Garage Doors for lift?

[E55 Bulldog]

Good afternoon.
I'm getting ready to build a detached garage and I'm thinking about putting a 4 post lift on one side and a 2 post lift on the other side. I feel like 4 posts are best for storage of another car and 2 posts are easer to do work on cars..... Am I thinking right?

Also, I'm going with 12' ceilings but want to maximize the accessible height.... so what is the best route to take to get the garage door to open closet to the ceiling? How close can I get it ?

Thanks everyone.

 

[stm317]

High lift tracks should be available to get the door as close to the ceiling as you can. If you're going to have an automatic opener, I'd get a wall mounted unit like a LiftMaster 8500 instead of the traditional type that hangs down over vehicles.

 

[gnpenning]

As mentioned high lift tracks. Depending on the thickness of the door will determine how close the tracks Will be to the ceiling. I like to leave 4" minimum from the top of the tracks.

As to the 8500 read up on some of the issues then decide.

 

[Hpozzuoli]

I have high lift tracks on 12’ ceilings similar to what you are doing. My door is just about a 1.5” off the ceiling. It’s as humanly close as I could get it and still have the door move correctly. I have a large 4poster that I can put almost anything on and not hit the ceiling. I will grab an exact measurement when I get home.

 

[James-W]

Good afternoon.
I'm getting ready to build a detached garage and I'm thinking about putting a 4 post lift on one side and a 2 post lift on the other side. I feel like 4 posts are best for storage of another car and 2 posts are easer to do work on cars..... Am I thinking right?

Also, I'm going with 12' ceilings but want to maximize the accessible height.... so what is the best route to take to get the garage door to open closet to the ceiling? How close can I get it ?

Thanks everyone.

I don't know if your thinking is right or wrong, I think that is a matter of opinion. I do have a friend who has a four post lift and he works on his car and his truck without issue. He also lets a few people use the lift to work on their vehicles, and they have no problem with it either.

I suppose there may be some instances where a two post lift would make it a little easier to work on the vehicle, but there are probably some things a four post lift would be better at.

As for myself, if I were to get a lift I would get a four post lift. I like the idea of being able to drive right up on it and lift up my vehicle without having to worry about putting the arms of the two post lift in the right place.

 

[apollo11]

Good afternoon.
I'm getting ready to build a detached garage and I'm thinking about putting a 4 post lift on one side and a 2 post lift on the other side. I feel like 4 posts are best for storage of another car and 2 posts are easier to do work on cars..... Am I thinking right?

Yes, you are exactly right.
4 posters are ok for fluid changes but a 2 post allows you to do EVERYTHING to a car with easier access to the vitals.

 

[Zivman]

I've had a 4 post. Only way I'd buy again is if was a second lift exclusively used for storage. I just built a garage over the summer and put in a 2 post.

In regards to accommodations, get a 10' door, high lift tracks and an 8500 jackshaft opener. I had my building framed 12' on top of 8" block. Finished height is a strong 12'7". The extra inches we're appreciated by the lift installers as well as my sheet rock guys.

 

[Bamafan]

Not sure why you'd get the tall door. The taller it is, the more it will intrude on the ceiling height because it will go farther back across the ceiling. I'd recommend an 8' door so 1/2 of it will be up against the front wall when it is up.

 

[Relax]

If your ceiling height is flexible, I would decide on the lift first, then check the specs for the safety stops to determine how much ceiling height you really need for what you intend on parking above and below it. Also factor in how high you need your vehicle to work comfortably under it. My SUV comes pretty close to the ceiling when I get it up there. An extra couple of feet would be nice so I could raise it up all the way without worrying about it.

 

[JerseyJeep95]

Go with a scissor truss and raised track. I have 12' sidewalls with a 10' tall door. It clears my truck with no issue.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[E55 Bulldog]

Yes, you are exactly right.
4 posters are ok for fluid changes but a 2 post allows you to do EVERYTHING to a car with easier access to the vitals.

That is how I feel. I want to do a 4 post on one side for storage but after seeing a few and thinking about general maintenance, a 2 post lift is pretty much a must. Like you said fluid change is easy on a 4 post but if I want to work on suspension, brakes, drivetrain, ect.... a 2 post is needed.

Can you park a truck easily between a 2 post lift. I need to also use that spot for parking as well when not working on the cars.

 

[E55 Bulldog]

Not sure why you'd get the tall door. The taller it is, the more it will intrude on the ceiling height because it will go farther back across the ceiling. I'd recommend an 8' door so 1/2 of it will be up against the front wall when it is up.

I'm planning on going with 8' tall by 10' wide doors. I need wide doors for my H1 and I think 8' tall should be good as I don't see me buying anything taller than that.

 

[E55 Bulldog]

Go with a scissor truss and raised track. I have 12' sidewalls with a 10' tall door. It clears my truck with no issue.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

I looked into that and gave it a lot of thought but I really need the attack space above. My house has no storage at all so I need something to tuck stuff away.

 

[lakeroadster]

Go with a scissor truss and raised track. I have 12' sidewalls with a 10' tall door. It clears my truck with no issue.

I looked into that and gave it a lot of thought but I really need the attack space above. My house has no storage at all so I need something to tuck stuff away.

The scissor truss or even better, free span trusses, can be used just over the area where the lift will be... and leave all the other trusses as attic trusses. Then you get your overhead clearance for the lift and the storage area you want.

"Tuck stuff away" Did you buy attic trusses? Most standard trusses aren't designed to hold anything more than the weight of drywall and insulation... and some aren't designed for any loads.

Free span trusses maximize the over head space. With scissor trusses you still loose interior space. A 5-12 truss will have a 3-12 lower chord... the less pitch you have the less height and the more the overhead door interferes.

And yes the free span trusses can be used on stick built buildings. My barn has a 10 foot side wall, yet can still lift full size trucks to full height.

2nd photo below shows door tracks hugging the roof purlins.

 

[TheShrine]

My space.

You can tuck 'em in close if need be. This is my "low" side with a 9 ft ceiling.



I just followed the roof line on the lift side of the shop. I didn't want to have anything "go bump" when I was lifting anything.



I tucked the 2 Post lift side fairly close to the ceiling as well. I did have to fab up an extension to the lifting arm to get the angle to work and had to add an additional spring to support the door in the up position. I had 21 feet of height to work with at the peek. There was about 14 feet to work with in this pic.



Added spring view. The springs shown here are not what came with the kit from OVERHEAD DOOR COMPANY. In fact they would not install my doors with configuration shown.