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I just found out how much weight my garage ceiling can really hold
I was planning to add some overhead storage racks and looked up the building code for my area. The guide said a standard unfinished garage ceiling with 2x6 joists can hold about 10 pounds per square foot, which is way less than I thought. That means my 12x20 foot space can only handle 2400 pounds total, and that's before you add the weight of the drywall or anything else. I found this in a PDF from my city's permit office website last night. Now I have to rethink my whole storage plan and maybe add some extra supports. Has anyone else had to reinforce their garage ceiling for something like this?
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alice26918d ago
That bit about finding the real weight limit in a PDF from the city is the whole story. People just guess at what stuff can handle. Like those cheap plastic shelves everyone loads up until they buckle, or overfilling a trash bag because it "looks fine." We assume things are stronger than they are until we see the actual numbers. Then it's a scramble to fix it.
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rodriguez.felix10d ago
Wait, only 10 pounds per square foot? That's like a small bag of dog food per tile, that's insane. No wonder @the_lucas mentioned those old bed frames, we're all out here trusting stuff to hold way more than it should. You finding the actual city code probably saved your ceiling from a major disaster. I'd be looking at those support beams too, that's way too close for comfort.
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