Height needed for 4 post lift

[Chopper1967]

Good morning, I am in the planning/permitting stage of building a stick built shop. I would like to eventually get a 4 post lift, what wall or ceiling height is generally needed?

Thanks,

Dan

 

[pnora]

Starting now 12 foot minimum.Not an 1/8 less.

 

[qkcuda]

I have a bit under 11 feet and I can work easily under the car but I cannot put it up to full height. I agree 12 foot minimum

 

[6PKRTSE]

I mainly use mine for storage, but I do have the hydraulic bridge jack for maintenance on vehicles as well. Mine is 10-4". It is tight, but I make it work. Agree with above, 12' is ideal.

 

[dadsbee]

I have 10' 3"...

 

[pnora]

Good morning, I am in the planning/permitting stage of building a stick built shop. I would like to eventually get a 4 post lift, what wall or ceiling height is generally needed?

Thanks,

Dan

My shop is 36 by 42 and my ceilings ended up being 11 feet 9 inches. My two doors are 10 x 10. I built it on a budget that was in my head and not reality. Knowing what I know now I would have 13 to 14 foot ceilings with at least one 12 foot high door. Yes it would of costed more but not that much more. Back then I never thought about the hoist or the possibility of a motor home. Even enclosed trailers with a/c or travel trailers will not go in with a 10 foot door. Just my 2 cents.

 

[gdrill]

If you are building, don't even consider minimum. You have a clean slate. 12' plus.

 

[69bird]

I'm going to be building a 50x70 with 16 foot ceilings I want plenty of room you never know what you will get in to later on

 

[chargervert]

12 foot is the minimum to be able to use the lift comfortably at full height. The city told me my building could not be higher than 24 feet tall in the residential area. My building is 23 foot 11 inches tall with 12 foot ceiling on the first floor. The last picture is my asymmetrical work lift. All the other ones are storage lifts.

 

[Chopper1967]

If you are building, don't even consider minimum. You have a clean slate. 12' plus.

Great answers everyone, very helpful!

my problem is, due to code in my neighborhood, the building can’t be any higher then my existing house. And it’s single story.

luckily our house is 17’ at the highest point, and with a 4/12 pitch roof I think I can go 12’ walls. Barely lol

 

[gdrill]

You can go down!

 

[451Mopar]

As mentioned, at least 12' at the lowest point.
Look at the specs for the lift. Example, my Bendpack HD9-XW: HD-9XW Four-Post Lift - Tall Lift and Standard Width - BendPak
The runway height is 4.5", and the max lift rise is 82", so the max height is 86.5" (7.2 Feet) then add the height of your vehicle, plus and clearance above that.
A 12' celing would mean the car would need to be about 4'9" tall if lifting to the full lift height.
I have lifted my Ram 3500 (single rear wheel) with the lift, and the truck with the hood open is around 7'.
I think the 40' wide shop has a 24' ? (guessing) peak, that slopes down to 12' at the walls, and has 10' tall doors. The lift is away from the door, so the open door height is not an issue, and the door opens at the pitch of the roof, not horizontal. The workbench is along the wall, so the front of the lift is several feet from the wall.
If the shop is not very deep, you might want a roll up type garage door.

 

[Chopper1967]

As mentioned, at least 12' at the lowest point.
Look at the specs for the lift. Example, my Bendpack HD9-XW: HD-9XW Four-Post Lift - Tall Lift and Standard Width - BendPak
The runway height is 4.5", and the max lift rise is 82", so the max height is 86.5" (7.2 Feet) then add the height of your vehicle, plus and clearance above that.
A 12' celing would mean the car would need to be about 4'9" tall if lifting to the full lift height.
I have lifted my Ram 3500 (single rear wheel) with the lift, and the truck with the hood open is around 7'.
I think the 40' wide shop has a 24' ? (guessing) peak, that slopes down to 12' at the walls, and has 10' tall doors. The lift is away from the door, so the open door height is not an issue, and the door opens at the pitch of the roof, not horizontal. The workbench is along the wall, so the front of the lift is several feet from the wall.
If the shop is not very deep, you might want a roll up type garage door.

Thanks, great info.

 

[1967coronet]

14 ' is as low as I would go if just planning a new building.
Yes 12' will work but 14 is better if you ever lift a 4x4 pickup ect. We use ours for all kinds of projects lol.

 

[69L48Z27]

I did 10’ with scissor trusses. Roof ridge is left to right where the doors are. Center is 14’. No attic when you do it this way but it doesn’t look like a tall building either.

 

[dvw]

I've had full size vans and dually pick-ups on mine. 12 foot.
Doug

 

[CHARGERSTEVEN]

My new shop i put vaulted ceilings in and 10 ft walls.Total height is about 10ft 8 in. I placed my lift in between the rafters to get the 144 inches i needed.

 

[ckessel]

Mine is 18' at the peak. I wanted no issues in case I get something tall on the lift. You need to figure the height of the runways when it's down, add on the height of the vehicle and how high the lift will go a full extension. Of course it doesn't sit at full extension as it won't be on the locks but you need to get it off the locks when dropping it back down. Since you have to raise it up off the locks to release, gotta figure that in. As others have mentioned, 12' at least would be ideal for cars but what if you get a truck, van, etc thats tall? You could limit how high you take it but that means crouching under the vehicle. Also weight capacity figures in there. I got my BP knowing my truck would sometimes be on it. 04 3500 QC, Cummins 2X Dually. Close to 8klbs. empty. What might you put on it?

 

[mrhemi]

I have 10'2" and can store one B body over top the other, very carefully. I was limited by local building height restrictions when I built so a lot of thought had to go into the design. It works out well for me and I am able to work under the car when needed.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I have 11’-8” in the area I work in. That’s high enough for my cars and to put the wife’s Edge on the lift to change oil and rotate the tires.