Part 2 of the Garage Wall Project Build
Framing it up
Now that I had the basic design worked out, it was time to start with the cuttin and the screwin! I’d build the wall in two sections to facilitate lifting it into place for attachment to the garage joist. The two halves would then be glued and lag-screwed together to form one solid unit. I had debated keeping the two halves separate, allowing for just half of the wall to be lowered and used independently, but decided against this due to the extra supports that would be required to lock it into place when lowered, along with the fact with such a small wall, it’s rare that I’d only want to use half of it anyway.
A beefy header was built into the frame about 7′ up, to which the hinges would be mounted. Although my design would include several locking pins to take some of the weight off the hinges when in use, this connection was still the most crucial for the structural integrity and safety of the design, so a total of 8 5-inch heavy-duty gate hinges would be used, and bolted through the structure, rather than just screwed in.
The main structure was built from 2×4 lumber, with 2×6’s utilized for the hinge attachment structure. The frame would be faced with 3/4″ plywood as the climbing surface and provide the final structural rigidity. All framing was glued and secured with construction-grade screws, and either lag-screwed or bolted through when necessary.
Left half of the wall framed up, with temporary supports holding it square.
The beefy 2×6 header to which the hinges will be mounted.
The header is lag-screwed in from the sides, as well as glued and screwed from every angle
The left and right half coming together. They’ll remain separate until mounted to the rafters, then be bolted together to form a single structure.
The hinges are going on! Heavy-duty 5″ gate hinges are bolted through the header, and will then be bolted to the garage joist.
The wall is in place! Five of the final eight hinges have been attached, and the folding functionality of the wall can now be tested.
Folded up into the ceiling with a temporary brace holding it up
The garage door slides just over the top of the structure when in the up position. The garage door must be partially lowered for the wall to fold down into place.
All the hinges mounted. The excess bolt thread still need to be cut off.
Here you can see all eight hinges and how they secure the structure to the garage joist.
Detail of the hinges. The hinges are bolted all the way through at all connections. Grade 5 and Grade 8 bolts were used in both 1/4″ and 5/16″ diameters for maximum strength.
The excess bolt threads have now been cut off with the angle grinder, so everything sits flush with the surface.
A view of the hinge mounting bolts from behind the ceiling joist.
