two 4 posts in a 2 car garage

[rjacobs]

Anybody doing it?

Per my other thread on shop building, the wife and I are looking at property.

One that just made the list isnt ideal for a large shop as its deed restricted to only a 400sq. ft. outbuilding hobby garage. I dont "think" thats a big deal as I could likely put a 3+ car attached garage on the house we would build. Would be nice to be able to go like 3 double deep or at least 1 double deep... but thats another topic for later... This property is water front on a lake in Texas you can actually have a dock on, so thats a big plus for us. Trade-off's... My realtor also thinks that I could get a variance from the restriction since I would technically own 2 lots.

Anyway, if I were to buy this property and limited to a 400sq. ft. outbuilding garage, it would be used for car storage and built appropriately. Im a sports car/motorcycle guy so no need to fit 20+ foot long trucks or whatever. Looking at 4 post lifts and the dimensions for most seem to say about 9'x15' outside to outside. So thinking 12' ceilings and im thinking I could get away with 20x20 or maybe something like 22x18 or 21x19 and fit 2 stacker lifts to get 4 cars into the garage. The garage would be built to accommodate this plan.

So back to the question: anybody running two 4 post stacker lifts in a 2 car garage?

 

[CombatNinja]

Being limited to 400 square feet is going to be the issue. That means anything around 20' wide is going to fill up real quickly with all those posts in the way. I would look into a double 4-post to alleviate this issue. Something like this:

Aside from your setbacks and 400 sq ft accessory building limit, what is your height restriction? That could be the real problem for this plan.

 

[rjacobs]

From what I can read from a cursory glance any structure is limited to 2 stories and must be finished in 30 percent stone.

The dimensions of the lifts I posted earlier are outer post to outer post. 9' wide. So if they are butted up next to each other is 18'... that's why I'm thinking 22 wide x 18' depth. My current garage is only 19 wide and I fit my 2 vettes in it now with room to spare. One gets backed in the other pulled in forward so I can open doors.

This would only be for storage, not daily use so I'm willing to put up with a bit of a pain in the *** factor.

 

[CombatNinja]

This would only be for storage, not daily use so I'm willing to put up with a bit of a pain in the *** factor.

Exactly. That's why you should go with a double lift. I understand that you will have to move both bottom cars to access either top car but that is a small price to pay of the ease of having no columns in the middle of your garage space. I have done the two 4-posters in one oversized double before and it was a serious pain in the ***. You couldn't even use the space for any kind of work since there were lifts in the way all over the place. It just killed the space for anything other than storage. If I had it to do over, I would go with one larger parking lift for that scenario.

 

[rjacobs]

Looking at them now. Same price basically as 2, 4 posts. 17' width is obviously better than 19.

 

[Falcon67]

400 sq/ft - yeesh. That ain't much in Texas LOL. Our "garden shed" is half that LOL. Can't hardly park a decent boat in 400 sq/ft.

My realtor also thinks that I could get a variance from the restriction since I would technically own 2 lots.

I would not bet one dollar on that unless you cruise the other lots and find someone - anyone - that has done that. "Variance" requires "hardship" and if there is no hardship (those people got to do it, I should have the same privilege) there is no basis to grant a variance. Two lots can just mean on the 2nd lot you can't build anything on that lot without part of the primary structure being on the 2nd lot.

I would also check on "attached" - in many cases, "attached" can be as little as a covered breezeway between the house and the "attached" garage.

 

[rjacobs]

400 sq/ft - yeesh. That ain't much in Texas LOL. Our "garden shed" is half that LOL. Can't hardly park a decent boat in 400 sq/ft.

I would not bet one dollar on that unless you cruise the other lots and find someone - anyone - that has done that. "Variance" requires "hardship" and if there is no hardship (those people got to do it, I should have the save privilege) there is no basis to grant a variance. Two lots can just mean on the 2nd lot you can't build anything on that lot without part of the primary structure being on the 2nd lot.

I would also check on "attached" - in many cases, "attached" can be as little as a covered breezeway between the house and the "attached" garage.

Yea, no **** 400sq. ft. *****... I can deal with it, but not ideal. Again, its a trade off to have 300ft of water frontage where you can put a dock since thats fairly rare in Texas.

As far as the variance, its something I will be asking since if I get serious I will be setting up a meeting with somebody from the home owners association to ask questions. I am sure I wouldnt get a variance to build a 40x60 metal shop, but a variance to build an 800sq. ft. (2 car, double deep) detached garage, thats finished to match the house might be possible.

I will also be asking the "attached" question, but I feel that might be met with "you're just trying to put something over on us"... which if I cant build something that will work for me, even if its not ideal, im not interested in being in their neighborhood. And im not talking about trying to build something cheap that would be an eye sore, were talking ~4000sq. ft. homes here.

They also have a section about parking RV's and they are only permitted to be parked in RV garages... well my(theoretical) 45' class A diesel pusher requires a 15x50 RV garage... which exceeds the 400sq. ft. limitation... so how do I build that....

 

[astroracer]

Remember... Your 20' x 20' is only 19' x 19' on the inside... putting any kind of lift in there is going to negate the use to anything else.
Do a layout of the inside dimensions with lift/lifts installed. Use trash cans or boxes to build your hard points (door openings, lift placement, etc.) You will probably realize pretty quickly this is not a good thing...
Mark

 

[rjacobs]

Remember... Your 20' x 20' is only 19' x 19' on the inside... putting any kind of lift in there is going to negate the use to anything else.
Do a layout of the inside dimensions with lift/lifts installed. Use trash cans or boxes to build your hard points (door openings, lift placement, etc.) You will probably realize pretty quickly this is not a good thing...
Mark

I understand that this will relegate this building to car storage only and no other use... thats the plan...

And I believe I could build 20x20 internal, so the outside dimensions will obviously be larger or 21x19 or 22x18 internal.

My main question was "does two lifts even fit" and the answer I believe is "yes, but a double 4 post is a better option".

 

[Falcon67]

They also have a section about parking RV's and they are only permitted to be parked in RV garages... well my(theoretical) 45' class A diesel pusher requires a 15x50 RV garage... which exceeds the 400sq. ft. limitation... so how do I build that....

Yea, there has to be some flexibility in those requirements if RVs are expected to be stored. It's not hard to blend 800~1000 sq/ft of shop into a neighborhood. A barn to park a big pusher - that's way harder LOL. That's be our issue - even the F-350 plus the race trailer is nearly 63' long.

Hopefully there is some wiggle room for you. Especially with higher end 4K sq/ft type homes. Part of how I got my variance was an elevation drawing showing how I'd blend the building into the neighborhood/house. That and there are 4 other big shops close by and a lot of homes use double lots.

What lake you hoping to land on if you don't mind my asking. (Fort Worth is home town).

 

[Aahz]

I know this isn't the right forum for this, but it does pertain to anyone looking for a BendPak HD-9SW Lift..(double wide parking lift). I have a customer that purchased one new, but forgot he had an SUV, so after completing the install, had us take it out and order him an HD-9SWX (extra tall). I currently have the HD-9SW at the shop with the new one being installed after the holiday. If anyone is looking for one, let me know..happy to make you a deal! It has a few dings and scratches from the original install, but it has never been used!
Lift is in the Chicagoland area, stop by if you want to take a look!

 

[rjacobs]

Yea, there has to be some flexibility in those requirements if RVs are expected to be stored. It's not hard to blend 800~1000 sq/ft of shop into a neighborhood. A barn to park a big pusher - that's way harder LOL. That's be our issue - even the F-350 plus the race trailer is nearly 63' long.

Hopefully there is some wiggle room for you. Especially with higher end 4K sq/ft type homes. Part of how I got my variance was an elevation drawing showing how I'd blend the building into the neighborhood/house. That and there are 4 other big shops close by and a lot of homes use double lots.

What lake you hoping to land on if you don't mind my asking. (Fort Worth is home town).

Yea the plan if we get serious about this land is to meet with somebody from the home owners association and just be frank with them about what I want to do and if its possible. And in reality, being able to store 4 cars in a detached 2 car with a stacker is probably good if I can get a 3 or 4 car built onto the house. If I could build a double deep(40x20) where you only saw a 2 car from the front would also be pretty do-able.

And its down on Richland-Chambers reservoir. Lots of decently priced lake front lots.

 

[rburke65]

Wow....400sq ft isn’t all that big!

 

[rjacobs]

Wow....400sq ft isn’t all that big!

nope, but if it is what it is, and my wife and I decide to buy this property, it is what it is and I just need to stretch the available space as much as possible.

 

[Falcon67]

Thats a nice one - big lake. My grandparents lived about a mile from Whitney so I've spent a lot of time in that general area as a kid - Whitney lake, town, Hillsboro, Corsicana and such. Good luck, hope it works out well for you!

 

[LX-Markham]

Wow....400sq ft isn’t all that big!

It's big enough for a double-wide 4-post lift (just).

Mine is 17'-9" W x 20'-0" D (355 sq ft).

 

[rjacobs]

It's big enough for a double-wide 4-post lift (just).

Mine is 17'-9" W x 20'-0" D (355 sq ft).

excellent picture.

Thanks so much.