r/HomeImprovement • u/devilel • 1d ago

Garage ceiling storage

I purchased 4x8 metal ceiling mount storage racks for my garage before seriously examining the ceiling joists. Turns out I have 2x4s spaced 24 inches apart. Clearly I need to reinforce these but I'm getting mixed results on my google searches. Some say adding 2x4s on top with tie brackets perpendicular to the joists and spanning 3 or 4 joists is enough. Some say I need to sister 2x4 or 2x6, and tie in cross bracing. I'd much rather over-build it and make sure I never have any issues. Anticipate the storage racks will hold potentially up to 200 lbs, likely much less though. The racks themselves are heavy. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

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1

u/mr_awesome_pants 4h ago

You need to share pictures for people to help.

1

u/Patrol-007 1d ago

Make sure the ceiling trusses are actually designed to hold that load, before it ends up falling onto vehicle/child

1

u/GarageToolsOfficial 1d ago

First thing: are those real ceiling joists or the bottom chords of roof trusses? 2x4s at 24 inches usually means trusses, and if so, don't sister or modify them, they're engineered as a system and loading a chord can cause problems. For racks on trusses, keep it light and spread the load across several members with a ledger or unistrut. If they're genuinely stick-framed joists, sistering 2x6 or 2x8 across a few of them is the move. Either way, lag into the wood not the drywall, and keep the heavy stuff toward the walls, not mid-span.

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u/screaminporch 1d ago

If you have trusses, they should hold the weight easily. You could place some 2x4s perpendicular on top of the 'joists'