In my large storage shed (14’ sidewalls) there’s a mezzanine on the end wall on each half of the shed. It’s getting tougher to haul stuff up and down the ladder or finding help to move stuff up/down from there. I had an “Aha!!” moment just the other day. I remembered a few pieces of light I-beam that were unused from another project and decided to fabricate a beam and trolley setup with block & tackle. That would sure ease the storing and retrieving of items on the mezzanine. I also keep the two halves and roof of my removeable tractor cab up there until retrieving for winter use.
Here’s how it turned out: Light duty 4” web I-beam with a short piece added on to enable it to span 3 rafters (12 ft. Long). Four feet extends over the mezzanine and 8’ extends out over the concrete main floor. At first, I made a trolley to hang a chain fall from but then decided an electric hoist might be even nicer for not much more money. Since there won’t be any heavy lifting being done, it seemed logical to try a little 440 lb. hoist. It didn’t take much to fab up another little trolley for it.
I still need to get power up to the ceiling and allow for the 10 feet of travel. Also, there’s a longer cable on order to replace the short control cable that’s standard on the hoist. Replacing that will allow hoist operation while standing down below. But at least it can be used as is until those changes take place. This will sure make it easier to safely use the upper storage area! Here’s some pics.
Here’s how it turned out: Light duty 4” web I-beam with a short piece added on to enable it to span 3 rafters (12 ft. Long). Four feet extends over the mezzanine and 8’ extends out over the concrete main floor. At first, I made a trolley to hang a chain fall from but then decided an electric hoist might be even nicer for not much more money. Since there won’t be any heavy lifting being done, it seemed logical to try a little 440 lb. hoist. It didn’t take much to fab up another little trolley for it.
I still need to get power up to the ceiling and allow for the 10 feet of travel. Also, there’s a longer cable on order to replace the short control cable that’s standard on the hoist. Replacing that will allow hoist operation while standing down below. But at least it can be used as is until those changes take place. This will sure make it easier to safely use the upper storage area! Here’s some pics.