Thanks for the replies gentlemen. I realize I'm probably being a bit anal
about all this but bear with me for a little bit here. The building is of
the "pole building" type and is 36' long by 28' deep. It is split up
essentially into three bays 10', 12' and 14' with 9x9, 10x10 and 12x12 roll
up doors respectively. The lift is going in the center bay that has the
10x10 roll up door. The bay to the left (10' bay) has a 10x28 loft
installed. The thing seems hell for stout for a storage loft, using 2x12
girders, 2x10 floor joists, 3/4" t&g flooring etc. I have a boat load of
stuff stored up there.
The loft uses a 6x6 post at the halfway point (14') of the 28' span to
support the loft. The post is set in a U bracket anchor that is bolted to
the concrete floor with concrete bolts, and lag bolts holding the bracket to
the post bottom. I've made some cut outs of the lift column bottoms and have
been playing with position. It looks like the left side lift column is going
to be right next to the loft support 6x6. I'm wondering about trying to tie
the base plate of the lift in with the loft support post somehow. Either by
leaving the lift base plate the stock size and welding a bracket that would
jog over and connect to the bottom of the loft support post. Or by making a
larger base plate for the lift column and extending it over the loft support
post - maybe even capturing the bottom of the loft support post on top of
the extended lift base plate.
Even though the loft support post is designed to support a downward load,
and the base plate of the lift would be exerting an upward force during an
overturning moment. I'm wondering if the 6x6 would provide some added
resistance to the overturning moment of the lift? This of course would only
beef up the left side post leaving the right side post on its stock 17"x17"
plate. One drawback of this scheme is should the lift tip over it may rip
the loft support post out sending the loft crashing down as well. This would
likely crush the beer refrigerator and we all know that would not be
good....
So, question number one: Is it worth trying to tie the left side lift column
in with the 6x6 loft support post for added stability?
Several folks have suggested possibly extending the base plates, effectively
making the load bearing area larger. The base plates are 17"x17" and look
like this:
http://www.bendpak.com/DB-Interfaces/ProductChild/_reports/displayitem.asp?CategoryID=1&SubCategoryID=16&ProductID=10
If I were to do this I presume I would only need to extend them towards the
front and back to help take the fore and aft load? One thing I really don't
like about this option is it creates more tripping hazards in an already
shrinking shop. The left side base plate area is already going to be
congested because of the aforementioned loft support post and I hate to take
up anymore floor space with oversized base plates on the right side post if
I can help it.
And finally, is there a way to test the psi of concrete? Could I maybe take
the 4" dia., 5.5" thick plug I have, and have it tested by a lab to
determine the psi of my floor?
Thanks again for all the help
Wayne
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