Hey all. I'm building an elevated (so the front end of vehicles can fit under it) storage shelf in the back of my garage. It spans the entire two car width (approx. 22 feet) and has a 4x4 6 foot tall pillar bolted to the concrete halfway (between the cars). It comes out from the back wall about 47 inches and i've built the entire "frame" out of 2x4s. I'm only halfway done, and have done one side of the garage, but i'm wondering if it's going to be strong enough. I'm not intending to store bricks up there or anything, but just regular garage junk. I have perpendicular 2x4s every 16 inches and everything is connected to the studs and to each other with 4.5 inch lag screws. It seems sturdy enough, but when i hang from the very center of it with my hands (across the 11 foot long 2x4 at the front) it does sag a tiny bit. This has me thinking maybe i need to tear it all down and use larger pieces of wood? But then another part of me thinks it should be fine, because that's over 150lbs concentrated on one little spot in the center (when i'm hanging) and I won't be putting anything super heavy like that up there. On the left and right side of the garage walls i'm using a piece of 2x8 across the wall that's attached to the studs to support the front pair of 11 foot beams that extend to the 4x4 post in the middle. Also, I haven't put any plywood on it yet and i'm assuming that will stabilize it further.I assume I don't have to follow any code or anything since i'm only building a storage shelf. My neighbor who noticed it commented about how he liked my storage loft. But, I never considered it a loft. There's no access to it, besides getting a ladder and putting it next to it to reach it, and you couldn't even stand up, since there's only about 4 feet of height remaining until the ceiling. Anyway, my question is 2 fold. Will it be strong enough for what I want, and do I need to worry about code? via /r/DIY http://bit.ly/2I2BfPP
