designed for attic rooms above your garage.

I've walked up there on the cords. I'm just under 200lbs, and the bottom cord will noticeably flex under my weight at the middle (away from the truss web) if I slightly bounce.

I'm just saying double check what you have above your garage just in case.

Quote from reflection : If your roof above the garage is like mine, it was built with fairly a fairly common roof truss system. The bottom cord is made up of 2x4 lumber spaced 24" apart. It's not like a standard floor joist which can be 2x10 or 2x12 (depending on span). These roof truss were not designed for attic rooms above your garage. I've walked up there on the cords. I'm just under 200lbs, and the bottom cord will noticeably flex under my weight at the middle (away from the truss web) if I slightly bounce. I'm just saying double check what you have above your garage just in case.

I understand where what you are trying to get at, but when the limit is 600 pounds distributed across multiple attach points (it looks like 6 posts plus each post has a bracket that looks like it is at least 18 inches wide which means multiple screws per post/bracket), I still don't think it is a problem.

You were putting more than 200 pounds of force (since you said you were bouncing) on a very small area without distributing any of that weight. I think you are unnecessarily worrying people. If this wouldn't work for almost all applications, I don't think it would be a successful product.

Quote from xceebeex : I understand where what you are trying to get at, but when the limit is 600 pounds distributed across multiple attach points (it looks like 6 posts plus each post has a bracket that looks like it is at least 18 inches wide which means multiple screws per post/bracket), I still don't think it is a problem. You were putting more than 200 pounds of force (since you said you were bouncing) on a very small area without distributing any of that weight. I think you are unnecessarily worrying people. If this wouldn't work for almost all applications, I don't think it would be a successful product.

Agreed that this is a very useful shelf to add storage and that it would work for most people. And not trying to worry folks, but just wanted them to be safe. I just don't want people to think that all ceilings are the same or that most ceilings can support attic rooms (as someone else posted).

From the installation manual:

"NOTE: The weakest point in the entire system is the garage ceiling joists and rafter system..."

Quote from AngryPirate : Not trying to shyte on the deal or anything OP, just offering alternatives to SD'ers....but if you search Craigslist for pallet racks/racking or wire decking, there are usually warehouses getting rid of this stuff dirt cheap. Alternatively, Home Depot and Lowes both sell Superstrut for around $15-20 per 10' piece and threaded rod for the uprights. Add a sheet of plywood and you're looking at around ~$60-80.

Looking to build some 4'X6' overhead shelving for my garage ceiling. Using Superstrut, how do you fasten the threaded rod to the joist? Drilling a hole all the way through the joist would of course weaken the joist. So what's the best way to fasten the threaded rod to the joist? I could see a cross piece of Superstrut (or 2X4 even with a metal plate, washers and lock nuts) laying above the joist perpendicular to the lower Superstrut/ceiling joist for the rod to be attached to, which would displace the weight over 3 joist or ?

Quote from AreWeThereYet : Looking to build some shelves for my garage ceiling. Using Superstrut, how do you fasten the threaded rod to the joist? Drilling a hole all the way through the joist would weaken the joist. What other way is there to fasten the threaded rod? I could see a cross piece of Superstrut (or 2X4 even) laying above the joist perpendicular to the lower Superstrut and ceiling joist for the rod to be attached to perhaps or ?

I wouldn't drill into the joists at all. A perpendicular piece up in the attic is how I plan on doing mine. One could also just use a long (hard wood) 2x4' or similar, coupled with a combination of bolts, washers, etc., to achieve the same result....BUT people just need to be very careful with how much weight they put on it if using the 2x4' approach. Wood can dampen and weaken over time. I plan on stacking my spare sheets of wood up there, which MDF can weigh as much as ~75-120lbs each...so I'm not taking any chances with 2x4's since I'll likely have at least 500-700lbs+ up there at any given time. I'm going with the more ridgid superstrut as the support on tops of the joists and they will be as long as the perpendicular piece below... that way it's supported by at least 4-5 different joists. I attached a very rudimentary pic (I'm not very good at drawing in Word) which would be a side shot in case I'm not explaining myself well enough.

As for the 4' width, that's up to you (I'm actually doing a 5' width to have some wiggle room). You can use a couple more pieces of superstrut *if* you want it really ridgid. You could use 2x4's. I just plan on using some threaded rod spanning the 5' width at the front, back, and middle (basically the same places the rod is going vertical into the attic), and then just setting a couple pieces of plywood on top of the threaded rod as the base. I know I could just set the wood up there without a base, but at ~$50/sheet down here for decent wood, I don't want threaded rod dents/impression all over the good wood.

Pallet Racks / Wire decking is probably the easiest DIY option...I'm just limited on space above my garage door. I only have about ~10" between the ceiling and garage door when it's opened. And since pallet/wire racking is generally pretty stout/thick, it would eat up to much of that valuable space and not leave much for storage. The superstrut is a little more expensive than the pallet rack / wire decking, but it is also very thin, yet still ridgid, so I don't lose as much storage space. I figure I'll end up with around ~7-8" of storage, which is enough for around 8-9 sheets of 3/4 ply or MDF.

Quote from AngryPirate : I wouldn't drill into the joists at all. A perpendicular piece up in the attic is how I plan on doing mine. One could also just use a long (hard wood) 2x4' or similar, coupled with a combination of bolts, washers, etc., to achieve the same result....BUT people just need to be very careful with how much weight they put on it if using the 2x4' approach. Wood can dampen and weaken over time. I plan on stacking my spare sheets of wood up there, which MDF can weigh as much as ~75-120lbs each...so I'm not taking any chances with 2x4's since I'll likely have at least 500-700lbs+ up there at any given time. I'm going with the more ridgid superstrut as the support on tops of the joists and they will be as long as the perpendicular piece below... that way it's supported by at least 4-5 different joists. I attached a very rudimentary pic (I'm not very good at drawing in Word) which would be a side shot in case I'm not explaining myself well enough. As for the 4' width, that's up to you (I'm actually doing a 5' width to have some wiggle room). You can use a couple more pieces of superstrut *if* you want it really ridgid. You could use 2x4's. I just plan on using some threaded rod spanning the 5' width at the front, back, and middle (basically the same places the rod is going vertical into the attic), and then just setting a couple pieces of plywood on top of the threaded rod as the base. I know I could just set the wood up there without a base, but at ~$50/sheet down here for decent wood, I don't want threaded rod dents/impression all over the good wood.

Thanks! Sounds like were on the same page. I'm gonna give this a little more thought and will report back.