I have a car lift in my garage but 10ft ceiling height is not high enough. The garage is 28 ft wide and 26ft deep. The joist run from the garage door opening to the rear of the garage. There are 21 joist with 16 inch centers and I want to remove 5 of them on one side of the garage to gain height to raise car higher. I want to leave about three ft of joist on the door side and 6ft of joist on the back side. Then I would box the opening after cutting sections of joist. I am not sure what type of support I need to accomplish this. I have read about rafter collars, but not sure where to place them, or are there other support options? Don't want to ruin my structure, need help. Thank you for any advice you can give me.
Carl, thanks for your question. I want to try and help you with this but there are some questions I need you to answer for me so that I can determine what the possibilities are.
Here is what I need.
Is you garage a detached garage or is it attached to your home?
Is the gable end on the side of the garage or on the front of the garage?
Does the garage have joists and rafters or trusses?
What thickness are the joists? 2 x 6? 2 x 8? etc.
Would you happen to know your roof pitch?
Do you have one garage door in the center, which is what I am assuming, and how wide is the door?
When you say you want to remove 5 of the joists how far from the side wall to you want to want the first joist to be removed? The reason I ask this is because when you pull your car into the garage, I know that your car has to be a distance away from the side wall.
How far away from the side wall is the garage door track?
If you have an opener, what is the distance between the garage door track and the opener?
Are there any electrical wires that need to be moved?
How high from the floor do you need the new open space to be? Example 12', 14', higher etc.
If you can give me the answer to these questions, I will have a better understanding of what you have and then I will be able to advise you with more accurate information.
You can answer these questions by:
- Commenting on this answer.
- Ask a new question and include this information
- Send the answers to: askrick@showroom411.com
As soon I get your response, I will go over it, do some calculations and then let you know if it can be done and the best way to do it.
I hope this helps for now. Rick
Rick Maselli is Founder and Editor of Showroom411.com and Ask Rick