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The best lifts on the market are made by Bendpack - a friend recommended them and their service and quality is top notch!
For most home lifts you need to convert your opener into a side mount setup unless you have a lit of height behind the opener otherwise you won't be able to use it. There are 2, 4 and even 1-post lifts and they all have advantages and disadvantages.
In our new house I'm in the middle of customizing the garage and right now the epoxy floors are done and we are starting to hang cabinets. I have a QuickJack for one bay to do easy work but it only goes up about 2-3 feet. I'm still debating for the third bay if we want to do a 4-post or 2-post. My exterior driveway is slanted a bit since our house is built on concrete slabs on a hillside. If we do a 4-post that means the car has to clear the driveway and then drive up the 4-post ramp too. A 2-post is easier for daily parking but it's not meant to store cars for long periods. Tough decisions so decided to sleep on it for a while. My garage is 10' ceilings with the sloping rear section that goes to 18' so the lift is not a problem. However I need to convert at least the 3rd bay to a side mount garage lift for same reason. Still have a huge laundry list of things to get done since we need to add a Tesla charging station then comes the fun part to decorate.
My advice is to first get the flooring done because once you start putting stuff in there it's very hard to take it out. We did the flooring first and I'm so glad it was done by a professional as it's quite labor intensive.
Garages are a lot of fun to modify but almost everything you touch is expensive. I predict to have things all settled by December so I can bring most of my cars home.
P.S Love your lights btw - previous owner at my place was an older couple and he had about 10 hanging florescent lights so I ditched all of it for flush mount LED lights. Suddenly the ceiling looks so much cleaner combined with a fresh coat of paint.
P.S Love your lights btw - previous owner at my place was an older couple and he had about 10 hanging florescent lights so I ditched all of it for flush mount LED lights. Suddenly the ceiling looks so much cleaner combined with a fresh coat of paint.
I've been on the fence about doing the floor. Maybe I'll have a change of heart after? I don't mind the natural concrete look. I had the inside of the garage was painted last fall and made a big difference. Especially the ceiling. Was painted with exterior paint due to the temperature inside the garage. It's not heated, but never gets below freezing. The lights are strictly motion sensor based and stay on 15 minutes after no motion. Works perfect.
While pretty garage floors are nice, I can't justify it. Then you're worried about damaging it and tip toeing around your garage which is a pita imo. That's good money towards a lift. We had a 100amp subpanel and new circuits installed in the garage and it's a joy having plenty of power should I need to add something like an electric car charger, lift, etc. What's annoying is how many builders make garages 20' deep. Another 2-3' deeper would make a world of difference..
What's annoying is how many builders make garages 20' deep. Another 2-3' deeper would make a world of difference..
Mine is only 18.5' wide. Two car garage. Yeah, that's a little tight. It's 25' deep, but the last 4'+ is up a step, so it's the laundry room, water heater, AC air handler, extra fridge, etc. I love my house, but if there's one thing I wish it had, it would be a bigger garage.
Not to go off topic, but has anyone looked into an in ground scissor lift? Something like this?
I've been thinking about one of these and I like that it's unobtrusive when down, whereas a 2 post normal lift takes up quite a bit of space.. A friend has one at his shop and he has no complaints..
I think they are cool and all but with the Wildfire at less than $4k and easy install, I'd take it all day. Not to mention the scissor does not allow you to store anything underneath it if you have the headroom.
W What's annoying is how many builders make garages 20' deep. Another 2-3' deeper would make a world of difference..
It makes a big difference for stuff, not so much for cars. Mine is 23-24 feet deep and even if it was 25 feet deep, it is really hard to fit two cars. My Cayman is over 14 feet long, I think a Miata is 12, can't fit two deep. You could fit a Miata and a Fiat 500 two deep. You can cram a car perpendicular with what you are parking or parallel to the back wall if you understand what I am saying, but you have to shimmy it in or put it on dollys and it is mostly for long term storage and not for pulling in and out all the time. For 2 deep, builders need to go to 28-30 feet to make it work well.
But sure, going a few feet over 20 helps fit a lawn tractor, motorcycle, or four wheeler type thing. I have a 130 yard driveway and am looking at getting a fourwheeler with a plow. Even at 24 feet, it is tough to fit a four wheeler with a plow (almost 10 feet front to back) and a Cayman which is not a long car these days. Sedan or SUV and forget it, it wont work well. You have to have the four wheeler jammed tires to the wall, and then you have an inch or two from that to the front bumper, and the rear bumper almost getting scratched up by the garage door. But it is first world problems. Americans have tons of crap.
It makes a big difference for stuff, not so much for cars. Mine is 23-24 feet deep and even if it was 25 feet deep, it is really hard to fit two cars. My Cayman is over 14 feet long, I think a Miata is 12, can't fit two deep. You could fit a Miata and a Fiat 500 two deep. You can cram a car perpendicular with what you are parking or parallel to the back wall if you understand what I am saying, but you have to shimmy it in or put it on dollys and it is mostly for long term storage and not for pulling in and out all the time. For 2 deep, builders need to go to 28-30 feet to make it work well.
But sure, going a few feet over 20 helps fit a lawn tractor, motorcycle, or four wheeler type thing. I have a 130 yard driveway and am looking at getting a fourwheeler with a plow. Even at 24 feet, it is tough to fit a four wheeler with a plow (almost 10 feet front to back) and a Cayman which is not a long car these days. Sedan or SUV and forget it, it wont work well. You have to have the four wheeler jammed tires to the wall, and then you have an inch or two from that to the front bumper, and the rear bumper almost getting scratched up by the garage door. But it is first world problems. Americans have tons of crap.
Ya I'm talking about for stuff. Definitely no way I'm gonna try to park 2 cars deep, you'd need a lot more space unless you have a fleet of smart cars. The other "problem" is that cars have gotten bigger. We have a minivan and it's huge at ~17' long. I just opt to leave it parked outside now.
I think they are cool and all but with the Wildfire at less than $4k and easy install, I'd take it all day. Not to mention the scissor does not allow you to store anything underneath it if you have the headroom.
That isn't a bad price at $4k. The biggest concern I have with a 4 post is space. I have a 3 car side load garage (so storing more cars isn't a concern), and the space between each car is whatever the "standard" size is for builders, which I'm not sure leaves a ton of space for a lift. I looked at a 2 post and it would've been too tight so I'm guessing the 4 post is probably the same. The in ground scissor lift is about $6k installed with the concrete work which isn't cheap but on a garage that's not very wide it seems ideal space wise.
The other "problem" is that cars have gotten bigger. We have a minivan and it's huge at ~17' long. I just opt to leave it parked outside now.
They are definately getting bigger but maybe it is all cyclical. I remember land yachts from the 70's that I swear were 20 feet long. My friend in high school could put a six foot step ladder in his trunk with room between the ladder and the back seat and the ladder and the back of the trunk. It was some early 70's Monte Carlo I think. An uncle has some 70's Lincolns in a barn that seem like they go on forever. Talk about boats.
My friend has some odd fascination with old Pontiac Catalina's and he has taken me for a ride recently in a couple of the Craigslist special he bought trying to get enough of them to make one solid nice looking example. I actually thought it was cool because you forget what it was like to ride in one of those things they are so different from a modern car. Like riding on a floating couch. It was cool for 10 minutes and then I thought, "I'd hate to have to drive one of these things." But I think there is a big old Lincoln on the lift in Bamafan's thread. Speaks well of the capacity of the lift I guess.
Does anyone have 2 cents on what kind/size to get? The main purpose of a lift is to make maintenance easier/more enjoyable for me. Is there a minimum size I should consider? Maybe I could squeeze a 4 post corner off to one side vs in the middle parking spot, but I also have cabinets/storage/crap along that wall..
08-23-2018, 01:53 PM
The other "problem" is that cars have gotten bigger. We have a minivan and it's huge at ~17' long. I just opt to leave it parked outside now.
