Lumber storage - Is this a crazy idea?

[Jim Becker]

Plus, SWMBO would kill me if I put up a shed. So inside it is.

Nobody can argue with that and win!!

[John Lifer]

I've two horizontal racks that I use for a lot of my wood. These were Rockler or similar tubing type units. Got them on walls high enough that bottom shelf is eye level, rest goes to the ceiling.
Works ok, but not the easiest to sort. with lift next to it, It would be hard to use.

[Alan Lightstone]

Still wrapping my head about what to do here. I clearly need both some sheet storage, but especially board storage. Have lots of space at over door height, but very limited at ground level in shop.

Anyone have a great solution for me. I'll post some pictures of the area, once my contractor gets the exhaust fan done in my finishing room so I can move stuff out of the way.

[Tom Bender]

How about Chris's basic concept but with only two posts, against the wall? It would be like you installed part of a fork truck.

No I don't know where to get such a lift, it may exist only in my head, but that's a start.

[johnny means]

I think the Rube Goldberg approach is both impractical and dangerous. There is always going to be some variable that your initial engineering didn't take into account. From the sounds of it, you are in no condition to deal with sudden awkward situations or dive out the way really quickly. I would look into getting a manual pallet stacker. That would solve the height and lifting issue with a safe proven solution.

[andy bessette]

Here's a copy of drawings...
Attachment 420198Attachment 420199...

"Storage space" like this should be reserved for stuff needing very infrequent access, like Christmas ornaments. For that you can drag out a ladder twice a year.

Lumber should be stored where you can easily search through it to select the pieces most appropriate to the particular project.

[Dave Burson]

Would love to hear details of the exhaust fan in your finish room Alan, as well as route for the return air into that! I'm in the middle of shop setup, and that part is on hold until I get a better idea... TIA
Dave

[Mark Daily]

Alan- how about building a platform with sides, perhaps similar to a pallet, that you can load your wood onto. The platform is raised and lowered using an electric winch. You would probably need 4 attachment points, one at each corner to attach a cable that would then be attached to the winch cable.

If you think this might work, I can make some drawings to illustrate what I mean.

93DFD128-9620-42D0-A0B4-D48441F0C872.jpg



(Very simple drawing)

Maybe a hoist like this:
https://www.harborfreight.com/1300-l...rol-62853.html

FA082581-1552-41FD-8941-F371D3DE4EB7.jpeg

[ChrisA Edwards]

To Mark's idea, I installed an Attic lift in my old Dallas house. I had a large unfinished attic above my garage.

If you have strong ceiling mount points, a lift similar to this could easily be made.

You load your wood on the platform, raise it for storage and bring it down when you need a piece.

[Mark Daily]

To Mark's idea, I installed an Attic lift in my old Dallas house. I had a large unfinished attic above my garage.

If you have strong ceiling mount points, a lift similar to this could easily be made.

You load your wood on the platform, raise it for storage and bring it down when you need a piece.

Exactly what I had in mind but inside the garage, perhaps with a simpler lift system.

[Tom Dixon]

The harbor freight hoist is a great idea. If you used two pair of lumber racks like these https://www.grizzly.com/products/Gri...-System/T27630 and mounted them on 2x4s with cross members in the back and used barn door guide tracks https://www.homedepot.com/p/National...X-RA/206653380 with these https://www.homedepot.com/p/National...IL-H/206653373 connected to the 2x4s you could lower the entire wood rack to the floor put stuff on it and raise it back to the ceiling.