his very own lift

[DUFFM4N]

so a buddy of mine on another forum works in the commercial construction industry and he posted this on another forum that i go on...of what he did for his dad

i thought it was cool, so thats why im sharing it with u

Originally Posted by .J.

As we get older, it's funny how the garage we work in becomes as important as what we put in it.

Soooo, I was given a challenge, by one of the people in my life whose oppinion actually matters, and I got a little obsessed to make sure it could and would happen. My Dad and I were sitting around one afternoon talking about how nice it would be to have a lift installed in your own garage. I did some research and of course found where people had installed them in large "barn-like" spaces but couldn't find too many examples as to how they got them to work in typical residential track homes.

So I got to working on it. For those that don't know, I'm in the commercial construction industry, so I could have built a high rise with less effort then this, but I also love trying new stuff.

Here is what the space looked like from the outside, pretty typical:


As you can see from the outside, the challenge is in the shape of the roof. I could easily installed a small carriage lift, but one of the goals of the project was to give my dad space to lift a car high enough to get another car under it; hence the need to make space for a two post unit.

First we had to clear the usual horizontal structural joist members out of the existing ceiling. Once they were out of the way we had to find a way to bridge the outside garage walls to the perimeter interior house wall to make a "gabled shape." Once that was done, we had to reinforce the hell out of the new structure. I think the only thing that we did that most wouldn't have bothered with was we took the time to conceal it all:



Once we knew we had the space for the cars to elevate with clearance on the two car side, we built storage over the single car space, just shy of 200 sq feet worth:



And made some access:


And finally installed the most important thing for him; it's just a 26":



OH, and I guess I should have clarified that this is my Dad's garage, and he is retired and gets to spend "A LOT" of time in it so it was important and I always viewed it as time and money being well spent. I'm just glad the house is still standing =) .


The total cost of the project was between 10 and 15K, and no, I can't do it again for you =) . I'm sure someone could replicate this with enough planning, I just wanted those who are lucky enough to own their own home to not be afraid to dream about taking it a step further! :thumbup:

J.

[s13poop]

so dope!


I WANT ONE!!

[steve shadows]

Ive seen a couple locals in OC with dual lifts, sometimes two story storage systems heated and silicon coated floors.

yes please.

[CrimsonRockett]

Wow, that's pretty awesome.

I've always liked those car lifts.

Makes EVERYTHING so much easier.

[ayuaddict]

thats so fucking cool, both the lift and his relationship with his dad.

i wonder if i could install one in my 2nd floor studio apartment...

[drifting_changed_mylife]

i would kill for a lift!! im fuckin sick of doing swaps on the floor. we just started a supra swap and it just brings back bad memories (

[dirtdiggler666]

that shit kicks ass i have wanted to a fukin lift forever. my dads got a house is built on a 3 acre lot andiv been trying to get him to build a shop forever, maby some day

[eastcoastS14]

ha thats badass, I kno this kid whose grandfather has one, his garage is sick racing trophies all over the walls plenty of space even has an upstairs ....dont know if anyone ever watches it but on that show muscle cars on spike tv they had a guy who remade his huge garage to look like the center of his town growing up in the 50's he had like streets and store fronts and all his classic cars parked out front....so rediculous

[ManoNegra]

Stuff like this is what motivates me to one day own a house. No more pebbles biting into my shoulderblades... sigh...

[sleepy_s13]

must be nice.........

[tunerzimage]

Sexy! Cant wait till i have mine. ^_^

[IIIXziuR]

Originally Posted by ManoNegra

Stuff like this is what motivates me to one day own a house. No more pebbles biting into my shoulderblades... sigh...

oh man for sure. Driveway workspaces suck

[89dc240]

Ah, we're puttin one into my friend's garage. It's gonna be so sweet. That DUNE BUGGY is Awesome tho.

[kyoru]

such a clean ass install as well, i would love to work on that type of floor

[89dc240]

Hell, I'd eat off that floor. Beats hot, oily blacktop ANY DAY.

[MegasquirtCA]

One of my neighbors had also dual lifts, mother fucker never used it that scumbag.

[BustedS13]

that's pretty nice... the shape of my garage's ceiling would never fit a lift (nor would my bank account). there used to be a house down the street (all these houses were built in the 30's) that had an inground lift in his driveway. it was pretty sick

[2iv0 sx]

Niceee! I like that

This motivates me to clean out my garage now

[2ilvia]

Originally Posted by ManoNegra

Stuff like this is what motivates me to one day own a house. No more pebbles biting into my shoulderblades... sigh...

i found cardboard boxes from refrigerators like and such as, work really good as something comfortable to lay on

[articdragon192]

Sound deadening for walls is better. It's softer, lol.

[azndoc]

That's cool as hell.

I've always wanted a lift in my garage.

But asked my friends back home in Houston who are all in construction and real estate if I can just get a huge backyard with a barnlike style for the backyard with a lift. It's doable cheap.

Went back to visit my friend Frank in WA state. His garage is badass. Wish I had taken some pics for sure. Had way enough room for two lifts and can build his own paint booth on the side of it also.

I wish I was rich.

[illvialuver]

fuckin jealous like a mofo

[bloodangels13]

that sandrail looks sick..... you should take down the street for a spin....
but realy that garage setup is nice.... very good use of space. My dad was talking about building a huge garage when we move to NC

[Farzam]

Some kid like a mile from me has some shit like that.

And a 350z...