tbennett017

Hi guys,

My wife and I have had some serious discussions about our garage needs. I have cars.. too many, and need work space. She wants to be able to park inside finally, as she gets tired of scraping her windows as I drive away in a clear, dry 964 in the mornings...

She has given me the go-ahead to start planning our garage addition. We presently have a two-car side by side garage, about 24' square, with trusses overhead (crammed with crap + car parts). The walls, and back are packed with tools (air compressors, drill press.. you know.. the essentials) The peak of the roof runs perpendicular to the existing axis of both cars (make sense?)

I am planning to push the garage out to the left, essentially extending the roof as far as I can to the left in to my side yard. I don't want to add another garage door, as it will be disruptive to the design of the house, and will necessitate more driveway.... (the neighbors hate me already) The scenario would be to create 2 more bays to the left, primarily for projects, and for storage. So cars might end up like this. Two this way =, and two this way || Right now, due to a tree and a few other environmental limitations, I can go 18' to the left, and closer to 30' deep. (this makes a space that is wider than it is deep, relative to the cars) I am hoping to use the sides for bench space/storage

Right now the cars I need to accommodate are
e36 BMW Cabriolet (hers)
964 (mine - daily)
Fiat 124 Spider (mine/son's)
1928 Ford Model A (was Dad's first car... family heirloom...)

I am looking for your opinions/past experience on a few things.

First, the basic premise.. is it realistic to have to turn 90 deg to get cars in and out? (not every day.. but for swapping around etc)
Second, I want to get a two post lift... for work, and for storage. If I can stack cars, that will be great. The height of the Model A is a killer.. it is very tall.
Two post lift: Open top or one with a top bar? The A is so tall that I wonder if storage below will be worthwhile? I can adapt the roof trusses to leave room.. but I do have a concern about it.

Also, an asymmetric lift looks cool.. but with the butt of the 964 hanging off one end.. is that a safe situation? These lifts seem to use bolts into the concrete... is that enough? Does anyone have a two-post with experience for me?

I am dreaming about a two post, as then I can do wheel related things... any reason to do a 4 post instead? Short of Model A grease dropping onto my Fiat..(don't laugh...) are there any other issues?

Here is the Google satellite image of my house. Garage is at the top. You can see the yard "above" it.
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=4...00901&t=h&z=20

Streetfighter

Is it possible to go out the back? Or is the house attached? In my opinion a 90 degree turn is somewhat difficult, but not impossible. Depending on the height of the trusses it might make more sense to put in two lifts. You would roughly be looking at the same amount of money. Just my two cents. Please post some pictures so we can get a better idea of the space.

Indycam

So , how much are you budgeting for this project ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq_dq...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtiLiPTWtDs&NR=1

http://www.aclifts.com/parking/pss%2D7/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_JJFTuvXio

Colin 90 C2

my opinion: right angle not so bad, you can get ratcheting wheel dollies and position cars anywhere you want. http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/Wh...llies-s/30.htm

my experience: two post lift ( old Weaver 7000 lb) anchored into floor with Hilti Stainless Steel 3/4" drop in anchors. car has been raised on lift for over a year.
I would go for the open top if you want to store cars. assymetric makes life easier if you have limited set up room. I have symmetric arms and it is sometimes a pain.
you can look for used lifts and buy two, or three.
You will want a minimum of 4" concrete floor (4000 psi).
Make sure you have adequate electrical power. I ran a sub panel for the garage. 220v feeds for lift, compressor, welder, and 120v / 20 amp circuits for everything else (use at least 12 gauge wiring).
Also run compressor lines to everywhere you want.
you may also want to think about maybe heating/cooling.
Don't forget to add lots of lighting. Fluorescents are cheap, but make sure to get the ones designed for cold environments.
So much to think about.
Have fun.

aron in toronto

Look here for more than you ever wanted to know about garages.
www.garagejournal.com

yellowducman

I agree that a 4 post lift is better for storing cars but if you intend to work on them the 2 post is so much nicer. I have both but since I purchased my 2 post, I hardly ever use my 4 post anymore. My 2 post is installed on a 4" slab but if I was you and decided to go with a 2 post lift, I might would increase the concrete to 6" thick where the lift was going (assuming that the lift is going in the part of the garage that your adding on to). I also considered a asymmetric lift but was talked into a extra wide lift instead. I think it was a 1' wider than normal (same price, mine is a bendpak) and I am able to get in and out of the car to bleed brakes or whatever. Also remember to figure how high you need to get a car up and be able to walk under it so it won't kill your back every time you work on a car.

loot87

Don't forget about power. I don't have enough outlets and they're all on one 20 amp breaker. Not enough.
If I have the 1200 watt heater on and the two 300 watt bulbs, if the beer fridge kicks on it all goes dark.
If you don't have a beer fridge, get one of those, too.

altarchsa

OK you got lucky. Registered Architect, State of Texas and formerly in three other states, San Antonio AIA Design Award winner.

Due to state licensing laws, here's the disclaimer. These are not professional recommendations based on any due diligence research of your actual conditions and are personal opinions only without compensation. I assume no liability nor represent that I am licensed or attempting to practice architecture in Oregon.

I do not believe you will be happy trying to maneuver through the exisiting doors to access the new space on the end (if that's what you were suggesting), even on a non-routine basis. Why not add new door(s) on the end with a separate drive? Or what about changing the design of the existing door (assuming it's a double) to match additional single wide doors. It would obviously be 4 cars and more drive, but you can get some really nice looks with single doors, i.e. carriage house looks. And the additional drive could be Turf Block or similar which looks like grass but will handle the traffic of the seldom used car access. Might be saleable to the neighbors if you convince them you are improving the overall character with a new look.

Or, if you would add just one single wide door with additional drive on the front, you could probably park the small cars end to end in 30' of depth .

Final free scheme, consider moving the existing door to the left, straddling the new/existing line. Build the new space tall enough to add a lift in the back and double stack the Ford above the Fiat. Park the Bimmer behind the Fiat and the964 to the right, next to all that work space that will result between the new door location and the house. Added benefit, you can use the lift when working on your car , if you do that kind of stuff.

Better yet, why don't you just fly me up for the weekend and we'll work the whole thing out. I'll slip on up to Takoma for my Grandson's first birthday party while I'm out there.

tbennett017

Wow,
Thanks for the comments. I hadn't thought of moving the existing door... that's interesting. Let me draw up something a bit more detailed and I will share it with the team...

Maybe you can come up... I have those polished D90s that you wanted.. bring your painted ones up in your luggage... ;-)