On 3/26/2019 5:24 PM, Eric Russell via Shop-talk wrote:
> 10' will be barely adequate. Add together the heights of two cars plus
> 8-12" additional. (the ramps are 4" - 6" high and you need to raise it
> up a few inches to clear the safety latches before you can lower it).
>
> I have a four post lift. Our garage ceiling is ~ 11' 8" high. With my
> small cars (MGA, Alfa Romeo) I can raise it up to give a little over 6'
> underneath (I am 6' 1" and can walk under without ducking). I doubt I
> could do that with an SUV or minivan on top.
>
> What are your plans for the space above the garage? Can you use scissor
> trusses to raise up the ceiling 'cathedral' style without increasing the
> wall height??
>
> Another thing to plan for with your garage remodel is higher door tracks
> and a jack shaft door opener. This helps keep the space available to the
> car up on the lift.
When we remodeled some years ago my wife would argue we made the entire
house taller so I could have a lift in the garage...be it as it may,
we've got a little under 11 feet at the front and rear walls, scissor
trusses with a 5/12 pitch at the top and 3/12 on the lower chords which
gives me just about 13 feet at the peak (which runs across the garage.)
I know folks with Miatas and MGBs get away with lower ceilings but I
consider my setup to be about the minimum fully-useful arrangement.
The lights in the garage are flush-mount 4-foot troffers (ours were
originally flourescent, now have LED tubes, there are better/more
compact LED designs now), the garage door tracks follow the 3/12 line of
the ceiling up as closely as possible, we have the screw-drive garage
door opener mounted vertically on the wall alongside the door track
(once again, there are simpler and more compact jackshaft-drive systems
available now that were not available 15 years ago), we also put in fire
sprinklers when we did the remodel and those are also flush-mounted to
the sheetrock.
With my Bend-Pak 4-post lift I can get a typical mid-size vehicle
(sedan/wagon e.g. Audi S6 Avant) all the way up and still be able to
open/close the garage doors (we have a door on the back of the garage
too) though the rubber-ducky antenna will hit the roof. I have the
roller jack and you can also use jackstands on the ramps, for many jobs
you will have to lift the vehicle off the ramps so pay attention to the
extra height needed and don't forget to close the hood.
We have or have had vehicles that won't fit on the lift due to their
width and one ('64 Cortina) where you need to be careful because it's
barely wide enough for the ramps). Honda Odysseys and our GL550 are
just barely too wide to get on without tearing up the tire sidewalls on
the ramp's latch pockets at the ends of the crossbeam; you need to put
some wood blocks in front of the latch pockets and drive OVER them.
They do offer wider versions, and if I were to do it over again I might
go for one of those then make something to deal with very narrow vehicles.
Consider, too, the power requirements for the lift and how the lift
latches are actuated. I put in 220V for welding all around the garage
and shop, and plumbed compressed air into the walls, but I did not at
first plumb compressed air to the lift and put in 120V for lift power.
Preferable to get a 220V lift pump if you can wire for it.
John.
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