Dont waste that space !!!!!!

Rob Keeble

Member
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Location
GTA Ontario Canada
Finewoodworking just released a blog page with a bunch of shop tours on it.

One aspect that i find seldom comes up is use of space above your head, yet a great experienced woodworker Chris Gochnour is the first pro i have come across that mentions this point.

During my shop design a good friend of mine that is an architect by trade came up with a great idea. Nothing new but it was huge value to me.

Originally i wanted a Gambrel roof. Heck i did not come to North America not to have a barn.:rofl: Convinced LOML and so this is how it was to be.

Reason being in a Gambrel roof there is loads of space between the trusses that makes for good storage. I had in mind to store my future canoe there in winter like a farmer in the old days would store hay in the loft.

But municipal height restrictions would not permit.

I also wanted a radiant heater and wanted it in the center of the shop.

Yeah lots of wants but thats what a dream shop is about. Why build it if you dont get the things you want.

So my friend thought about this and one night when we were talking it over he came up with Scissors Truss. Here is a side view of the construction.



At first glance it dont look like much from this drawing but here are actual pictures of my ceiling before closure.
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I wish i had realized then the value cause i would have taken a better pic, but you can see the space i get from the 9 ft heigh walls to the center.

Now look what i managed to hang there
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This is a frame out of the storage platform for my "future":D canoe.

I worried how i would get it up there and he said the same way you would if you had a barn.

So look what we came up with
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This is an old pic but you can see the external hatch above the entry door.

While i am at it note i got double doors so if i need to open a large entrance i can but i usually only use a single. This saves valuable wall space. BTW think about the positioning of a door like this as well as your electrical panel. You want the two close together and you dont want them wasting space.

I still managed to do the right thing and have soffits and air movement over the ceiling top and its insulated to R22 with vapor barrier and two layers of drywall.

But most important i have not used any of my shops normal ceiling height for this storage. Its all area that would have been lost if i had used normal trusses. My trusses were designed for the snow load here and the extra at the time was i think a couple hundred dollars. I would say that was worth it given the cost per square foot on shop space wouldnt you?

Another feature i did not think of at the time was the way the light fittings end up projecting their light of the angled ceiling. Addes bonus not that its that visible.

At present i use it for additional storage and the heater hangs from underneath it too.

I tend to think we rush into these things at times and with small shops we need to think about how to maximize space utilization we all know there is never enough.:rofl:

Boy do i ever regret having a porch but it was the political price i had to pay to have a shop in the backyard in our house.:D

I hope this helps someone in the planning stages of building a shop.
 
Rob, I was just going to ask what that "frame out" was after viewing it on the Shop Heating thread. Now I know.

I really do like the angled ceiling you have by using that truss.

I have got to ask though, how are you suppose to get the canoe in and out that exterior upper door? Going to install a rail system like you see on hay lofts in barns?
 
I had a thought of sheet rocking the scissor part of the truss & then using a little electric winch to raise the canoe straight up from the shop floor. With tools on roll around bases this would be an easy way to put the canoe away for the winter & with 4-6 bracket sets to slide a 2x4 through underneath the canoe you could release the tension from the winch.

Of course I would have the gambrel roof & no canoe. But a nice 14'-16' fishing boat would be nice.
 
Well Bart then where would heater go?

Bill I will do the good old barn hay lift. Get a bit of uni strut that i can slide out and hookup some pulleys to a strap cradle or maybe just a roller at the entrance and a winch at the back end of the shop. :dunno: Will tackle that when the canoe is built. Gotta get there first. Just made provision for it right now. Way i am going i will be 90 before i get the canoe built something like Neds shop or Jonathans kitchen.:rofl:
 
Rob,
If I read right, the first picture is the roof joists in your shop... I like them.
I take after my father... if I can't hang it on the wall, then it goes overhead... my lumber storage is on racks over head, my face shield is hung from a rafter just over the lathe and anything else I can put up high - things I don't use on a regular basis.. spare belts for the lathe, spare belts for the sander, etc... my dad hung everything at a minimum height of about 7 feet... it there was a chance it might touch his hat, it went higher... he was about 6'3", so his hat was about 6'6" since he almost always wore a stetson style...
 
Will tackle that when the canoe is built. Gotta get there first. Just made provision for it right now. Way i am going i will be 90 before i get the canoe built

Or, like me, you'll change your mind.

I used to think strip canoes were gorgeous (still do) and thought it'd be fun to build one someday. Then I saw Jeff's SOF Kayaks, and now I think they look pretty darn cool, and think it'd be fun to build one someday -- and far easier than a cedar strip canoe, and far lighter.

I'm still waiting for Jeff to build a 2-person SOF canoe...

...art
 
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Art i try not to look at Jeffs stuff too hard. I have more than enough half finished and yet to be started projects.:rofl: Adding a Kayak to the list has had a lot of pull.:)

I always tell my wife i know why my Dad is still around he hasnt finished the list yet. As long as there is a reason to get up in the morning and tackle the list the engine just keeps going.:);)
 
Not sure if these ideas are worth mentioning, but here goes....

A few months ago I read a tip in The Family Handyman about these units, available at Lowe's for $5 (I think) each:

A590_1893_HeadRoom_WoodStorage_1a.jpg


A590_1893_HeadRoom_WoodStorage_1b.jpg



I bought 6 of them, but only recently utilized a few when I needed to make room for my new table saw:

A590_1894_HeadRoom_WoodStorage_2.jpg


I'm thinking / hoping that the boards I put up there weigh less than 150 lbs.


= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

I got my first cordless drill/driver several years ago. It was kinda bulky, so I didn't want to "keep" it on my workbench surface. I looked up, and drove a couple nails:

A590_1895_HeadRoom_DrillDriver_1.jpg


A590_1896_HeadRoom_DrillDriver_2.jpg


When I need it at the workbench, I just reach up and tippy-toe it off the nails. Works great for me.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

For what they're worth... :dunno:
 
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I have to toss this in. If you are building a new shop or rehabbing your old one. When planing on overhead storage make sure that thew truss company knows your intended use and how much weight you estimated on hanging off the trusses.
The other thing is you can go with this type of truss for even more room.:thumb:
Even with this type if you plan on hanging stuff from the ceiling you should mention the to the truss shop so they can engineer in the extra weight.

atticTruss.jpg
 
a reason I dont put anything heavy up there. I know zilch about home construction, but I do know that snow and ice is heavy, and until it melts off the roofs, its alot of stress to the integrity of a structure.
trusses, rafters, whatever is up there holding my roof up, was meant to support weight on top of it, not having weight dragging it down from underneath, so I think ya'all should listen to chuck and make sure youre trusses can handle all the excess weight before you start storing your heavy crap up there.
I tend to store stuff that is lightweight, and only needs to come down once a year, like halloween decorations, outdoor party supplies, stuff I just need to hold onto and will never look for it again.
I have a pair of aluminum crutches and an aluminum cane hanging almost at the peak of the roof on hooks. Years ago, when I severly sprained my ankle and needed them, I realized I had no way of getting them down. I couldnt climb the ladder, and my wife was too short.
I eventually got someone else to climb up there. They are back up there hanging for future use, or not.
 
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