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Sat Dec 27, 2003 12:40 pm

I am going to building a garage (28' x 26) in the hopefully near future and I want to put in an auto lift to both work on the cars and even store one above the others. I am thinking a 4 poster 8,000 pound lift with the jack trays. 8" of heated concrete for the floor. I am just a weekend warrior (I don't do this for a living) when it comes to cars, but figure it would be $3K well spent. I might be able to pick up a used one for a lot cheaper.

What do you guys think? My wife thinks I am out to lunch on this one.

Sat Dec 27, 2003 12:49 pm

id go to 10 or even 12 under the lift... bbut money well spent

Sun Dec 28, 2003 3:02 pm

I put one in my garage about 5 years ago and it works great. I store a car on it most of the time and park under it.I had already built my garage a couple of years before and have 8ft ceilings so I have clearance problems---so go to 10 or 12 foot----I bought a Stinger lift, they are featured in Hemming Magazine----good quality lift and a good company to deal with---I bought a castor kit with it so if I need to go higher I roll it out into the Driveway----Bill

Mon Dec 29, 2003 9:09 am

Personally, I think that's a little small. My current/old garage is 26 X 22, and I find it cramped. My new/future (being built this spring) garage will be 36X28.

I'm getting an all steel garage. The benifit over wood is obvious. But the best part is, it doesn't require rafters! So I don't need an extra tall garage to get 12 foot clearance.
And the cost is only about 2% more than the same size in wood.

Wed Dec 31, 2003 6:25 am

Your shop is never big enough! Ever! I built a 30 X 60 steel building 2 years ago and now it is completely full of old vw's trying to get out of the snow, no more room to work! Anyhow, I got ahold of several old style single post lifts that were removed from a gas station for 250 bucks. Enough to make 2 complete unitswith parts left over. The single posts are great for vw's, nothing in the middle to get at on bugs and busses. The one I installed in the shop works great, but I did have to dig a deep hole in the floor for it. The last 2 feet was below what my backhoe could reach so it was shovel and bucket but it sure is a blessing for working on the cars, at least when I can get one on it! Oh, and 8" of concrete is plenty! You couldn't break that if you tried.

Wed Dec 31, 2003 10:57 am

I'm shopping for a new house as we speak and one of my requirements is a suitable place for stoing and restoring my bus...

I may buy without a garage and build one... how much did you guys spend on your buildings? nothing fancy for me... just a concrete floor and walls... well and a roof..

Fri Jan 02, 2004 2:06 am

Unless you are only going to work on VW's I would go taller on the sidewalls. When I put a truck all the way up on mine, I almost hit the beams, and I have 20' walls. I also opted for a 10,000lb extra wide, extra tall lift. That way I can work on just about anything. I do wish now I would have gotten a 2 post lift with the arms. Seems like there would be more flexibility with those. Its pretty hard to work on brakes or suspentions with a 4 post, but you do have the extra parking space.

Fri Jan 02, 2004 2:07 am

Unless you are only going to work on VW's I would go taller on the sidewalls. When I put a truck all the way up on mine, I almost hit the beams, and I have 20' walls. I also opted for a 10,000lb extra wide, extra tall lift. That way I can work on just about anything. I do wish now I would have gotten a 2 post lift with the arms. Seems like there would be more flexibility with those. Its pretty hard to work on brakes or suspentions with a 4 post, but you do have the extra parking space.

Fri Jan 02, 2004 6:28 am

Mine got kind of pricy, special order, 4- 10x10 doors, insulation, 16' side walls, bet I got most of 20 grand in it and that includes no labor, I put it up by myself. For square footage, steel buildings can't be beat. If you are going more like a double car garage, 24x24 or thereabouts, or you want it to match your house there are some pretty good package deals on stick frame garages from most local lumberyards, even home depot I think. If you are going to pay to have it built, talk to your contractor for advise.

Anyone else have a "recycled" single post lift?

Sun Jan 04, 2004 7:02 am

Thanks for all of the thoughts on this one. While I would agree that bigger is better, I am kind of limited by the size of my lot here at the beach. Plus I am going to try and make it look like it fits in with the log house that we have here. I am still in the design phase for this one.

I will re-post when I get closer.

Mon Jan 05, 2004 5:55 am

Log house at the beach? Oh yeah, you're in Maine. Just sounds really funny to me, since I live in a log house too, only it's in CO, about as far from the beach as you can get. and I grew up on the beach in CA, about as far from log homes as you can get.
So get out the chainsaw and carve up some sticks. You'll have that garage in no time!

Mon Jan 05, 2004 3:12 pm

I found this sort of thing to be ideal for dropping the engine out of 914's - should be even better for rear engined VW's and Porsches. How often do you need to stand up under the car?

http://www.gesforless.com/product_info.isg?products_id=164

Plus at less than half the cost, you could afford to buy two![/url]