I've an opportunity opened to build my own shop/garage/storage/etc building. I'm currently looking an insulated metal building 60x45x16 with a concrete slab. My wife wants it big enough to park an RV should we ever decide to get one. Who am I to complain about a bigger shop!

As I've never built a shop/garage/storage building before I'm here to solicit input. I will be replacing a barn, as it has a dirt floor, low ceiling, and is only 55x25. Just way to narrow for a shop, but was fine for few animals in the past.

I want to put in a lift. Don't know the differences between a two or four post lift. Input welcomed here as well.

Here is what I've come up with so far. Big door is 12x14 others are 10x10. They will be rollup doors. I already have electricity and water to the barn, I'll just be re-using them.

 

Take care that the static parts of the lift are installed correctly before pouring the concrete. (DAMHIK)

If you can, put a big (RV size) door where you have the lift. Even a good sized 2 poster will lift one side of a big RV, so tire changes, brake jobs etc are easier.
(And maybe you will have a slide-in camper for your pickup and you will want to get in there.)

I do like 2 post lifts if I can have only one, they are more versatile and more suited to everyday work like changing tires etc than 4 post lifts. (Those are better for brake lines, transmission removals etc, and very comfy to just drive up for an oil change)
With a 2 post lift you must consider torque- because most vehicles are heavier on the engine side you have an imbalance that wants to turn your posts, this is the torque that the lift and it's foundation must withstand.
I have seen a lot of 2 post lifts with 8500# capacity where I could not lift a 2500 RAM due to the torque or load imbalance limit.

HTH

 

I really like my 2 post lift in the shop. Having less posts makes for more room in the shop to move things around when you don't have something on the lift, which is a big bonus.
I have a 10,000 # lift and it has no problems lifting my Cummins powered trucks. I did pour the slab thicker in a 4FT x 4FT area around where the post was going to be set.

 

My entire slab is going to be 4" of 4000psi concrete with a 24" footer around the perimeter to get beneath the frost line.

I also plan to make the concrete 6-8" thick under the lift as I've drawn below:



I have no idea where they posts should be with respect to my 2007 Dodge 3500HD C&C. I figure that is the biggest vehicle I'll lift. I've placed the truck in there with 30" clearance between the end of the truck and the closed door.

should I just move the posts more inward as I have room?

thanks
david

 

I would go further in, 30" is a little too tight if you want to roll a toolcase past, especially if you have the trailer hitch still in there.

 

I agree, once you have a lift you will use it for all sorts of stuff.
I often use my lift to pull cabs then roll the frame out from under it. This is great for cab swaps, frame swaps, frame painting, powertrain swaps, ETC. Since it can get very cold around here, I don't want to roll my project frames out the shop when doing this so I have my lift set about 55 FT into a 76 FT long shop.

I often have a project on the lift for weeks, even months at a time, so having room to do stuff behind the lift is key for the way I work in the shop. That way if I need to get a rig in for a quick oil change, tire swap or the like, I have room to do it behind the rig taking up my lift. Even though I have 3 garage doors on my shop. I panel 2 off with 2 inch blue board and Typar for the coldest 5 month of the year. Saves a lot of heat from blasting out drafty garage doors when it is -25 F outside.

These might not be concerns for you in a warmer place, but you still want more than just enough room to open your tailgate of your truck before it hits the wall.

 

OK made the suggested adjustments and finalized the plan. I moved the lift in another 3 feet and changed all doors to 12x14. Having just two or three of them looked weird. The area between the lifts is where I will make the concrete 8 inches thick to better support the lift.

 

Good idea to give yourself the extra room, wish I would of thought of that when I built mine

 

Finally started on the shop. I had planned to have it all done by now, but everyone is busy so they came out last week for a day and got the pad roughed out. They will level, dig footers and Wednesday the concrete guy should show up and start.

A couple pictures of the progress.

Had a ton of wind over the last couple days and it knocked over my bird house. You can see it laying there in the second picture. There were 2-3 birds in there, but no longer.

 

Nice work. Just a bit of personal experience. I'd go at least 8 inches where the lift mounts. I had mine blow out of the floor a year ago (4000 psi at 5" thick). I like the symmetrical style and if you plan to work on any kind of new stuff (2005 and up) go with a 12000# unit. Not because of stuff being heavy, but the new trucks are long and the extra capacity gives extra stability.

 

In the drawing above, I have planned on 8" for the lift

 

Its been a while, but things have been moving slowly. The structure should be done today. Next will be final grading, I'll then wire it and install a lift .

 

Very nice, I would love to have a shop like that

 

I'm looking at the Atlas Platinum PVL-10 lift. I think it will support both my low clearance car and my 1 ton trucks. Other suggestions in the same price range?

Question for you knowledgeable people: Symmetric or asymmetric setup? I've read up on them, but don't know what is needed in the real world. Does it really matter? From my reading its primary advantage is for door clearance to the posts?

thanks
david

 

Also suggestions on electrical circuits? I was planning on two circuits for electrical outlets interleaved with each other. This means any two outlets next to each other will be on different circuits.

Does an outlet between each door make sense?

Any other suggestion?

thanks again,