need advice= lift moving

[sleepy911]

I finally bought a lift but its a biggy. A city utility is installing new lifts and i bought a 2 year old 15,000 pound capacity lift from them. My problem is i have to move it. I can put it on my car trailer to bring it to my shop but how do u stand it up to bolt it in? any ideas. there is a heavy equipment yard down the street if I need to rent something.

[faverymi]

Talk to your local landscaping crew. You just need muscles. A forklift may help. That how we did it with a friend many moons ago.

Be sure the concrete slab is thick enough and the right grade. You don't want to rip those anchor bolts out of the cement and be under the lift and your car.

[catuck]

I have a very hefty Mohawk lift, and I was able to tilt the posts up with the help of one friend. To move it around I put two furniture dollies under each post. I suggest getting a couple of friends to help - it's not as difficult as you might think. It's also not hard to walk the posts into position once they're up.

[Bob Harriman]

Make sure the concrete is at least 8 inches thick to drill and install anchors. If you drill the slab and the drill bit goes all the way through you'll need to cut and remove 2'x2' squares at the pillar locations. Remove soil for a min 8" thickness, drill #4 dowels into the existing slab, then pour concrete for the pier footings. You'll have to wait at least 4 to 5 days so the concrete can cure enough to drill if you choose not to place anchors into the concrete with a template. Use either a 3/4" Redhead anchor or a 3/4" all thread with epoxy if you drill. I've lifted those with my bobcat for a friend at his shop. If it's a commercial building the foundation is most likely already at least 8" thick so drill/anchor will be all you'll need to do.

Bob/concrete contractor

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by Bob Harriman

then pour concrete for the pier footings.

Thanks for the info. Regarding concrete, what type to you recommend? I have seen documentaries about bridge building where they use concrete that has a sqillion pounds of strength. Is this something - an acceptably strong concrete - you can buy at Home Depot?

Forgive my ignorance but I am considering buying a 10,000lb lift in the medium term and am just starting to investigate.

[Bob Harriman]

Home Depot carries a bagged concrete called Redicrete that has a 4000psi which is more than ample. Your home foundation will be 2500-3000psi. A bridge? Now that's a whole different story

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by Bob Harriman

A bridge? Now that's a whole different story

Many thanks.

It was the Mackinac Bridge, I believe, the documentary was about. I bet that could hold an F350 duelly. :-)

[reachme]

bags of Home Depot concrete self installed to hold a 15K pound 2 post lift? What could go wrong

[blucille]

I lifted my posts with an engine crane.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by reachme

bags of Home Depot concrete self installed to hold a 15K pound 2 post lift? What could go wrong

Stop confusing us with the facts.

Seriously, I hear you. Not for the ignorant to pull off.

[Bob Harriman]

Originally Posted by reachme

bags of Home Depot concrete self installed to hold a 15K pound 2 post lift? What could go wrong

Not sure what the hell home depot has to do with anything. 4000psi is 4000psi no matter where you buy it. The redimix truck or the redimix bag. Just make sure you drill dowels into existing slab

[sleepy911]

The utilty is going to disassemble it and help me load it on my trailer and I have a fork lift I can use to lift it at my shop. I'm going to drill the floor to check the depth first. Shop is a metal building that's 5000 sf that was bulit in 2004 so I hope its thick enough

[911_Dude]

Nice find on the used lift! You probably already know, but lift installers can move and install your lift for around $500 or so.

Im in the process of prepping my garage for a Mohawk lift. Ive done a lot of research and different brands have different stated requirements. Most state the footer has to be at least 4" and 4000 psi, and the base should be 8"-12" from any crack or seam.

I had to have a cut and repour for my floor and went with the manufacturers rec for a cut floor, which seems like way overkill, but I will feel pretty safe under what ever is on the lift. They wanted a repour of 4000 psi, 5' x 12' and 12" thick, with 1/2" rebar and pinned to the existing floor. This is for a 2-post asymmetric. The thing isnt going anywhere. The garage will tip over before the lift does. Also, the manufacturer wanted a 30 day set time before drilling, but the concrete guy said it could be drilled in 4-5 days with an additive they put in. Ive got to wait anyway, because Im painting it to match the rest of the garage floor.

[javadog]

Two post lift, or four post? If two post, I'd put in a better footing than some that have been suggested.

JR

[4495]

I paid $600 here in Atlanta to have my four post lift picked up, delivered and installed. That was money well spent.

I'd surely want a two post lift professionally installed if for no other reason than reassurance that I personally didn't screw something up. A car falling off a two post lift could be problematic at best.

[Bob Harriman]

Deeper is better but the average home sits on 12" footings. 8" with structure (dowels and rebar) is adequate. My friends that I installed lifts my F450/15000gvw

[jhstealth]

Is this going in a home garage? If not just a heads up watch when drilling concrete. I had a friend who was installing equipment in his shop and he hit a post tension cable and almost died. Usually only need to watch in areas that have large spans between beams.

[Walt Fricke]

I'd wager that his floor is slab on grade. Post tension (or pre-tension) sounds like a structural slab over a basement, which can't be that common in residential construction.

[javadog]

I'd consult the manufacturer, to start with. If it's a two post lift, what concerns me is the overturning moment from asymetrical loading. That can be significant. A four post lift is much less critical.

I wouldn't use home depot concrete. You'll get tired of mixing it and you can screw it up if you add too much water. Order a small load from a concrete company. They'll charge you a small delivery fee but you'll be happy you ordered it.

Post-tensioned slabs on grade are not uncommon around here. No idea what's likely in your neck of the woods.

Typical residential slabs are 4" thick and typical commercial slabs are 6". Most will have wire mesh, not rebar. They can be uneven in thickness, as the quality of concrete work has gone down over the years.

If you do your own excavating, make sure to compact the underlaying soils properly. Consider the type of soil that you have; that can have an impact on what you do.

JR

[David in VA]

Having gone throught this, I would contact the lift manufacturer and ask what their minimum requirements are. For my two post lift they wanted 4 inches of 3,500 psi concrete if I remember correctly. Since we were building from scratch we went 12 inches for a nice safety cushion but they will have very exact requirements. Anything under that won't work, at or over will be fine.

Also, check garage journal for as much information as you will ever want on setting it up. Great forum.