The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest How valuable is an inside lift?

I need some input from some of you. I'm modifying a building on my property to build a workshop. It only has 7 foot ceilings. That is enough room to install a garage door, but not high enough to open it. I am face with a choice of a minor modification to get clearance to open the door, or totally raise the roof. If I raise the roof, I'm thinking about going 12 foot ceilings so I can install a lift. If I don't raise the roof and still want a lift, I may build a separate "carport" style roof outside for a lift. It is way more expensive and time consuming to raise the roof.

Any input is appreciated.

No brainer. Inside lift very valuable. Can't comment on extra price for raising roof. But that would create huge storage upstairs or a place to sleep.

You didn't say how big the building is...If it's only one bay than a lift will take up a lot of floor space when not being used.

How often will you use the lift? Occasional oil change and tire rotation, or year round auto mechanic stuff? If just occasionally, than I'd put it outside under a carport roof.

Mike B

I would also like a lift, but I can't justify the cost to modify my garage or rebuild my carport to handle the extra width and height. I wish I had the foresight years ago when the carport was built.

Can't lifts be left in up position? Sitting on the locks. Then just the post footprint affecting floor space.

IMHO, a seven foot ceiling isn't adequate for working on vehicles, especially trucks.

A friend of mines dad many years ago wanted to add a second story to their house. He decided that he already had a good roof, so he raised the house and added another level beneath. He didn't just dig out the basement but really did raise the entire house and framed another story under the old.

Raise the roof,raise the building or build a new garage if you have the room.

Another option would be to buy a large shop with a detached house.

John

"Another option would be to buy a large shop with a detached house" Now that's a good one.

When you raise your roof, you might want to consider just installing a steel I beam under your your ridge beam.
With a couple of chain hoists, you can move almost anything. I have a “shelf” at on end of the garage where, when I remove the body, I lift it up with the chain hoist and slide it on so I can work on the chassis.

Mike

Is that just rafters and rafter ties holding that I beam up there?

I have trusses every 12 feet and rafters between every 2 feet. I do this as a hobby, so occasional use is when it will be used. So between the trusses I have clearance at the center of 12 and a half feet. I have plenty of room to work on trucks, including my 2 ton. As I get older, it gets harder to crawl around under a vehicle, even with a creeper. I think I'm leaning toward an outside lift, covered with a carport, and tarped when not in use. I am getting an i-beam from work they want to toss and I already have a trolley and chain hoist because I had an I-beam at my last house.

Thanks for everybody's input.

I've seen 2 post lifts outside here in Omaha. You're actually in a little warmer climate, so I can see that being a good option.

John

The beam is held up by the cross-ties made of L Chanel. The garage width is 14 ft. With the rafters anchored to the walls. The beam is 35 foot long. Distributes the load well... most car parts are relatively light with the engine weighing in at about 6-700 pounds.

Mike

If you enjoy laying on the floor and getting up and down a million times then keep on truckin. If you want to save your back and work on your truck longer into life then I highly suggest a lift. They are relatively cheap nowadays and they are pretty easy to install. Lots of different options out there. When i was in my 20’s working in a shop I always had access to a lift and it was so convenient and made everything easier but now that I dont work on cars for a living anymore and Im stuck in my garage on a concrete floor on cardboard or out in a rock driveway on cardboard. Hopefully I will be either building a new larger garage or moving to a new house with a larger shop and definitely getting a lift. My back already hurts from working like a idiot.

Thanks Barnfind49 and others. I saw that the school shop class has an outside lift or I never would have considered that an option.

I have an outside lift. Wouldn’t want to do without it. That being said, I would get a lot more done if I had a nice climate controlled 40X60 shop with a couple of lifts and a big commercial air compressor system. When Ms Kathy wins the Publishers Clearinghouse giveaway I will build my dream garage right after she builds her dream house.

Simple plan for every man’s dream home...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/advance-design_parts_co/51117145182/in/album-72157631872034068/

One can only wish.

Does that kitchen have a fridge/freezer?
Ice and cold beer would be nice to have available?

bartamos Mine stays up all winter with a vehicle on it. Works good,your cylinder ram will be exposed !

when I built my shop 32x60 I poured the slab extra thick where I planed on putting the lift. I have 12'6" walls and the truss's are 15' tall in the center. worked prefect as the 12K lift was just under 15' tall after installation. I have one bay dedicated to the lift. My problem is where to store all the stuff, welders, plasma cutter engine hoist engine stands, ect. ect. being a retired auto mech I have tons of tools to store. used to park my daily drivers in the shop until my wife started putting her shi... in there, and the daughters crap.I think I need another shop built only twice as big. just remember build to build it twice as big as you think you need :,

I hope that doesn't happen here. My wife has her own huge storage room and so far in 17 years of marriage she has kept everything else out of my shop. We are talking about building a place connected to the back of the shop with very high ceiling to put a lift in. Probably easier than lifting the center of the building I have.

You might consider installing an “I”. Beam instead of a ridge board.

Put a couple of trolleys on it and you can lift most things᠁.

Been using mine for years with that configuration.

Mike

You didn't say whether it is a wood or steel building. On what was originally a 20x30 carport we attached a couple of 2"x3"x3/16 rectangular tubes to the forklift, drove under the roof, cut the posts, raised and then bolted/welded some 5' extensions into each post. It is now a two story fiberglass body manufacturing building.

[img]https://i.postimg.cc/wRHzR3HV/IMG-5078.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i.postimg.cc/kBY5zF7P/IMG-5075.jpg[/img]

On the topic of lifts I would strongly recommend a four post drive on lift IF you are going to tinker with old projects after age 65. At 84 I have a tough time positioning the lift arms on a two post lift---actually getting down and adjusting is easy, it's the getting UP that is a killer. I added a set of rolling jacks to my drive on which lets one do anything one can do on a two post like brakes, suspension, tires/wheels, etc.

I appreciate all the input. My building is wood with a metal roof. I have a 25 foot i-beam I haven't installed yet, but that is an interesting idea. I too have an issue getting up some times, but the way I suspect I would often use a lift, I think wouldn't work with a four post. Such as lifting the body off a vehicle.

What Steve said on shop size. No matter how big though, I suspect it'll be too small a few years later.

And like Steve I had the same problem of family thinking my shop was the family, free storage facility. Then one day I decided I needed the shop back. Told everyone they needed to move their things out, I needed it out within the next month. Gave weekly updates on what was left. Then a month later on a cold rainy day I cranked the backhoe and dug a long, wide 6' deep pit behind the shop. As it got dark I started the fire and popped a cold one. Had a totally enjoyable evening feeding a big fire till around midnight.

Hard to believe but that was 15 years ago and only auto stuff in the shop today.

RonR

We lift Model A bodies off with the 4 post lift since the running board splash aprons won't allow a 2 post arms to work. I just fabbed a "cherry picker" boom onto one end of the 4 post and use our regular body lift bar. For very heavy bodies one could put a counter weight on the opposite end from the boom (Volkswagen Beetle?) but we have never had to.

For me my 12K 2 post lift is one of my favorite things. I use it for a lot of different things. a couple of lifting straps are really handy. I unloaded my lathe with it and even pick up the mower to sharpen the blades. I wouldn't get too worried about the concrete. If you have up to code floors with the proper reinforcing in it you will be fine. Your concrete should be at least 3500 PSI. If you do the math there is more PSI on your tires than the lift has. Mine has 16" X 16" pads. I would be more concerned with the anchoring. We use large tapcon bolts for our large equipment in the factories I build. I'm a commercial general contractor.

I have a 10 foot ceiling - and I wish it was taller on this 26x36 building. I am squeezed out what with both woodworking and mechanics equipment plus a disassembled 41 1/2 ton in it - there is no room to really feel comfortable performing cutting and swinging boards and plywood around, or sanding filler, and opening up an engine or other mechanical parts. The table saw with a sliding table consumes the floor space plus a woodworking bench, floor jointer and planer, wall mounted central dust collection with overhead pipes. Rolling toolboxes are around the perimeter - and the chop saw/cut-off station squeezes in the rest of the floor space.

The two activities are not compatible. (What would be compatible would be Woody Wagon restorations). So my advice is to keep the building as you intended and try to avoid mixing incompatible hobbies or multiple uses - guard it with your life - its not storage for the unused kitchen appliances, boxes of old picture frames or magazine racks from flea markets, a potting shed for flowers, and storage for upstairs bureau's that need to be chucked or old toys when the kids were 3 years old but are now in their 20's.

As for me, its time for a shop addition - just for the trucks and repair and maintenance of the tractor and yard equipment....to get this building back to to what it was designed for (woodworking). I plan to install a lift too and a 12 foot ceiling should be sufficient as you indicated for a lift and/or a gantry crane. My plan is to have 2/3 of the building with clear span/cathedral trusses (timber framed hammer beams) (other 1/3 loft) to give more than enough headroom.

One could go with pre-made scissors trusses with stick framing - to create overhead ceiling height too...without building 12 foot walls. They go up fast and relatively easy with two people - or hire a crane if you are not too worried about that cost. (the hammer-beam truss picture needs to be rotated). (the hammer-beam truss on the ground is what me and two others built at the timber framing school in June.) Good luck!

So I had to do this very thing. Small home, very small in fact. Single car garage originally built in 1929 so it is small width wise and small height wise. Not ready to move yet, knees getting bad at 60, and truth be told, just plain tired of having to work in the driveway, dragging out the jack and jack stands, jacking the truck or car up (which ever the case may be) installing the stands, laying down and getting under the vehicle. Also needed another place to store a vehicle.

So I bit the bullet, had the roof and rafters removed, sistered the stringers from 8 foot to 11 foot, re-framed the roof which added 4 more feet and hit the zoning limit of 15 without the need for a variance. Figured out where the four posts for the lift would sit on the floor, broke out four rectangular size sections of the floor, dug down three feet, sledge hammered two or three pieces of rebar into the sides to spread out the load, and filled with 3 inch slump (i think 3, maybe it was 4) concrete. Purchased an advantage four post lift (for two reasons, one I wanted to store another vehicle, and two, a friend has a two post lift and whenever I used it, getting down on my knees to line up the arms and then getting up, was becoming more of an issue then I expected and would only get worse).

Did it cost a few dollars, it did but it was less then the cost of moving or renting a small hobby shop (over time). It was worth it. I am about to change a clutch and pressure plate in one of the old vehicles. This year, for the first time ever, I get to do it standing up instead of lying underneath on my back in the driveway, with lights, electricity, and no worrying whether the six jacks stands and hydraulic jack will be OK while I am under the car.

A pain while I was having it done, but its been done for two years now and I am glad I did it.

You will find a couple more tools to be very helpful. A roll around post type oil drain pan and a post type transmission jack. I enjoy my 4 post lift.