More headroom for lift

[BCreekDave]

Sitting back and trying to come up with ideas for a bit more headroom under the car when its on a lift.
I have 10'10" ceiling and would like to install a two post lift.
It would be ideal to have ~12' height to stand comfortably under the car.
I can't really raise the finished ceiling (trussed, attic, etc).
Is it nuts to have just in the area under the car a shallow pit dug that I could stand in when working on the car and at other times cover it with diamond plate or similar? I know it may get old to step down/step up all the time so maybe it is dumb. Maybe at the front side ramp it down.
Anybody know of anybody that has ever done this?

 

[01-7700]

 

[BCreekDave]

WOW. That's awesome. Maybe not that elaborate.

 

[01-7700]

Ya I know, that hardwood is way over the top.

 

[lakeroadster]

Is it nuts to have just in the area under the car a shallow pit dug that I could stand in when working on the car and at other times cover it with diamond plate or similar? I know it may get old to step down/step up all the time so maybe it is dumb. Maybe at the front side ramp it down.
Anybody know of anybody that has ever done this?

Sounds like a workable plan. The only issue might be the lift columns proximity to the edge of the slab. You might want to excavate the lift post area too and pour the pit, and then piers for the columns, all at once. Something a structural engineer should review.

That's all going to be pricey... but it is for sure possible.

Other issue might be heavier than air fumes accumulating in the shallow pit.. but that shouldn't affect you.. since only your feet will be in there.

You could install some lagged in angle around the pit perimeter and have a cover for the pit when not in use.

 

[Chevy-SS]

Pits are frakkin' dangerous as Hell. Screw that. Why would you want to risk injuring yourself with a pit setup?????

If you are seriously considering the time and money to do a pit, then I would STRONGLY suggest you simply reconfigure the area of the ceiling directly above the lift. You could likely take out a strut or two, and then box that area in, and you'd have your 12 feet of clearance. Plus it would be clean and neat and safe.

Good luck!

 

[dynahoe]

cut the ceiling out and put the lift posts in between the joists...my 9k lift is 11.5 ft hi total.the roof of any vehicle is 4-6 inches or so below that...if the joists go the right way your good..no silly floor mods

 

[zTimbo]

Pits are frakkin' dangerous as Hell. Screw that. Why would you want to risk injuring yourself with a pit setup?????

If you are seriously considering the time and money to do a pit, then I would STRONGLY suggest you simply reconfigure the area of the ceiling directly above the lift. You could likely take out a strut or two, and then box that area in, and you'd have your 12 feet of clearance. Plus it would be clean and neat and safe.

Good luck!

All of this is true

 

[lakeroadster]

Pits are frakkin' dangerous as Hell. Screw that. Why would you want to risk injuring yourself with a pit setup?????

Not a pit that is 18" to 24" deep.

 

[6768rogues]

Any pit is a place for heavier than air fumes to accumulate. Drop that work light or some sparks from a torch and maybe you will not have to worry about your ceiling height any more.

 

[mrobins297aaa]

couple of houses ago this is what I did back in the late nineties. I cut out the ceiling joist and reinforced the rafters. I know you said you had trusses but maybe you should take a better look at it maybe there is something similar you can do.
none of this may help you but I posted it because there might be something there you can use. I also moved the garage door opener off center of the door to get it out of the way. I even used the lift to install the drywall

 

[firebirdparts]

You're wrong about the 12 feet, FWIW. You need 12 feet to stand under a full size van, but car bodies are just not that tall. 10'10 is quite a bit. Depends on what you own.

The problem with the walking trench is just the strength of the slab. that is not a huge deal. With a two post lift, each lift has a big cantilevered load on it, and it's trying to topple inward. The concrete (and nothing else) holds it. The standard design, and all the testing, assumes you have a big healthy slab between the two posts, and in fact most of us reinforce that a little extra when we build a shop from nothing. But there could certainly be other ways to provide that strength.

 

[RGKSR]

Any pit is a place for heavier than air fumes to accumulate. Drop that work light or some sparks from a torch and maybe you will not have to worry about your ceiling height any more.

I agree. Pits are not allowed where I live. I’ve seen the ones at Jiffy Lube and they are fully vented. A flash fire in a pit is not good.

 

[BCreekDave]

Sounds like for several reasons the pit is a bad idea, even a shallow one. The primary car I will be working on is an early Camaro, so maybe the 10'10" may be ok. Thanks for the help and ideas.


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[NUTTSGT]

In typical GJ fashion, you could make the garage bigger. Add another bay for he lift.

 

[T_R]

Sounds like for several reasons the pit is a bad idea, even a shallow one. The primary car I will be working on is an early Camaro, so maybe the 10'10" may be ok. Thanks for the help and ideas.


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10' 10" should be ok for a camaro. They aren't that tall from the lift point to the roof. I think you will get well over 5 feet under it maybe close to 6.

I have an an 8 foot ceiling and have 4 feet under my 66 Chevelle with it all the way up for a rough comparison.

You can always just get a rolling shop seat and roll around under the car sitting down to work underneath. It's actually comfortable.

 

[glider]

My garage is 10'7". You can get by but a little more room would be nice. Not a good pic with no body on the upper. Good enough for parking and storage.

 

[lakeroadster]

I went out and measured my '69 Camaro. It is 56" from the roof to the concrete shop floor. It is 12" from the floor to the leaf spring front hanger.

56-12 = 44"

So with your 10'-10" ceiling: 130" - 44" = 86" from the floor pan to the concrete floor.

I'd say that's plenty of head room... looks like what you already have should work BCreekDave.

Have you seen Falcon67's lift / shop? His 2 post lift actually goes up between the trusses... you could likely do something similar.

Start with post 382 here... https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=100482&page=20

 

[Rod N]

This is what I did.

 

[Chevy-SS]

Not a pit that is 18" to 24" deep.

I wonder if anyone has done a study on pit injuries? I would GUESS that a shallow pit might be less fatal, but possibly the shallow pit would be more prone to general injury.

Either way, pits are bad, bad, bad. Sounds like OP has reconsidered the whole pit thing, which is very wise!

 

[Rod N]

I would think a shallow pit might be deadlier because you could get pinned with just one wheel dropping. Scary stuff.

 

[T_R]

If you buy a floor plate lift, you won't even have to touch the ceiling, most are 8-9' tall