Jonny Hart Posted November 3 I finally took the plunge and bought a scissor lift. Prior to that I needed an extra building to put it in. Sunk it into the floor too. I chose the two piece lift from Automotech Services. Allows access down the middle of the car. The only hiccup was that I had nowhere to put the lift prior to laying the concrete. Despite double checking with the supplier about the dimensions and explaining that I was sinking the lift in and going to the floor plan, it turns out that the plans online were out of date. The lift was now 3cm wider and my troughs were too small. So out came the grinder so cover my lovely new building with dust. Wasn’t a happy bunny but all done now. The lift parts total 700kg, each ramp weighing 300kg and I didn’t have any means of lifting them. Had to get all Egyptian with wooden rollers, levers and slides. Took a couple of hours to move them into position. Ramps are then bolted to the floor and after bleeding the hydraulic system time for the first lift! It’s a 1.9m lift although I can’t raise it fully without the car hitting the roof. I can get it high enough to stand under though. Next job is to figure out how to adjust the stop switch for the high position. I’ve dreamed of having a lift for years and it will make all the difference I’m sure. I’ve already found the source of an annoying squeak which I could never find on the ground. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ALEX P Posted November 3 Well I've got garage envy. Now put loads of boxes of junk in there so it looks like a proper garage! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Northy Posted November 3 Looks cool Jonny. So does this mean you will be able to offer a drive in / drive out aircon fitting service? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beaky Posted November 3 42 minutes ago, Northy said: Looks cool Jonny. So does this mean you will be able to offer a drive in / drive out aircon fitting service? Exactly Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jevvy Posted November 4 13 hours ago, Jonny Hart said: Next job is to figure out how to adjust the stop switch for the high position. Can you not extend the wires and fit it to a foam covered baton in the ceiling somewhere as then its safe for different heights of car? I've removed the little grey ramp extensions on mine - they just get in the way. Garage looks cracking - nice work Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
proporsche Posted November 4 Johny can you tell me the diameter of your garage i like the way it looks.I might build one for me.How deep is the concrete? thanx Ivan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jonny Hart Posted November 4 38 minutes ago, proporsche said: Johny can you tell me the diameter of your garage i like the way it looks.I might build one for me.How deep is the concrete? thanx Ivan It’s 6m wide and 5.5m deep. If I had the space I would have gone for 6m deep. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
proporsche Posted November 4 ok thank you next year project it shall be;-) Ivan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jonny Hart Posted November 4 10 hours ago, jevvy said: Can you not extend the wires and fit it to a foam covered baton in the ceiling somewhere as then its safe for different heights of car? I've removed the little grey ramp extensions on mine - they just get in the way. Garage looks cracking - nice work Probably gonna use a line of sight detector. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
David Gander Posted November 4 Jonny, this is very similar to mine (Eurotech). You’ll find it invaluable and a bl@@dy breeze to to do small checks and tweaks that would give you a thought having to jack the car up onto stands. I built a seven metre high garage (at the apex) to make sure that I had enough headroom......only problem now is that I’m Porscheless!, Regards, David. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
World Citizen Posted November 4 1 hour ago, Jonny Hart said: It’s 6m wide and 5.5m deep. If I had the space I would have gone for 6m deep. Great lift Jonny, good to see what that area of floor space looks like with a car in place for scale My garage will be 6m deep, wanted to able to walk around the front and rear of a 4x4 instead of climbing over Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jonny Hart Posted November 4 1 hour ago, World Citizen said: Great lift Jonny, good to see what that area of floor space looks like with a car in place for scale My garage will be 6m deep, wanted to able to walk around the front and rear of a 4x4 instead of climbing over 6m is big enough for most stuff except perhaps a Lincoln Continental at 5.8m. I’m a bit tight at 5.5m but I had other constraints. The longest car in my fantasy garage is a Citroen DS. At 4.9m it’s longer than a Volvo 740 Estate so I’ll just fit it in! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarkJ Posted November 5 14 hours ago, proporsche said: Johny can you tell me the diameter of your garage i like the way it looks.I might build one for me.How deep is the concrete? thanx Ivan Ivan, the garage base slab should be 150mm thick with a layer of mesh in the top (25mm-35mm cover) - as anti-crack. Ideally the slab edge should have a 300mm dp thickening into the ground but depends on ground conditions or slope of ground. My double garage was 5.4m x 5.4m and I can walk all the way around a Cayman or Integrale sized car. Old garage slabs are often only 100mm thk without any mesh and often why you see them cracked up. Nice work on the lift install Jonny. Must admit I was all set to get one a few months ago but the installation put me off as most suppliers say they just deliver it on a pallet and leave you to it. Not a lot of help to me with a sloping gravel drive to negotiate and 300kg to manhandle! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
proporsche Posted November 5 thanx Mark i made a note;-)..it is exactly what i need 😉 again nice garage Johny... Ivan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarkJ Posted November 5 No problem, if you need more info nearer the time, just shout up. The edge thickenings protect against ground frost and anchor against movement if you have clay soil or ground likely to swell and shrink when it soaks/drys. Most builders will try and skimp on them Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jevvy Posted November 5 14 hours ago, Jonny Hart said: Probably gonna use a line of sight detector. I wouldn't expect anything less from you young man Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phill Posted November 5 My garage floor is probably 50 - 60 years old, probably laid to earth, has a slope across it you could probably ski down and has more cracks than Tommy Lee Jones face. It needs replacing.......... If I ever move house there will have to be space to build a garage big enough to house two cars with their doors wide open and space to walk around them. We all have dreams. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lesworth Posted November 5 40 minutes ago, MarkJ said: No problem, if you need more info nearer the time, just shout up. The edge thickenings protect against ground frost and anchor against movement if you have clay soil or ground likely to swell and shrink when it soaks/drys. Most builders will try and skimp on them +1 - over 25% of the cost of my house extension is on the foundation slab. Its almost a shame its underneath the building encased in concrete as it is an engineering work of art. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
World Citizen Posted November 5 My shed slab was 200mm with mesh but no edge thickenings (not spec'd by the structural design engineer), I was the builder so have given myself a bollocking I'm sure it will be ok and I could just drag the whole slab/shed to a new position in needed Man cave slab is 300mm thick with 2 layers of mesh and proper footings all round, got a few lifts to fit in, one will be a recessed 1.5m x 1m platform like Jonny's installation Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Busybee Posted November 5 1 hour ago, World Citizen said: My shed slab was 200mm with mesh but no edge thickenings (not spec'd by the structural design engineer), I was the builder so have given myself a bollocking I'm sure it will be ok and I could just drag the whole slab/shed to a new position in needed Man cave slab is 300mm thick with 2 layers of mesh and proper footings all round, got a few lifts to fit in, one will be a recessed 1.5m x 1m platform like Jonny's installation 200mm thick will see you right with an artic on it so I wouldn't sweat it. 100mm is plenty for our cars but not for a two post lift lol Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarkJ Posted November 5 ha 300mm you can land Chinooks on it 100mm would work for a single light car space and no lifts, but it would crack or break its back eventually for a 5.4m span or driving a 4x4 back and forth. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sopor Posted November 5 I was hoping to put a 4 post storage/maintenance lift into my double garage but discovered it's a block and beam floor with beams spanning the entire width of the garage. Soil type is clay so block and beam floors are the norm is this area. There's a void under the floor of probably 12 inches or more. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jonny Hart Posted November 5 @MarkJ is spot on with the floor slab (as expected). If you are sinking a lift like I did, you need another mini slab under the lift which also has mesh. The subsoil obviously needs to be dug deeper in this area. I poured this first, then left it a day and built the shuttering for the lifts and poured around. I used square ventilation duct to make tunnels to run the hoses. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jonny Hart Posted November 5 13 hours ago, MarkJ said: Nice work on the lift install Jonny. Must admit I was all set to get one a few months ago but the installation put me off as most suppliers say they just deliver it on a pallet and leave you to it. Not a lot of help to me with a sloping gravel drive to negotiate and 300kg to manhandle! It arrived on two pallets. The control unit and hose/fittings gubbins on one. Two ramps on the other which is the heavy one (reckon 500kg). Ground is currently road planings so we had to plywood down but still took three blokes to move the pallet trolley 1 metre! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
