Build Garage Storage Platform Over Car Hood : Space: This easy project can provide a convenient shelf in what might otherwise be wasted room.
The average garage is so cluttered with bikes, sports equipment, lawn spreaders and the like that there’s no room left for the car. One way to solve the problem is to build a sort of “bunk bed” storage unit in the wasted space over the hood of your car. All it takes is about eight 2-by-4s, a sheet of plywood and about an hour of your time.
The basic construction of the storage bunk framework is shown in the sketch. After the frame is completed, just lay a sheet of half-inch plywood across the supports.
Actual dimensions depend on the ceiling height in your garage and the size of your car. Although you can build the bunk all the way across the back wall of your garage, it’s best to leave space along both sides so you have easy access from three directions.
To start construction, fasten the 2-by-4 header to the ceiling joists over the hood of the car. Use six-inch-by-quarter-inch lag screws for this purpose. These are like giant screws with bolt heads so you can drive them easily with a wrench. Pre-drill the header with a quarter-inch bit. Pre-drill the joists with a 3/16-inch bit.
If you fasten this header four feet out from the back wall of the garage, you can use a sheet of plywood at full width for the platform of your bunk. This is a convenient size, and saves you the work of ripping your plywood to make it fit.
Once the header is up, fasten a 2-by-4 cleat to the garage wall. You can use screws or nails for this purpose. Just make sure they hit the wall studs. Position the cleat a few inches higher than the hood of your car so you’ll have adequate clearance.
Next step? Fasten the uprights to the header, using a 3 1/2-inch bolt at each joint. Once these are in place, fasten the supports to the uprights with three 1/2-inch lag screws, and toenail the other end of each support to the wall cleat with a couple of 10-penny nails.
That’s it for the framing. Now all you have to do is place a sheet of plywood across the supports to complete the platform.
If you have placed your header four feet away from the back wall, you won’t have to rip the plywood to fit, but you may have to crosscut it, depending on how wide you want the finished bunk to be.
You can nail the plywood down to the supports if you like, or just lay it in position. Either way, your storage bunk is ready for immediate occupancy.
Note: With the bunk in place, you may find it difficult to see how far to drive your car into the garage without hitting the back wall. If that’s the case, install a simple “stop chock” on the garage floor. To do this, drive your car into the garage and stop it exactly where you want it parked. Then take a 2-by-4 and fasten it to the garage floor directly in front of your car’s front wheels. A couple of fat beads of construction adhesive on the underside of the 2-by-4 will cement it firmly in position.
Los Angeles Times Syndicate
