Bill Ball

Gretch:

So, you have a standard 8' ceiling too? I see some elevation changes. It looks like you have more height upfont, so the garage door rolls up higher. Nice that you can snuggle two cars in there, especially if the ceiling is 8'.

Am I right in saying one thing nice about the 2-post lift versus a 4-post platform, it appears, is that you can get one car above the other with less of a clearance issue (no platform, just hanging tires). Although, on second thought, the wheels hang a lot lower than on a platform. So, I guess it's a trade off.

I have a big swing-up garage door. I might convert it to roll-up to get it tighter to the ceiling. It would be nice to get the 79 inside.

sublimate

I still see a few Quick Lube/Oil Change places with them and a lot of heavy truck bays still use them. My guess is if they are "outlawed", it's only in certain municipalities and only applies to commercial use or zoning regulations. More likely, OSHA frowns upon them or requires some heavy-duty ventalation for their use. Also I'm sure they're an environmental nightmare due to water inflow mixing w/ oil etc. That's also what made inground lifts fall out of favor, although they seem to be making a come back.

If one were to go that route the cheapest/easiest thing would be to buy a pre-cast drainage/sewage box (hopefully new), dig a hole for it and drop it in. Any septic guy would be able to handle it for you. Then you'd need to duct in some fresh air and add a sump pump (depending on where you live). You'd also need someway to get in and out, even with a car above you (think how much of a pain that'll be to go up and down that ladder everytime you need a new tool, etc.) After all that I don't think you'd save much money.

Gretch

Gretch

sublimate

If your primary use is for storage, get a 4-poster (with drip trays). It's really annoying when the car on top drips oil (or coolant or mud or etc.) on the car below. And if it drips brake fluid it'll really **** you off when you have to repaint the lower car. Sure you can cover the car below, but it won't protect it fully. Also some say it's bad to leave the wheels hanging for long term storage. Plus it's a PITA to line up the arms with the jack points every time you just want to park.

But if your primary use is working on the car get a 2-poster. It seems like 9 times out of 10 that I want to lift the car I want to take the wheels off too, and lifting the car off the wheels is more of a PITA with a 4-poster. Plus the 2-poster gives much better access to the bottom of the car (no platforms in the way) and you won't bang your head on it as much. Of the 2-posters, get an asymetric lift (lets you open the doors) and a clear-floor one if you can. It's so much nicer having a clear floor for rolling around on your creeper and rolling transmission jacks, drain tanks, etc.

Have you looked into doors which are hinged on the side (like a barn door)?

deliriousga

Finally an instance I actually know something about!!

Mark: That would be nice, but mucho dinero. To do something like that takes alot more than just a hole, and the labor costs would be huge. First is the cost of breaking up the existing concrete with hand-held jack hammers & concrete saws, not too bad unless your house was built recently with tons of rebar in the concrete. Second, it would have to be dug by hand since you can't use most digging equipment unless your ceilings are about 12'+ and you're not worried about someone swinging that bucket the wrong way and taking out a wall. Finally, to shore up the walls in the pit, put in concrete forms around it and ventilate it properly (to protect against the CO instance mentioned above along with other gasses) in an already built situation would take alot of labor and special equipment. It would probably be in the range of $10K....in Georgia. In California (if it's legal) you can probably double that.

Something to think about the next time you're building a house. It's cheap then because they're already digging out the foundation and that's just a little hole to add. Ventilation can be added before anything is poured so it's just like plain old plumbing.

Oh, and I forgot to mention the almighty RED TAPE. I hear it's much stronger over there and costs a good bit more to get it out of the way.

Gretch

Yeah, I should have said "in certain areas of the country".....sorry. To my knowledge they were outlawed in commercial garages in Ma, back in the 70's....Some guy who owned a gas station told me that, (in respect of "full disclosure".....)

In any event, in my opinion, they are unsafe as hell, and without some temporary, very strong cover over the hole, seem to be a larger compromise to the garage space than the 2 post lift does.

Bill Ball

Lot's of good pros/cons of the different lift configurations. Got some thinking and measuring to do.

Bill Ball

Gretch:

Yeah, I knew I must be dreaming about getting 2 cars in 8'. I must have misunderstood your comment about having the last foot of the lift go through the ceiling. Figured if the lift is 108", then your celing is 98" or close to 8'.

Gretch

Sorry Bill, I thought it was understood that the lift I was referring you to was 108 inches tall, thus you would need to poke holes in your ceiling. BTW, this particular lift has no cross beam on the top, so you only need the two holes which would be about 12 to 14 inches square....... I can measure for you if you want......
The lowest point in MY garage is about 106 inches from the floor........That is measured at the I beam that holds the two gantrys....for the chain falls. (orange thing in picture).

BTW, re the two cars, the difference between your ceiling height and my usable height is 10 inches. I believe there is more than 10 inches of space between my two cars, but the one on the bottom is a TR6. If I put it on the lift there would be more room between the cars......and oil on my C4.....

This is a great lift though, and quite easy to install. I wrote a thread about it when I put it in a few of months ago....

IcemanG17

My way down the road master plan is to eventually build a shop that has room for several cars and a lift for maintence....but I guess I would have to buy a house with a big enough yard first? Darn...that takes $$$$$$$$ away from my 928 fund! :>(