ard

Question for RL'ers who have a garage lift system in their house.

I am in the early stages of designing a garage (attached to a house on a residential property). I want to have a garage lift to store my 993 on the lift and (ideally) park an SUV underneath. If an SUV is too tall, I can park a wagon in its place under the lift.

1. Doable (i.e. doable with the intention of parking an SUV under the lift) using garage lift systems sold for non-commerical use?
2. Approximate specs for garage ceiling height and garage door height, or a formula to determine them?
3. Specs for the flooring? Is "standard house foundation" concrete good enough or do I need to spec "uprated" concrete?
4. Are the storage lifts RL'ers use "drive-on" types (as opposed to the pivoting arm types used at shops)?
5. Approximate cost for a quality lift system and installation?

I am at the stage where I want to figure out whether this is within my budget for this project. For budget purposes I would like to go with standardized components for items like garage doors, rather than having to have all parts custom-built.

I trust the folks on this forum, given what I perceive as a desire to throughly analyze and over-engineer a solution but I would also appreciate pointers to other forums applicable to this topic.

Many thanks in advance.

/alex

coreseller

Two Sites I would use for reference:

http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/4-Post-Lifts
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/

wtmmm

I have considered the same and will be interested to see the responses to #3 about the concrete needed and #5 cost with installation.

RE #4 drive on vs. pivot arms: If you have the drive on lift, you won't be able to work on the wheels/suspension, the pivot arms would be needed if you plan to do that type of work yourself.

badabing

There are drive on lifts that incorporate jacks to allow you to lift the vehicle off the ramps (think hunter alignment racks) in order to remove the wheels.

However they still make access more difficult for certain underbody work compared to 2 or 4 post lifts.

If you look at companies in the business of fixing cars they mostly use the pivot arm lifts (except for alignments) because they provide maximum access. If you look at companies in the business of storing cars they use drive on lifts because they are much easier to get the car on and off.

Seems to me the main consideration on which type of lift to choose will be how often you take the car on/off the lift vs how often and what type of work you will perform on it.

If you use the car often the procedure of lowering the car and swinging the pivot arms out of the way and later repositioning them to lift the car will soon get tiring.

There is also a safety consideration. I've seen pivot arms on a lift slip while a car was on the lift and off course the car fell off.

sdm100

I have a 4 post lift and have found it helpful not only for storage but for getting under the car. On some of these you can purchase an insert jack that can jack up the car...pricey however. As for flooring my specs when I purchased stated needed to have 4 inches of concrete minimum which in most newer homes is the minimum code requirement

wtmmm

Thanks for pointing this out that jacks can be added to 4 post lifts. That makes the 4 post seem like a better route due to ease of use and safety.

sdm100

http://www.eagleequip.com/product/GLO-SJ.html

L23FPorsche

I just bought mine though still in the crate, Ill be posting a thread to follow. This is the lift that I bought and the distributor. http://www.gesusa.com/Dannmar-Comman...-p/1375640.htm
This one came with extra's that I can use.

Aussie Alan 993

In regard to the concrete for a garage floor, make sure the specifications of the lift manufacturer are met or exceeded. That said, it is good to upspec the compressive strength of the concrete and to specify a smooth finish for reasons like it will withstand the point load of a trolley jack better than standard concrete and it won't be so powdery but in this case the biggest benefit is the greater load capacity of the anchors you would use to bolt the lift down.
Also while on the subject of the anchoring, if it was my floor, I would specify a greater thickness at the footings of the lift again for an increased load capacity, it doesn't have to be much or over a very large area but it will help to add 2" to the thickness where it needs it.
I would also upspec the reinforcing mesh if the concrete contractor is like the ones I have encountered lately.
These upgrades won't add a lot to the cost either.

Cheers
Alan

race911

Funnyism for the Bay Area. And I'm no engineer, in any way, shape, or form. Just relaying the story.

Local car dealer where I have vending machines moves from one facility to another. New dealer coming into the old site mistakenly proceeds with City on the assumption they're doing new construction. Existing concrete is 8" (and space has been operated as a car dealer for at least 20 years). Since they're now classified as new construction, code in our earthquake area for above ground lifts is 12". Oops.

rlme36

I have a 4 ft by 15 ft haunch that was dug down when my garage was being built with 4500 psi fiber and mesh reinforcement. The entire floor is about 8 inches thick except for the designed area for my two post lift. Does the haunch have to be that big? No but wasn't sure on which lift was going to be purchased and made for easier placement. If you have the ability to spec the pour over engineer it you only get one chance at it

matt777

I've had a Bendpak HD9 4 post lift for 3 years now. As far as the ceiling height, its just math using the vehicle heights and the dimensions of the proposed lift. Generally, 12 feet is nice. I only have an 11' ceiling which is fine unless I want to put something taller than my Porsche on the lift at max. lift height. I could probably get away with a lower ceiling with the Porsche on top and a car underneath. Concrete thickness is not usually an issue. The lift mfg's have their own recommendations but they usually don't call for anything abnormal. The garage door only has to be tall enough to drive the vehicle. The taller the door the more the chance of the door hitting the car on the lift when its opened. Wall mount garage door openers such as Chamberlain 3800 make more room as you don't have the unit on the ceiling with the associated hardware. I limit the travel of the door upwards so it doesn't hit the car on the lift. My garage is 24 feet deep.

ard

Thanks for the excellent insights so far.

/alex

zooming993

I purchased a 4 point lift (Direct Lift) back in 2009 and I'm very happy with it. I can't really comment on what it takes structurally to accommodate a lift but I can say I haven't had any problems with the standard garage concrete in my last house or my current house. My lift is installed in a garage with 10' ceiling and 8' tall garage doors. I have the ability to store my 993 (height 51") and my M3 (height 53") without any problem. However, I cannot store my wife's SUV (GX470) with either car on top. I would think you would need at least 11' to 12' ceiling to accommodate a 993 and SUV. One of the main reasons I elected to go with a Direct Lift was because I was able to pick it up myself in Newark, Delaware. As you may already be aware, the cost of shipping a lift can be expensive.

nrubenstein

It depends on what you are going to use the lift for. Jacks on a 4-post lift are extremely awkward to use for much more than swapping wheels and oil changes. 4-post lifts are really for storage and alignments.

If you are going to do much more than that, you will either need a 2-poster, or you will end up on jack stands.