Definitely decide what you want first the power can go anywhere its only wires my 0.02$ drop it down from the ceiling that way it's not a hazard, water from washing cars,tripping, dirt catcher etc clean look dropping down from the ceiling. Depending on electrical code in your area it might be cheaper too. Conduit vs not needing conduit

When you say "getting started" is this a space that you are planning to build or is it an existing structure?

Allow me to share my experience with not planning ahead for a hoist:

When I had my shop (pole building) built in 2003 I had it "built for a hoist". The only thing I knew I wanted was 12' sidewalls since my dad had 10' sidewalls and they were obviously too low for a hoist. I went with the concrete guys recommendation of 4"+ of fiber reinforced concrete for the floor and all of the local "experts" assured me that I was good to go. I had no idea of what hoist I wanted and hadn't done my homework. Shortly after the shop was built I realized that 3 young children didn't leave much time and money for my car hobby so it turned into a regular garage/junk catcher

Fast forward to 2013: The kids are mid-teens or older and I'm getting back to working on cars. With some luck and prodding from my new boss I score a good deal on a used Rotary SP0A9 (2 post, asymmetric, 9,000lb). Now I start doing my homework... the SP0A9 crossbar is almost as tall as the space I have available (12' was just enough), and depending on who you talk to at Rotary or one of their installers my 4"+ of fiber reinforced floor may not be enough (I ended up with almost 6" where we drilled). My lot, building size and house location dictated that one bay would have a dog leg driveway approach so I planned to put the lift in the bay with the straight approach... think again. The way the building and doors were laid out if I put the lift in the "straight approach" bay the driver side post would have been about a foot from the wall, tough to get around and limited access to the drivers side of the vehicle. Tire changes would be tough and pulling an axle shaft impossible, so the lift is in the "dog leg approach" bay. Not impossible to get into to but not as easy as it could have been with a little up front planning.

I will tell you that a hoist will change how you work on cars and is worth the investment. I had my sons car up and down about a dozen times today (we were 'experimenting'). When I was working on my back we may have only made one or two changes before we called it a day. I should have bought it when I built the shop.

Glad to hear you are getting back in the game, I decided on a 4- post as I really don't want to permantly secure a lift in the garage. I have pictures of my garage in Man Caves under Almost Done, kind of like my car but never completely done. Just finished electrical and received my final yesterday, almost finished with insulating the walls (what a pain) and the n the ceiling will start going in. It is consuming all my free time, but it is a great investment for me. Happy New Year to ya. :whenitsdone:
Kevin

Thanks, it's good to be getting back in the game.

A 4 post hoist has a lot of upsides. The option of vertical storage space almost led me in that direction.

I'm glad to hear that you are insulating early. That is something else I should have done up front but didn't fit into the budget during construction. I'll check out your pics, maybe I can get some inspiration to finish mine.

Happy New Year to you, too!

I personally HATED the 4 post lift I had.... You need the optional center lift capability to make it useful for anything but exhaust and tranny repairs... and working over the ramps is just flat ass a pain in the ass. They're in the way for just about anything you want to do with wheels / bearings / shocks / A arms / steering linkage. Like I said - I HATED mine. It lasted one job before it was gone.


You can still "park" a car on a frame pick lift. They lock in many heights.

Yes, they can be a pain - I was bustin knuckles all weekend.

But I still would trade mine!

HUH???? LOL

Thanks Greg, I will keep that in mind. One thing about the 2 post I don't like is you have to put anchors in your concrete. I was hoping to avoid that.

I can understand that.

I have a 4-post and 2-post...both from direct lift and both installed by me...by myself! I have a modest 3-car garage with 10' ceilings and a depth of 24 foot. I couldn't imagine doing the work I have done so far on my 69 firebird track car without having the 2-post. We had to place 2 4x4x1' footings for the posts since my concrete was only 4" and had seams cut in it where the posts needed to go. I got the 4-post mainly for parking to increase the capacity of my garage. My Boss 302 is stored on it most of the time.