DUFFM4N
10-03-2007, 11:08 AM
so a buddy of mine on another forum works in the commercial construction industry and he posted this on another forum that i go on...of what he did for his dad
i thought it was cool, so thats why im sharing it with u
As we get older, it's funny how the garage we work in becomes as important as what we put in it.
Soooo, I was given a challenge, by one of the people in my life whose oppinion actually matters, and I got a little obsessed to make sure it could and would happen. My Dad and I were sitting around one afternoon talking about how nice it would be to have a lift installed in your own garage. I did some research and of course found where people had installed them in large "barn-like" spaces but couldn't find too many examples as to how they got them to work in typical residential track homes.
So I got to working on it. For those that don't know, I'm in the commercial construction industry, so I could have built a high rise with less effort then this, but I also love trying new stuff.
Here is what the space looked like from the outside, pretty typical:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a229/JHaradon/IMG_3310.jpg
As you can see from the outside, the challenge is in the shape of the roof. I could easily installed a small carriage lift, but one of the goals of the project was to give my dad space to lift a car high enough to get another car under it; hence the need to make space for a two post unit.
First we had to clear the usual horizontal structural joist members out of the existing ceiling. Once they were out of the way we had to find a way to bridge the outside garage walls to the perimeter interior house wall to make a "gabled shape." Once that was done, we had to reinforce the hell out of the new structure. I think the only thing that we did that most wouldn't have bothered with was we took the time to conceal it all:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a229/JHaradon/IMG_3314.jpg
Once we knew we had the space for the cars to elevate with clearance on the two car side, we built storage over the single car space, just shy of 200 sq feet worth:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a229/JHaradon/IMG_3315.jpg
And made some access:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a229/JHaradon/IMG_3318.jpg
And finally installed the most important thing for him; it's just a 26":
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a229/JHaradon/IMG_3316.jpg
OH, and I guess I should have clarified that this is my Dad's garage, and he is retired and gets to spend "A LOT" of time in it so it was important and I always viewed it as time and money being well spent. I'm just glad the house is still standing :o =) .
The total cost of the project was between 10 and 15K, and no, I can't do it again for you =) . I'm sure someone could replicate this with enough planning, I just wanted those who are lucky enough to own their own home to not be afraid to dream about taking it a step further! :thumbup:
J.
i thought it was cool, so thats why im sharing it with u
As we get older, it's funny how the garage we work in becomes as important as what we put in it.
Soooo, I was given a challenge, by one of the people in my life whose oppinion actually matters, and I got a little obsessed to make sure it could and would happen. My Dad and I were sitting around one afternoon talking about how nice it would be to have a lift installed in your own garage. I did some research and of course found where people had installed them in large "barn-like" spaces but couldn't find too many examples as to how they got them to work in typical residential track homes.
So I got to working on it. For those that don't know, I'm in the commercial construction industry, so I could have built a high rise with less effort then this, but I also love trying new stuff.
Here is what the space looked like from the outside, pretty typical:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a229/JHaradon/IMG_3310.jpg
As you can see from the outside, the challenge is in the shape of the roof. I could easily installed a small carriage lift, but one of the goals of the project was to give my dad space to lift a car high enough to get another car under it; hence the need to make space for a two post unit.
First we had to clear the usual horizontal structural joist members out of the existing ceiling. Once they were out of the way we had to find a way to bridge the outside garage walls to the perimeter interior house wall to make a "gabled shape." Once that was done, we had to reinforce the hell out of the new structure. I think the only thing that we did that most wouldn't have bothered with was we took the time to conceal it all:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a229/JHaradon/IMG_3314.jpg
Once we knew we had the space for the cars to elevate with clearance on the two car side, we built storage over the single car space, just shy of 200 sq feet worth:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a229/JHaradon/IMG_3315.jpg
And made some access:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a229/JHaradon/IMG_3318.jpg
And finally installed the most important thing for him; it's just a 26":
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a229/JHaradon/IMG_3316.jpg
OH, and I guess I should have clarified that this is my Dad's garage, and he is retired and gets to spend "A LOT" of time in it so it was important and I always viewed it as time and money being well spent. I'm just glad the house is still standing :o =) .
The total cost of the project was between 10 and 15K, and no, I can't do it again for you =) . I'm sure someone could replicate this with enough planning, I just wanted those who are lucky enough to own their own home to not be afraid to dream about taking it a step further! :thumbup:
J.