stacking cars?

[philwire]

Hi all, first time I post, seen some very nice mancaves!

For me its just a dream for now, it all started 6 years ago when I moved in my house and saw the neighbor across the street had a nice 2 cars garage. I see it from my room windows every morning when I get up. Then, last summer, I saw a sixties/seventies Nova for sell on the main street, and that's when I told myself I really wanted a hotrod. I talked about it to my girlfriend, she did'nt object except that she told me we would need a garage for it. I wouldn't mind... Wait 5 years until mortgage renewal, then 5 more for finding the right hotrod. That would be just in time for my older son to ask me in 10 years for my hotrod for his prom

So sometimes I daydream about my future garage, see advantages about having it on the side of the house, some disadvantages, pros about having it detached, cons about that too... Would love to make it a two cars with a floor over it for my office/guest room.. Lots of options! But the hotrod I really want will do 7' by 16' (think grand prix or monte carlo) and the house is already 20'x28'. That would leave us 10' for a workplace, would'nt that be squeezy a little bit? I'd be scared to death to try welding or anything else near the cars... Then, my gf said she would also like to have a "summer car" such as a beemer.. So alright, 3-4 cars? what if I want to have them all in the garage on a cold -40 degrees night so the summer cars keep sleeping and the winter cars be comfy in the morning?

Now, let's say I develop super welding skills in the course of about 5 years.. Would it be possible to weld together some kind of frame to park the summer cars one over the other? I was thinking setting up a frame around the smaller beemer for the hotrod, or maybe vice versa since the beemer might be lighter.. And ramps.. This is complicated

I'll try to sketch up plans for the visual people

 

[WhoWhatNow]

Personally not something I would want to "weld together" unless you'er a pro welder.

Buy one of these;

http://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/four-post-lifts/HD-9.aspx

There are lots of threads on 4-post lifts on this site. They seem easy to install with help from a friend.

 

[philwire]

Yeah I was thinking about that.. but I'm pretty much gona be on a tight budget, unless something really fun happens at my job.

Heres some drawings I did... The actual plan, the possibilities and the overkill

 

[philwire]

Well I got back on my feet... I asked the town hall about regulations, and it's maximum 700 sq ft, and no second floor, however the roof can be as tall as the house itself.

 

[Zeke]

First of all, welcome.

I don't think driving up a ramp will do the job. By the time you build the ramps and rack, you will have bought enough steel to purchase a lift. The ramps would have to be over 30' long!

Keeping show cars or even just nice cars in the same space where you weld, etc., is not a good idea. However, there are a lot of ideas here on the GJ about dividers, curtains, that sort of thing.

What's in the shed? Maybe make that the workshop.

I like the detached design the best, but I don't understand the driveway. If you have to alter that surface to get what you want, by all means do so.

 

[philwire]

yeah well the detached would have to have the entrance on the side of the driveway. The house belonged to a trucker before and he used to remove the fence between the house and the cedars to backup his trailer up to the backyard.

going detached style has some advantages, however since I live in a dead end it would look like doing a u-turn since the street comes from the right... the end is on the left end.

I do like the idea of the curtain for welding, I think that would be an idea to think throughly. Maybe dedicate a corner for painting if I ever get interested in that.

The shed is always a pileup.. Every spring I take everything out, organise it, then over the summer it piles up. It's unusable in winter because of the bikes, the patio chairs and pool chairs. I envy my neighbor that uses his shed like a workshop but his kids are grown up and gone He only keeps a handful of toys for his grandson now. The shed also keeps the pool accessories, the pressure washer, the gardening tools... The tires are stored under the huuuge deck

 

[NJHandyGuy]

just easier to buy a lift trust me on this one beisdes if soemthing ever goes wrong imagine you insurance

 

[The Hot Rod Grille]

For maximum car storage per square foot, it's easier to go "up" than "out". Like others have said, a 4-post lift is the best way to achieve your desired result.

Jim

 

[Al Bundy]

For maximum car storage per square foot, it's easier to go "up" than "out". Like others have said, a 4-post lift is the best way to achieve your desired result.

Jim

Did you have to take out a 2nd mortgage to buy that Ford sign?

 

[The Hot Rod Grille]

Did you have to take out a 2nd mortgage to buy that Ford sign?

Hey Al,

Actually both Ford neons pictured below were given to me many years ago by the owner of the Ford dealership (Fred Sayre Motors) in the small town of Ripley, WV where I grew up. Sadly, Mr. Sayre passed away several years ago and the presence of the signs in my garage bring back fond memories from years ago.

Jim

 

[Capt Chrysler]

I just bought a fork lift and some pallet racking good for 8250 lbs per shelf. Tied the uprights to my concrete wall (loose loop). Now have a Turbo Dodge Daytona 9 foot in the air.

I helped a friend build a rack to hold plastic injection molds (some 2000 lbs each). So a car spread over 18 foot is not to bad.


Capt. Chrysler

 

[ket-tek]

I just bought a fork lift and some pallet racking good for 8250 lbs per shelf. Tied the uprights to my concrete wall (loose loop). Now have a Turbo Dodge Daytona 9 foot in the air.

In for pics of this if you have any? Would love to see how you built it...

 

[PCO6]

Here's the ultimate car stacker. It's a parking garage in Germany.

 

[rburke65]

I think you are trying to re-invent the wheel here. Just buy a lift......IMO. Time, material, engineering, and last, but not least, you'd have the built in 'I'm not liable' aspect covered. This is like building your on car.......why?

 

[Kevin54]

Here's the ultimate car stacker. It's a parking garage in Germany.

I bet before long they start doing that in a lot of the larger U.S. cities.

 

[Sage55]

I bet before long they start doing that in a lot of the larger U.S. cities.

I've not seen anything that extreme before, but in NYC they already have spots that they do stack cars 4 and 5 cars high.

 

[PCO6]

I bet before long they start doing that in a lot of the larger U.S. cities.

I think you're right. It would be interesting to know how long it takes to retreive your car and how they deal with rush hours. I can't see it being that fast.

 

[Al Bundy]

Hey Al,

Actually both Ford neons pictured below were given to me many years ago by the owner of the Ford dealership (Fred Sayre Motors) in the small town of Ripley, WV where I grew up. Sadly, Mr. Sayre passed away several years ago and the presence of the signs in my garage bring back fond memories from years ago.

Jim

Man I would love to have one of those for my garage. And even cooler that it has some sentimental value for you.

 

[henrysgarage]

Welcome here Phil and good building on whichever plan you decide. I would be leaning towards the second plan and have a totally separate garage. You have to remember that salt and heat do not make a good combination so parking and heating the garage to work in is not the best combo. We have never parked our drivers in any of our garages as they are my toy shop. Having had both attached and detached garages I would always pick the detached as when you work in it the smells do not sift into the house(my buddy's wife complains all the time about garage smells so he is planning a detached garage).

 

[kv501]

Here's the ultimate car stacker. It's a parking garage in Germany.

This is not a parking garage.

It's a Volkswagen dealership inside a resort in Munich. The cars go through a tunnel from the factory and into the tower. When customers buy a car it gets cherry-picked for them out of this building like a vending machine. This and this is how it works. The engineers who designed it have said it would not be a feasible or economical alternative to parking garages; I would assume due to it's speed and the varying dimensions of vehicles. I wouldn't want to imagine 300 cars showing up for work at 8 AM.

Website: Autoturme

When you look at the website you can see that the photo is shot in a manner to make it look much bigger than it really is.

 

[Girly TT]

You can buy a used 4 post lift from craigslist for cheap. We bought our rotary 2 post lift off craigslist for I think $900.

 

[Capt Chrysler]

I found that 42 feet of pallet racking ($900.00) 2 shelves per up right and a used fork lift ($872.00)was cheaper than a few 4 post hoists.

Building: I have 80 feet of a 50 x 200 concrete building with 15 feet side walls. One He!! of a lot of wasted space when you set cars on the floor. And I can't buy the other 120 feet (owner won't sell). So the only way was UP!

Was in a "junk' yard years ago. His car / truck body racks were make out of driveshafts. I ask if that was safe. Was told, "If you don't Fing like it, Don't Fing go over there!" There were standing when they closed and cleaned up the lot!

Capt. Chrysler

 

[PCO6]

Thanks kv. That's interesting. We design and build commercial buildings among other things and that photo was sent to me out of interest. It's good to get the bigger picture ... although some of the photos on that website make me dizzy

 

[Sage55]

You know you want one... Bend Pak 4 post lift!

Get me one while you're at it.

 

[kv501]

Was in a "junk' yard years ago. His car / truck body racks were make out of driveshafts. I ask if that was safe. Was told, "If you don't Fing like it, Don't Fing go over there!" There were standing when they closed and cleaned up the lot!

Capt. Chrysler

That would have been right before I accidentally got that coffee can of 4d galvanized nails from my pickup and accidentally dropped it behind his truck as I was Fing leaving.

 

[kv501]

Thanks kv. That's interesting. We design and build commercial buildings among other things and that photo was sent to me out of interest. It's good to get the bigger picture ... although some of the photos on that website make me dizzy

Yeah, the first thing I saw when I looked at the pictures of that place was the Galactic Senate building from one of the Star Wars movies