As others have said, decide on the lift first, then design around it. I went with a Challenger brand 2-Post 10K lbs unit in my 40wx30d shop. It required 12'-6" clearance for install so I went with 14' ceiling height. Challenger calls the VLE10 lift a "Versymmetric" as the design of the arms allows vehicles to be lifted symmetrically or asymmetrically with the same lift. Having the ability to lift my 1/2 ton truck and work standing up beneath while still being able to lift front wheel drive vehicles safely is worth every penny. It was about $5k new and installed 3 years ago.
