Garage Attic Access

ndbwhunter

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Looking for some opinions or ideas on the attic access in my garage. The access cover is just a piece of sheetrock that needs to be pushed up and manipulated in order to get it down. The issue that I'm having now is that this wind is causing the cover to lift up and then it slams back down on the sheetrock that's holding it up. It's starting to cause some cracking and I'm really getting sick of the noise when it slams back down.

This got me thinking about increasing the size of the opening and installing some type of telescoping or folding ladder. This would prevent the cover from lifting up on those windy days and I'm hoping the springs/hardware that hold the pull down covers up would also keep the wind from pushing it down.

Looking for opinions/pictures/ideas if anyone has something like this. My ceiling is roughly 12ft, so my options at the local hardware stores are quite limited. The prices seem to vary from $300 all the way up to $3,000 and I'd like to stay near the bottom of that range.
 


Paddledogger

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How many roof vents do you have on your garage? Might be a air pressure thing from this wind. It also sounds like you have the same set up I do. To access my attic, you have to go up through the garage, step on rafters to the access door to open and see above my living space. I think I might have one vent, with vented soffits which I think would keep my sheetrock access in place.
 


ndbwhunter

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Don't tell them . . .

If some cities do allow them I'll just play dumb...

- - - Updated - - -

How many roof vents do you have on your garage? Might be a air pressure thing from this wind. It also sounds like you have the same set up I do. To access my attic, you have to go up through the garage, step on rafters to the access door to open and see above my living space. I think I might have one vent, with vented soffits which I think would keep my sheetrock access in place.

It's definitely and air pressure issue. I have vented soffits and a full length vented ridge cap, so there are no plastic vents. I think the other issues that I'm having is that I have an 18' door on the big side that acts like a boat sail and pushes in far enough to let some air in the sides. These are both issues that need to be addressed that should eliminate the pressure issues.
 

Sluggo

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shorthairsrus

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I have one similar to this as well. Like it. Easy to install. My neighbor has the aluminum one and you’d think being lighter would be better but it’s too light, it won’t stay extended.

I lifted one up at lowes or menards - they are heavy --- how did you hold onto to install. I would two guys two ladders or a sissor lift to install the thing. I told the wife you dont need shit up in the garage attic - whatever gets put up in that space just gets forgotten.
 

bucksnbears

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My guess is, even though the soffit looks vented, the attic is not other then the peak.
There needs to be air flow from the soffit into the attic and an escape out the top.
 


Sluggo

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I lifted one up at lowes or menards - they are heavy --- how did you hold onto to install. I would two guys two ladders or a sissor lift to install the thing. I told the wife you dont need shit up in the garage attic - whatever gets put up in that space just gets forgotten.

I installed it 20 years ago so I can’t remember ;) Looks like it weighs 59 lbs. I would say that either I followed the instructions OR I might have used a temporary brace or clamp to hold it.
 

Dirty

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Drop down attic ladder...one of the best improvements I ever made to my garage. I have one at my house and two at my cabin. I will never not have them in any garage of mine for the rest of my life.
 

shorthairsrus

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you guys build a room up top --- -that wind we had to today even with soffits and vents up the ass - your breathing cellulose. The older I get the more i understand storage --- the less shit the better. I am glad my wife doesnt read this shit - otherwise she would be on my ass to put drop down in --even though 4 feet away is a 10 foot step ladder.
 

ktm450

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I lifted one up at lowes or menards - they are heavy --- how did you hold onto to install. I would two guys two ladders or a sissor lift to install the thing. I told the wife you dont need shit up in the garage attic - whatever gets put up in that space just gets forgotten.

i used a sheet rock jack to hold mine in place for me.

i ordered my attic ladder off ebay- cheapest i could find it. was an insulated one also 10-12'
 


ndbwhunter

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Well, now that I've had some time to think about it I won't be going with a ladder. The attic is not meant for storage anyways so I think I'll continue to use the sheet rock cover and add some weight to it (2x4s with insulation and plywood) and a couple of latches to keep it in place.

All of the soffits and ridge cap are vented, so I'm guessing it was just the strong winds causing the issue. It's happened before, but never for an extended period like this. Thanks for all the suggestions. My future shop will definitely have an attic ladder though.
 

Dirty

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If you (or anyone) plan on getting one of these for a shop or garage you haven’t built yet, and plan on using the attic for storage, do yourself a favor and put your plywood floor or whatever kind of floor your attic will have down before closing it up. Man, did that save some work when we built our cabin! We basically finished the attic completely (insulate, plywood floor, electrical, lights, fan), framed in and installed garage drop down ladder all before putting drywall on garage ceiling. So much easier than doing all of that in reverse order.
 
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guywhofishes

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you guys build a room up top --- -that wind we had to today even with soffits and vents up the ass - your breathing cellulose. The older I get the more i understand storage --- the less shit the better. I am glad my wife doesnt read this shit - otherwise she would be on my ass to put drop down in --even though 4 feet away is a 10 foot step ladder.

You think everyone is using blown insulation?
 

sl1000794

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If you (or anyone) plan on getting one of these for a shop or garage you haven’t built yet, and plan on using the attic for storage, do yourself a favor and put your plywood floor or whatever kind of floor your attic will have down before closing it up. Man, did that save some work when we built our cabin! We basically finished the attic completely (insulate, plywood floor, electrical, lights, fan), framed in and installed garage drop down ladder all before putting drywall on garage ceiling. So much easier than doing all of that in reverse order.

Make sure that you talk to your truss supplier and let him know that you want to store stuff in the attic. He can design the trusses to have an open bay down the center (I have one for a horizontal furnace for the second floor.) Also he can reinforce the truss connections to carry extra load and could use a 2x6 bottom chord to add strength to carry extra load. Won't add much to the cost to do it right and to code.
 


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