Nonsense Thread

[varg]

If you're gonna have one lift, a two post is the move.

I want one so badly, I'm not even old yet and I already am starting to hate being on the ground under the car for any long period of time. Unfortunately the FL housing market has gone completely insane. My wife and I, who could have afforded what we wanted pre-covid if we wanted to blow almost all of our savings on a down payment, now have enough saved to not do that (if houses still cost what they did in 2020) but can no longer afford what we want. As a matter of fact, we would barely be able to afford the bare minimum, which for reference is not much; a 3/2 with 2 car garage and no HOA and a lot too small for building a tall garage, as opposed to a 4/3 with 2+ car garage, no HOA and land that I can build a garage tall enough for a lift and some machines on. We have some time to wait and see if the bottom falls out of this unreasonable market, but I'm not overly hopeful considering the rate at which people are flooding into our state. On that note, no HOA is a non-negotiable for me. I border on hate for these power-tripping busybody jackoffs, and I am not paying $250+/mo to be bossed around and get mediocre lawn maintenance and a community pool I'll almost never use at our next place. No, they haven't bothered me about my cars, but they have been making enemies with selective rule enforcement lately.

[Northern]

Yeah, although it is all in the prep, and my stuff worked for well enough for most part, it was clear it was a subpar product. I'd step it up to the better products. Professional install is pricey, I just like the warranty's that come with them.

When you don't use the flakes in that HD kit, I think that is what can cause the yellowing, because the undercoat is not UV rated, and the clear topcoat might not be either.

On reddit, I forgot which subreddit (garage and / or mancave) or even the facebook group "Average Middle Class Garage Goals" I know there were some posts showing the better grade stuff that are in kits you can order from a website.

I read about the Poly coatings after your first post about the epoxy coatings, I'll be looking at the links you sent in the other post as well. Sounds like the way to go if I can find a source.

UV also might not be a huge problem for me - Windows on the East side but likely shaded, Man+Garage doors on the North.

The other option could be the plastic tiles, but while I like those in theory, they are pricey and in garages where a lot of work happens I'm not sure about them.

I do kind of like the thin grey ones (with the raised circles? I think from costco as well), I just don't know if they collect dirt in the cracks and how hard they'd be to roll casters over...

You're going to love the new space when the shell is done! I'm sure you already have sketched and thought about placement for everything.

I have a floorplan sketch in solidworks with the various car templates and some benches but I'm kind of playing it by ear.
Speaking of casters, the 4-door E30 on car dollies and sticking it sideways in the back right corner.

If you wanted a 2 post but not all the time, I know people love their Max Jaxx's, even though their prices are higher now that I think Bendpak bought them out?

That would probably be better than the quickjack, might compare.

That's my biggest reason for not having a car lift. I do quite a bit of work for just having a 1.5 car garage, and I'd lose a lot of flexibility with the lift posts in the way.

What I would recommend is a motorcycle lift to free up some space. During the winter I can put it against the wall with a bike on top, then lift it up and store things underneath.

Or scooch the E30 closer to the wall and get to both sides of the bike lift, with room for more bikes between the car and lift.

"Lucky" for me, I'm going to sell my bike because of the knee thing, otherwise I would take this advice.

I cant imagine building a garage and not having a lift inside it... how much more space would you really need to squeeze a lift in? Remember that it also x2 your vehicle parking space

I already have 5, I don't think I can financially or mentally sustain any more haha.

[MrBurgundy]

If you're gonna have one lift, a two post is the move.

[DEV0 E30]

^^^ Right. If you really want to double parking space, the 4 posts I feel are better suited for that, but then it limits what you can do with that lift, unless you get the center channel lifts that add supports that go out from the center - but that complicates and adds considerable cost.

To really be able to use a 2 post (if you want to garage multiple vehicles) it is best to have it away from the -storage/parking- area IMO. Which means the garage needs to be bigger, which many can't do. I see it a lot in groups or on garage journal - anyone with a decent sized shop, they wish they had gone bigger or could have gone bigger. When you place a lift, it is going to make the immediate area not usable at times if you want to leave a vehicle on the lift or things under it. Then there is the issue if it is placed too close to other objects/walls, etc.


Or be like the 3 separate people in my current neighborhood, they have 2 posts exposed to the elements on slabs 20-40 feet behind their RV gate. Honestly, if this was forever house, with a shade cover I'd consider that, but it isn't so that won't be happening.

[roguetoaster]

I cant imagine building a garage and not having a lift inside it... how much more space would you really need to squeeze a lift in? Remember that it also x2 your vehicle parking space

Eh, a lift isn't exactly a convenient item for many garages. For instance, my garage has ~13' ceilings, around 6" of who knows what concrete, and absolutely no sensible way to add a lift. If I add one I can either not open a car door easily, park one vehicle backwards every time, lose convenient access to a person door, block stairs, or install the lift at 90 degrees to the parking bays and lose motorcycle parking in the process. None of those options are good, and coupled with having to reconfigure my garage door means I'm never installing one even though my garage is "perfect" for one. As such I am perfectly happy to borrow a lift when I need one in exchange for cleaning their shop or buying beer.

As to doubling parking space, maybe if the vehicle on top is completely devoid of leaks, and since it's the less frequently used one I'm going to guess that it normally leaks something.