Standard Garage Height?

[tegguy]

What is the standard height of a garage ceiling? I am asking becuase my fiancee and I are looking for our next house for when I graduate college. We have looked at stuff with property to build a shop on but can't find anything we like. We don't have the money to be able to buy and build so we have been looking at newer neighborhood construction. We have found a couple houses we really like with a 3 car garage. I have a decent amount of vehicles and was wondering if I could get a 3 car garage with a 2 car 4 post lift (need recommendations as well) and then be able to park 2 cars underneath as well. My cars that would stored are

1972 Chevelle (52.7" stock but has been lowered)
1955 Thunderbird (52.2")
1992 Acura (50")
1969 Triumph TR6 (50")

The lift I looked at says it requires 12". I also need recommendations for lifts. I know this probably is car from the ideal situation but I think it's the route I'm going to have to go and then I'll have the 3rd bay to hold tools and motorcycle or one of the daily drivers.

Thanks and I know I'm crazy.

 

[pattenp]

If I had to pick a height I'd say 10' is what I see a lot. But I can't say that's standard, just common.

 

[ChargedUp!]

It really all depends on the budget of your house. Around here, new construction garages range from around 9'+ to around 11' depending on the cost of the house itself. The more expensive the house, the bigger the standard garage.

Our home that we are building had around 11' "model spec". I changed it to 12'6". Keep in mind, some builders don't offer much for modifications and some neighborhoods won't allow for larger than spec garages.

Your best bet is to find a home you like and then talk to the builder rep about the customization if its not exactly what you were hoping for.

Good luck!

 

[tegguy]

Thanks for the info I think I'm thinking I should just start carrying a tape measure with me. I'm thinking from my calculations I need a ceiling of about 9.5' to make it work. Can anyone recommend some lifts? I have debated between 2 four post lifts and 1 four post lift designed for 2 cars.

 

[NUTTSGT]

8' walls with scissor trusses or vaulted ceiling will give you extra head room. I'd want nothing less than a 10' ceiling, start to move around 4x8 sheets of anything with 8' ceilings, you'll be hitting it all the time.

If you're looking at houses, nothing wrong with carrying a small 16' tape measure. It might be small and take two measurements to get the entire thing but it could pay off in the end having it at the right time.

 

[tegguy]

Well I just measured my current garage and it's 8.5' I hope the one were looking at is closer to what I'd need.

 

[pattenp]

Thanks for the info I think I'm thinking I should just start carrying a tape measure with me. I'm thinking from my calculations I need a ceiling of about 9.5' to make it work. Can anyone recommend some lifts? I have debated between 2 four post lifts and 1 four post lift designed for 2 cars.

Don't cut yourself short on the height. I think 9.5' is a little lean to store a car on a four post with one under, unless all your cars are really low profile. Don't forget about the thickness of the lift deck and the loss of height from any overhead lights.

Edit: Duh.. I see you listed your cars heights. But still.... 9.5 seems kinda low.

 

[JakeKohl]

Thanks for the info I think I'm thinking I should just start carrying a tape measure with me. I'm thinking from my calculations I need a ceiling of about 9.5' to make it work. Can anyone recommend some lifts? I have debated between 2 four post lifts and 1 four post lift designed for 2 cars.

9.5' is probably too low for a lift (depending on what you are putting on/under it). My ceiling is at 10.5' and I can only get my silverado about 4' off the ground (when I have my lift). My little roadster can get pretty high, but I'm not sure it would be high enough to get a second car of any size under it.

 

[BTC]

I moved into a new house about 16 months ago. I'm not sure how high the ceilings are in my garage, but I'm going to guess 12-13 feet, and maybe a bit higher. This thread has peaked my curiosity, so I may try to measure them when I get home from work. I didn't ask for super high ceilings, but that seemed to be normal on all of the homes I've seen that were built by this particular builder. If I had it to do over, I would have asked for high lift doors. I have no idea how much that might cost now, and I hate to incur additional expense so soon after moving in. Not to mention I don't really need high lift doors right now.

I'm single, so it's certainly no mansion. I did get a three car garage that's about 850 square feet, but the first floor of my house is only about 1600 square feet, and it has a full, unfinished basement. It's not a huge house by any means, but certainly nicer than the one bedroom apartment it replaced.

 

[tegguy]

9.5' is probably too low for a lift (depending on what you are putting on/under it). My ceiling is at 10.5' and I can only get my silverado about 4' off the ground (when I have my lift). My little roadster can get pretty high, but I'm not sure it would be high enough to get a second car of any size under it.

I'm not planning on doing much (if any) maintenance with these lifts so it will be mainly for storage. I figured put the two tall cars under or on top of the lift and the two short cars together. with a bare minimum of 9.5' including the 12" the one lift I looked at said it required.

We are looking at two story larger (3000+) sq ft houses so the ability to raise the ceiling is limited a lot but I figure I might be able to get a few extra inches if I reinforced the structure and was able to notch the floor beams of the second story. Please note I did say reinforce and would make sure it was done correctly if I was to do it.

 

[Falcon67]

Regular around here is 8~9', usually 8' + 2 or 3" because of the parking apron drop and slope to the door. Depends on the design of the house and how the garage fits into the elevation on that side. Ours is a front entry and 8' 2" more or less. Next house has a side entry with a 9' ceiling but they have a fairly tall front elevation with rock and brick and it places the garage just behind that wall. Plus it's a TALL house - the roof peak is about 35' off the ground. It's a single story that is nearly as tall at the two story next door.

The old house we moved from had an old garage - 7' 6" to the bottom of the joists.

 

[JimH]

Wouldn't the garage door track height be the real concern?

 

[JakeKohl]

I'm not planning on doing much (if any) maintenance with these lifts so it will be mainly for storage. I figured put the two tall cars under or on top of the lift and the two short cars together. with a bare minimum of 9.5' including the 12" the one lift I looked at said it required.

We are looking at two story larger (3000+) sq ft houses so the ability to raise the ceiling is limited a lot but I figure I might be able to get a few extra inches if I reinforced the structure and was able to notch the floor beams of the second story. Please note I did say reinforce and would make sure it was done correctly if I was to do it.

Man, that's a lot of effort to knowingly buy into. You may also consider buying something with room to build and budgeting a new, purpose built, garage into the purchase.

 

[pmiranda]

First choice: a lot big enough to build a second garage (and a neighborhood that allows them).
One other detail that has kept me from putting in a 4-post in my 9'-9" third bay: You have to have room to walk around the posts.

Try looking for houses where the garage is built on the down side of a slope. A friend had a house with a 12' garage with no extra cost because it was cheaper to put stairs between the house and garage than to grade the lot. Of course the cheapass builder but in normal 7' tracks but that's fixable.

I wonder if there's an easy way to tell if there's plumbing running under a garage floor...

 

[tegguy]

The areas we have both really liked are all in HOA areas and from what we have been told they are very strict about that kind of stuff (remodeling exterior). My fiancee and I both want two different things but we are trying to compromise and make both of us happy. I would love land we but can't find a house we like nor an area we like and we have both liked these subdivision's we've found.

Ideally we'd find a house with an acre or so and build a shop but that's just not looking like a reality with the budget and area's we want.

JimH the garage door opener would be a concern however I figure there are always other options and there's the possibility it would go right between the two cars. As far as the door tracks I haven't quite figured that one out yet.

pmiranda we have been trying to find something with enough room to build a second garage but there are no many HOA's in Florida it's hard.

 

[Bobcatter]

I settled on a 10 ft. ceiling height in Florida. One of the local issues was to keep the garage height similar to the height of the house, your area may vary, lol. My interest is to work on a car, not store them. I figure I can find lifts that will fit, but only lift a car about 4 feet off the ground before it gets close to the ceiling. I may just go for for the "portable" lifts that lift 3 feet or so.

I went with roll up doors to avoid the whole garage door support intrusion problem.

The cost of a new 24 x 24 separate garage here is fast approaching $30K, driveway not included - simple houses can be found for $60K due to foreclosures. I would really really urge you to find a place that has a garage already built to serve your needs.
Ha, sneak that into your next real estate search and go from there!

 

[Jsf721]

I would kill for 10' ceilings. My ceilings as 7' 6" and I have some pipe chases that lower that number across the whole space. I think the answer is, there is not a set height.

 

[pmiranda]

The tracks can be extended up to be pretty close to the ceiling if you get a jackshaft opener like this: http://www.liftmaster.com/lmcv2/pages/productmodeldetail.aspx?modelId=436

 

[tegguy]

I settled on a 10 ft. ceiling height in Florida. One of the local issues was to keep the garage height similar to the height of the house, your area may vary, lol. My interest is to work on a car, not store them. I figure I can find lifts that will fit, but only lift a car about 4 feet off the ground before it gets close to the ceiling. I may just go for for the "portable" lifts that lift 3 feet or so.

I went with roll up doors to avoid the whole garage door support intrusion problem.

The cost of a new 24 x 24 separate garage here is fast approaching $30K, driveway not included - simple houses can be found for $60K due to foreclosures. I would really really urge you to find a place that has a garage already built to serve your needs.
Ha, sneak that into your next real estate search and go from there!

Bobcatter I like to work on cars as well but right now I'd settle for a place to keep them on the property and can always use a jack and jack stands if I have to. The county and distance limitations she has imposed make it next to impossible to find a foreclosure and build but I'll do some looking.

Looks like I'm just going to start carrying a tape measure with me and measuring ceilings.

pmiranda thanks for the link

 

[Too_Many_Tools]

The last time I built I went with 9.5' high interior walls on the current on site shop..BIG BIG MISTAKE!!!

I cannot have a decent lift or gantry crane inside the building.

I did the 9.5' wall to make the house and detached shop blend together...again a really BIG mistake.

Fortunately I have another building nearby with 15' high walls...so that is where the lifts and cranes are....but still a PITA because of the distance one has to travel.

I would make your walls as high as you can possibly can...you will not regret it.

Bear in mind the higher the walls, the more expensive the garage will be.

 

[Too_Many_Tools]

Bobcatter I like to work on cars as well but right now I'd settle for a place to keep them on the property and can always use a jack and jack stands if I have to. The county and distance limitations she has imposed make it next to impossible to find a foreclosure and build but I'll do some looking.

Looks like I'm just going to start carrying a tape measure with me and measuring ceilings.

pmiranda thanks for the link

Watch out for HOAs...most do not allow working on cars outside of the garage...or with the garage door open.

 

[Too_Many_Tools]

I settled on a 10 ft. ceiling height in Florida. One of the local issues was to keep the garage height similar to the height of the house, your area may vary, lol. My interest is to work on a car, not store them. I figure I can find lifts that will fit, but only lift a car about 4 feet off the ground before it gets close to the ceiling. I may just go for for the "portable" lifts that lift 3 feet or so.

I went with roll up doors to avoid the whole garage door support intrusion problem.

The cost of a new 24 x 24 separate garage here is fast approaching $30K, driveway not included - simple houses can be found for $60K due to foreclosures. I would really really urge you to find a place that has a garage already built to serve your needs.
Ha, sneak that into your next real estate search and go from there!

I agree...in today's housing market I would buy...NOT BUILD.

 

[Too_Many_Tools]

9.5' is probably too low for a lift (depending on what you are putting on/under it). My ceiling is at 10.5' and I can only get my silverado about 4' off the ground (when I have my lift). My little roadster can get pretty high, but I'm not sure it would be high enough to get a second car of any size under it.

I have 9.5' walls in my on site shop.

They are TOO LOW for a lift.

The 9.5' walls are the #1 mistake I made when I built this building.

 

[tegguy]

I have 9.5' walls in my on site shop.

They are TOO LOW for a lift.

The 9.5' walls are the #1 mistake I made when I built this building.

When you say too low is it too low to do what I'm trying to do or too low to work on a car?

 

[the_saint]

I would make your walls as high as you can possibly can...you will not regret it.

Bear in mind the higher the walls, the more expensive the garage will be.

The additional cost is negligible compared to the cost of the rest of the garage. You still have to pay for the pad, the doors, the openers, the lighting, the radiant heat/heater/etc.

You are adding the additional materials to add the height and associated labour, but they are still framing, finishing etc.

I am wishing that I made my ceiling 12'6" or 13' instead of 12'

 

[Too_Many_Tools]

When you say too low is it too low to do what I'm trying to do or too low to work on a car?

Yes...if you want to work on your cars..9.5' is too low for a lift+vehicle+person underneath.

In all seriousness go to a commercial shop and take a look at their lifts with a vehicle like yours on the lift...you will see the minimum height you need.

For you to stand under your vehicle on the lift will require a certain height.

You may say "I don't need to stand"...you are wrong...replace a transmission/engine/fuel tank/exhaust system while on your back and you will see it is damn near impossible.

Also allow for growth...as garages built in the 60's allowed for one low height car, they do not allow for two car parking or any normal height vehicle today (van,pickup).

 

[Coopduc]

For what it's worth, I have a regular 2 car attached garage. Finished ceiling height is right at 11'. Ceilings in the house are 9'

 

[tegguy]

Yes...if you want to work on your cars..9.5' is too low for a lift+vehicle+person underneath.

In all seriousness go to a commercial shop and take a look at their lifts with a vehicle like yours on the lift...you will see the minimum height you need.

For you to stand under your vehicle on the lift will require a certain height.

You may say "I don't need to stand"...you are wrong...replace a transmission/engine/fuel tank/exhaust system while on your back and you will see it is damn near impossible.

Also allow for growth...as garages built in the 60's allowed for one low height car, they do not allow for two car parking or any normal height vehicle today (van,pickup).

Please see my previous posts this lift is only for storage no for working. Also FYI you can replace a transmission and fuel tank easily with jack stands I just did it on my vehicle. Also all my vehicle heights are given previously.

 

[guss013]

My $0.02 worth...
If it were me I would look at a lift with a rise of 82" (H=100") allow deck height of 6", space above car of 12" (just in case! - damn roof racks!) and then the height of the car/s.

So lets say a total of 12'9" ball park.

Thats where I would start, but I certainly don't have that! From there you can make compromises based on the features of the house etc. It may not be a perfect world, but try and future proof yourself as much as possible initially. I know I am sick of working on the floor under a car! With toys one tends to tinker, or escape the cleaning!

 

[tegguy]

My $0.02 worth...
If it were me I would look at a lift with a rise of 82" (H=100") allow deck height of 6", space above car of 12" (just in case! - damn roof racks!) and then the height of the car/s.

So lets say a total of 12'9" ball park.

Thats where I would start, but I certainly don't have that! From there you can make compromises based on the features of the house etc. It may not be a perfect world, but try and future proof yourself as much as possible initially. I know I am sick of working on the floor under a car! With toys one tends to tinker, or escape the cleaning!

Thanks for the info guss. I was already factoring a little extra cause my Chevelle, Acura, and Triumph are lowered a couple inches each. But more never hurts. However I don't get where your coming up with 12'9" unless you are counting full lift height. I have been counting car height plus a little.

Chevelle 57.3"
Triumph 50"
Lift 12"
Extra Height 12"
I get 10.9 ft

We are trying to buy this house and make it our only house for a long time so I'm trying to look into the future as much as possible.

 

[BTC]

For what it's worth, I measured my ceilings and they are 12.0'.

 

[guss013]

Hi Tegguy, Yes was counting a full height 4 post bendpak lift, thinking of my old bones and back!! I also work in "mm's" so could be a little out with conversions!!

 

[Too_Many_Tools]

Please see my previous posts this lift is only for storage no for working. Also FYI you can replace a transmission and fuel tank easily with jack stands I just did it on my vehicle. Also all my vehicle heights are given previously.

I have been noting the dimensions.

Your worst case minimum is 118"...120" = 10 feet finished height.

That is already taller than 9.5'.

And I emphasize that is the MINIMUM.

I would wager you will need more than 118"...being 1" short would prevent you from storing the stuff.

I would go with a MIINIMUM of 11'...and check that minimum height of the lift twice.

 

[tegguy]

I have been noting the dimensions.

Your worst case minimum is 118"...120" = 10 feet finished height.

That is already taller than 9.5'.

The absolute minimum is 114.6" or 9.55' and this is going off the manufactures website for the height required wasn't the bedpak (height of both cars plus 12") (Chevelle and Thunderbird on top Acura and Triumph on bottom or vice versa)

Guss I'd love to be able to get full height out of a lift but realistically I don't think it's possible right now I'm trying to work with bare minimums so I can be happy if I get something above minimums but if we fall in love with a house that just meets the minimums I'd know it will work.

BTC thanks for that measurement

 

[BTC]

BTC thanks for that measurement

You're welcome. I believe I mentioned that it was not something I requested, and appears to be fairly normal around here. I live in central Michigan, and all of the houses in this area seem to have basements, which may have something to do with it. I did request 9' walls on my basement. I believe 8' walls is the norm. I know that the floor of the garage is below the top of the basement walls, probably by about two feet. I have to step up a few steps to get into my house from the garage. With regards to my garage ceiling height, I guess I got lucky in the event I ever want to install a lift.

 

[pattenp]

tegguy, don't forget that the lock positions may not hit where they need to with such a precise limit you have to fit the cars. One lock position being too low or too high may ruin your plans to fit the cars in.

 

[tegguy]

tegguy, don't forget that the lock positions may not hit where they need to with such a precise limit you have to fit the cars. One lock position being too low or too high may ruin your plans to fit the cars in.

Thanks for the reminder I think I can call the maker of whatever lift I go with to check the locking heights but someone might correct me on this.

 

[Too_Many_Tools]

The absolute minimum is 114.6" or 9.55' and this is going off the manufactures website for the height required wasn't the bedpak (height of both cars plus 12") (Chevelle and Thunderbird on top Acura and Triumph on bottom or vice versa)

Guss I'd love to be able to get full height out of a lift but realistically I don't think it's possible right now I'm trying to work with bare minimums so I can be happy if I get something above minimums but if we fall in love with a house that just meets the minimums I'd know it will work.

BTC thanks for that measurement

I believe that the WORST case measurement is when you stack all the tallest stuff in the tallest configuration.

FWIW...I would NOT believe manufacturer's specs...I would personally measure them myself to verify...manufacturers change products constantly without updating advertising.

FWIW...every time one changes houses, you spend thousands of dollars to do it..that is why there are billion dollar industries around to capitalize on that money. Because changing houses is not like buying another pair of socks, that inch or two of clearance that we are discussing is vital to your decision process...be off and you will not be happy.

Is there a possibility that you could find other housing for some of the vehicles so your search criteria for housing would be more lenient?

 

[tegguy]

Storing vehicles offsite other than a storage unit is not a feasible option unfortunately as I have researched it extensively. However I do not want to leave my vehicles in a storage unit. I will not be able to measure the lift because it will be purchased after the house is purchased. I know the inches thing we are talking about is a craps shoot but realistically someone isn't going to built a ceiling at 9'8" it will probably either be 9'6" or 10' at least that's what I'm hoping for.

Unfortunately I just can't seem to find an ideal solution to solve my problem.

 

[Too_Many_Tools]

tegguy, don't forget that the lock positions may not hit where they need to with such a precise limit you have to fit the cars. One lock position being too low or too high may ruin your plans to fit the cars in.

Very good point about locking positions...and they never all lock at the same time.