Back to the drawing board - can’t use ceiling for top hoist system?

[swamp2]

Hint. Username checks out

Too easy. Late 60s or early 70s gold or tan El Camino with black vinyl top. Is it called a soft top? 396 or 454 by chance?

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[jonwithanelcamino]

Too easy. Late 60s or early 70s gold or tan El Camino with black vinyl top. Is it called a soft top? 396 or 454 by chance?

1971 with the 350
Brown viynal over tan

 

[MYNIL8R]

Well, I’m pretty bummed and stumped at what I should do. I bought the “Hoist a Top” roof removal system to install in my new house’s garage, but my boyfriend says that he doesn’t think the ceiling will support any additional weight because there are only roof trusses and not proper support for hanging anything from the roof. (I also wanted to install a Fleximount overhead rack and that’s probably not happening either.)

I don’t know much about this type of stuff and so I’ve researched a good bit the past couple days and while I can’t confirm for certain that he’s right, I agree that it looks like the risk is there. They are 2x4s spanning the width of the garage.

Attaching pics of my attic if anyone here is a roof expert that can give me reassurance, but I reached out to a couple structural engineers to get an opinion but they all say they have to come out to the property to see and measure to determine, and that sounds even more expensive.

I’m still in the return window for Amazon so I’ve got to figure out something ASAP. Hoping to either confirm it’s ok, or figure out an alternative solution to remove and store the top that will allow me to use my garage still.

Suggestions? I could really use a little help from my friends.

I mounted 2x4s across the trusses to reinforce, then spanned the 2x4s with strut so the lift could slide back and forth. I haven't heard a single squeak. Good luck finding a new boyfriend.

 

[Phil B]

I have some knowledge of roof trusses. It totally depends on the limits the trusses were designed too. The bottom cord of a truss (ceiling level) is typically not load bearing. The hardtop doesn't weigh much, and it's likely you will not cause any real issues. If the sheetrock joints in the ceiling start appearing, then the weight is causing problems. Now all that said, it's very easy to modify the trusses to support the load. If you want a official opinion on how to do it, have a engineer tell you what to do. Otherwise a good framing contractor will be able to add make the modifications. If your house is new, without a engineer involved you could void your warranty in that area.

 

[Imaginary Friend]

I can't believe this thread gets 4-dozen responses. Maybe lots eager to apply as new BF ?

Simpin' ain't easy.

 

[TomH]

Well, I’m pretty bummed and stumped at what I should do. I bought the “Hoist a Top” roof removal system to install in my new house’s garage, but my boyfriend says that he doesn’t think the ceiling will support any additional weight because there are only roof trusses and not proper support for hanging anything from the roof. (I also wanted to install a Fleximount overhead rack and that’s probably not happening either.)

I don’t know much about this type of stuff and so I’ve researched a good bit the past couple days and while I can’t confirm for certain that he’s right, I agree that it looks like the risk is there. They are 2x4s spanning the width of the garage.

Attaching pics of my attic if anyone here is a roof expert that can give me reassurance, but I reached out to a couple structural engineers to get an opinion but they all say they have to come out to the property to see and measure to determine, and that sounds even more expensive.

I’m still in the return window for Amazon so I’ve got to figure out something ASAP. Hoping to either confirm it’s ok, or figure out an alternative solution to remove and store the top that will allow me to use my garage still.

Suggestions? I could really use a little help from my friends.

the hardtop clam shell weighs 110lbs. You're good

 

[Swiss Miss]

What a nonsense question to begin OP. I can't believe this thread gets 4-dozen responses. Maybe lots eager to apply as new BF ?

Doesn't seem like a nonsense question, actually, seeing as how several folks have commented that it could have potential to be an issue, and suggested ways to try and mitigate the risk, but maybe... LOL

I spoke with a few structural engineers, just curious on the topic - not necessarily for this project, but for general weight capacity because I WOULD like to also install a ceiling-mounted storage rack (which says it has a 600 lb storage capacity)... they've all validated the risk is there, some trusses only having a 5lb per sq ft capacity, but they've all also quoted about $2k to come out and determine the actual capacity. Probably going to pass on that and maybe later down the line talk with a general contractor, as some have suggested. It's a higher-end build house but from 1980s era, so there are a lot of variables at play on what's actually going on.

I haven't had a chance to actually install the mount quite yet (caught up with other moving projects) - but thanks again for all the input so far as I'll continue to keep everyone in suspense on whether 1) I'm single or 2) the roof comes crashing down....

 

[da_jokker]

Doesn't seem like a nonsense question, actually, seeing as how several folks have commented that it could have potential to be an issue, and suggested ways to try and mitigate the risk, but maybe... LOL

I spoke with a few structural engineers, just curious on the topic - not necessarily for this project, but for general weight capacity because I WOULD like to also install a ceiling-mounted storage rack (which says it has a 600 lb storage capacity)... they've all validated the risk is there, some trusses only having a 5lb per sq ft capacity, but they've all also quoted about $2k to come out and determine the actual capacity. Probably going to pass on that and maybe later down the line talk with a general contractor, as some have suggested. It's a higher-end build house but from 1980s era, so there are a lot of variables at play on what's actually going on.

I haven't had a chance to actually install the mount quite yet (caught up with other moving projects) - but thanks again for all the input so far as I'll continue to keep everyone in suspense on whether 1) I'm single or 2) the roof comes crashing down....

I have had one of those racks installed in my garage for years (I actually have multiple)

The largest one has tons of storage stuff on it, (and heavy). I also hang my solid steel hitch cargo basket from it, AND when I need to get up there, I grab hold of it and pull myself up onto my workbench which is right below it.... All held in with eight 5/16 lag bolts spread across as many trusses as possible (at least 2)....been 10 years and my house is still standing

And again, these are bolted into a 1x2 that is just glued to a particle board engineered I beam...you have actual solid wood 2x4.

https://www.redbuilt.com/products/i...7GLD9HMkZt7ycLCdGRUYMkcsRlMKv5ZgaApWzEALw_wcB

 

[vrtical]

Doesn't seem like a nonsense question, actually, seeing as how several folks have commented that it could have potential to be an issue, and suggested ways to try and mitigate the risk, but maybe... LOL

I spoke with a few structural engineers, just curious on the topic - not necessarily for this project, but for general weight capacity because I WOULD like to also install a ceiling-mounted storage rack (which says it has a 600 lb storage capacity)... they've all validated the risk is there, some trusses only having a 5lb per sq ft capacity, but they've all also quoted about $2k to come out and determine the actual capacity. Probably going to pass on that and maybe later down the line talk with a general contractor, as some have suggested. It's a higher-end build house but from 1980s era, so there are a lot of variables at play on what's actually going on.

I haven't had a chance to actually install the mount quite yet (caught up with other moving projects) - but thanks again for all the input so far as I'll continue to keep everyone in suspense on whether 1) I'm single or 2) the roof comes crashing down....

"some trusses only having a 5lb per sq ft capacity" ???? Yeah you are getting all kind of wrong info then they want to charge you just to say oh its good lol.

 

[Swiss Miss]

"some trusses only having a 5lb per sq ft capacity" ???? Yeah you are getting all kind of wrong info then they want to charge you just to say oh its good lol.

Not really.

From link below, provides a good explanation:
Truss capacity is listed by pounds per square foot based on the following load rating criteria: Top chord live load (snow and other temporary loads), top chord dead load (roofing materials, weight of the truss itself & other permanent items attached to the roof), bottom chord live load (storage) and bottom chord dead load (insulation, ceiling materials, ceiling fans, etc.).

For my purpose, the bottom chord loads are what are relevant; of course, everyone's trusses are different. Here's a link to a 26' Residential Truss: 26' Residential Common Truss 5/12 Pitch 62#

You can see that this specific truss has specs of:
Live Load Bottom Chord: 0 pound per square foot
Dead Load Bottom Chord: 10 pound per square foot

We can have a separate discussion about actual/realistic scenarios and use cases, a good bit of which have been shared here, but specs are specs... lol

 

[Jdyount]

As an engineer I'm going to add my 2 cents here:

First, you will be just fine lifting your 80 lbs 2 door top from your garage ceiling. Looks like you have a 2x6s to spread the attached load over a couple of bottom truss chords, good stuff. 100% no issue.

A few things:

First, all engineering structural components are built with a FOS (factor of safety). This means that anything designed to carry a load is designed to carry more than the load intended. For trusses in a home this is often 2-3 times the max load. That being said, 80 lbs with spread attachment over a couple of trusses, I can't see any situation where the home was built to code that there would be a problem lifting that load safely.

Second, the REAL question before mounting a hoisting device isn't "how much weight will I be lifting?" it's "can the structure handle the max load of the hoisting device?". It's all fine if you're only lifting an 80 lbs top, but if someone tries to lift something else that is too heavy, you want the hoist to fail, NOT the structure. So just be careful, there could be some liability if you leave that up and sell your house, then the next owner tries to lift a car engine or something... I plan on taking the cheap electric Harbor Freight hoist I put up for my Bronco top down if I ever move.

Edit: For the record, I did lift a 200 lbs motorcycle engine with my hoist no issue.

 

[mpeugeot]

As an engineer I'm going to add my 2 cents here:

First, you will be just fine lifting your 80 lbs 2 door top from your garage ceiling. Looks like you have a 2x6s to spread the attached load over a couple of bottom truss chords, good stuff. 100% no issue.

A few things:

First, all engineering structural components are built with a FOS (factor of safety). This means that anything designed to carry a load is designed to carry more than the load intended. For trusses in a home this is often 2-3 times the max load. That being said, 80 lbs with spread attachment over a couple of trusses, I can't see any situation where the home was built to code that there would be a problem lifting that load safely.

Second, the REAL question before mounting a hoisting device isn't "how much weight will I be lifting?" it's "can the structure handle the max load of the hoisting device?". It's all fine if you're only lifting an 80 lbs top, but if someone tries to lift something else that is too heavy, you want the hoist to fail, NOT the structure. So just be careful, there could be some liability if you leave that up and sell your house, then the next owner tries to lift a car engine or something... I plan on taking the cheap electric Harbor Freight hoist I put up for my Bronco top down if I ever move.

Edit: For the record, I did lift a 200 lbs motorcycle engine with my hoist no issue.

So I should be good lifting a diesel engine out of a heavy duty pickup?

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