positioning a 2 post lift

rfuerst911sc · 07-23-2017, 04:10 AM

In a separate posting I talk about a pole barn I am building to be my man cave . It is 24 ' wide x 28 ' deep . The garage door/s will be on a 24 ' end , have not decided on one door or two but leaning towards two 10 ' wide doors .

My question is about positioning of the 2 post lift . My initial thought was place it in the middle depth wise providing the same space front/rear when a vehicle is on the lift . But I am also thinking maybe the lift should be positioned more towards the doors so my longest vehicle will just be inside the garage door ( maybe by a foot ? ) leaving more space up front where I will build a large work bench .

For those of you that have installed your own lift how did you position yours ? If you have a garage similar in size where did you put yours ? I'm getting ready to pour the concrete so positioning of the lift posts is critical . I plan on pouring two pads 24 " x 24 " about 10 " thick for the lift posts and the rest of the floor will be about 5 " - 5.50 " thick .

ckelly78z · 05:36 AM

I am currently getting my 40x60 barn ready for a 2 post lift. I figure the biggest vehicle I have is a an F250 supercab, shortbed which measures out to 18' long bumper to bumper. I also measured it with the doors opened to the first detent in the door hinge (open enough to climb in easily). I ended up with 9' wide. The top lift support makes the two posts 8'8.5" away from each other, and the truck is exactly half way on the lift with the post at the rear of the front doors (so I can open up the doors all the way with no impedance). I positioned the posts 12' from the front wall and 18" from the one side wall. I have plenty of room all the way around the truck, and can walk in between the post, and side wall.

In mounting the posts, I didn't want to trust the old concrete, so I rented a concrete saw and cut 2 pre-positioned pads 3' wide, and 6' long and then dug 12" deep. We will fill both holes with 5000# + Sakrete HD concrete 80# bags that we will mix ourselves in a mixer and let it set for two weeks. We have had alot of rain here lately, and just waiting on the dug holes to dry out on the bottom. We have also both been working 50-60 hours a week lately, ao we will get to it when we can (hopefully cooler weather).

dad911 · 07-23-2017, 05:52 AM

I would do 1 16' or 18' door. More maneuverability. I would also center the lift and put it towards the back, workspaces on each side. Then you could have a project 'up in the air' and still have room for two vehicles.

greglepore · 07-23-2017, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dad911

I would do 1 16' or 18' door. More maneuverability. I would also center the lift and put it towards the back, workspaces on each side. Then you could have a project 'up in the air' and still have room for two vehicles.

This-I did a similar building, but a couple feet longer. Center the lift, workspaces on side or in corner.

cstreit · cstreit's Garage

I wouldn't put it in the middle. You'll eventually fill it, and then you'll have no love a car outside every time you want to use the lift.

dad911 · 07:14 AM

Fun with sketchup:

Disclaimer, models created by others, I didn't check for scale.

I think I'd angle the lift. Can fit 4 cars, or tuck a 4 post lift in the corner.

or maybe enough room to frame a 'clean room'

I'm jealous, wanted to do this 15 years ago.

Edit: Make sure you specify high tracks and torsion springs for garage door.

MBAtarga · 07-23-2017, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

I plan on pouring two pads 24 " x 24 " about 10 " thick for the lift posts and the rest of the floor will be about 5 " - 5.50 " thick .

Is this going to be a monolithic pour are are you actually pouring two pads and then surrounding with the remaining pad? I had my cement installer dig out two areas about 3' sq each so the pads would be about 7-8" deep in that area and 5" or so the remaining pad.

gduke2010 · gduke2010's Garage

I'll vote for the drawings on the left.

dad911 · 07-23-2017, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

...... I plan on pouring two pads 24 " x 24 " about 10 " thick for the lift posts and the rest of the floor will be about 5 " - 5.50 " thick .

I missed this....

We dug a channel approximately 6" deeper, between where the 2 posts were going, with a few extra rebar across. This made a grade beam/footing.

I would not pour those two pads independently of the floor pour, it will be weaker.

rfuerst911sc · 07-23-2017, 03:17 PM

The pads will be poured the same time as the floor so it will be one floor . I didn't think about placing the lift more towards the center that is a possibility . Now that I think about it maybe a 2 ' trough from one side to the other is the way to go , that way I have wiggle room side to side .
Also like the idea of a 16 ' or 18 ' wide door . And will definitely go with high door rails with a Lift Master type door opener . That cad drawing is helpful also . Thanks guys

SeanPizzle · 07-23-2017, 03:33 PM

My shop is 25x36. I lose the back three feet or so to stairs and a half bath. I wrestled where to put a life an ended up with a flush mount Bendpak scissor lift. I didn't want to lose all the real estate around the posts and wanted it to disappear into the floor when not in use.

SeanPizzle · 07-23-2017, 03:33 PM

Garage Journal has some good threads discussing this.

FPB111 · 07-23-2017, 07:58 PM

Mount it towards the door. I centered mine, wish I hadn't. No room around the front where my work benches are now.

unclebilly · unclebilly's Garage

Definitely angle it if you can (I didn't because of my nonvertical walls). Mine is a pain with my full side truck. The manufacturer will have instructions with suggested side and front / rear clearances. Rotary has all this on their website.

I have a heated floor so I had to figure all of this out before I ran my floor pipes and poured my floor.

VincentVega · 07-24-2017, 05:42 AM

I'm sort of relieved I'm not the only one to sweat this. I made cardboard mock ups up the post base and moved them about 20 times. What ended up working. Put in the bench and then the biggest vehicle you'll work on, for me that is a long bed extended cab pickup. If you can pick this up everything else will work. Its a bit tight when I have a truck in the shop but I mostly work on cars and can work around it.

Also, think about lift width. I planned to use the wide install for my bendpak. I ended up with the narrow setup and am happy. Sure, I need to suck in my gut a bit when I setup a big truck but thats not every day. Every day the lift posts take up less space.

Contadino · 07-25-2017, 04:25 AM

I have 16 ft door. It is a little narrow. I'm always wishing it was an 18'.

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URY914 · URY914's Garage

When installed in the middle if you can't get around on one side you won't be able to get around on the other. Sounds simple but people make this mistake all the time.

Tim Hancock · 07-28-2025, 06:45 AM

I angled mine so I could still fit another car in next to it barely.

fastfredracing · 07-28-2025, 07:15 AM

I positioned my lifts so that I back into them. That way, I am not jammed up against a wall or work bench while pulling engines etc.. .
This requires moveable tool storage or work benches to make work more expediant , in stead of running back and forth to tool boxes for each tool you may need .
I chose a location that was a good compromise between leaving enough extra floor space in the shop and ease of ingress and egress on and off the lifts . Mine are all set at an angle also . It makes getting in and out of them easier for the way my building is layed out .
Its fun setting up a shop !!

Captain Ahab Jr · Captain Ahab Jr's Garage

I'd go for right layout, room for benches against the walls each side

I sweated fitting my car lift, even layed it out CAD just be sure, had the concrete slab poured with 9" thick concrete/double steel mesh layers

Worked out great as none of the posts poked a hole in my ceiling