How high should I make my ceiling in my new shop,,,10 feet or 12 feet

[Desoto291hemi]

Hi guys ,,I thought I would get some ideas before I get to the final stage where I have to make a decision .
I’m building a shop,,or I’m just beginning the stage of pouring concrete .

All my friends tell me I need at least a 12 foot ceiling if I plan to have a lift later .
I was planning on a 10 foot ceiling,,but I haven’t finished my plans yet .
They say to have a few trusses made with a cutout to clear the top and make it 12 foot clearance .
I don’t know if I will have a lift at all yet .

Any experience with this before,,,I’m willing to listen to the guys with any ideas .
Thanks .

Tommy

 

[FISHYPETE]

12’

 

[Desoto291hemi]

Here’s another detail I left out .
If I do install a lift,,it will be a 4 post ,,I’m not very good with the 2 post .

Tommy

 

[ch1ll]

Higher the better.mine are 16 feet tall.

 

[Darter6]

Go 12. It's better to have more than not enough.
Case in point. The garage door opening in my shop is 11'7'' with a 12' door. My RV is 10'5'' to the top of it's A/C unit.
No problem, it is 15 years old and time to find a new RV. Most now class A or C are 12'2'' to 13'.
For months I have been looking for something that will fit(and also that my wife likes).
So just sayin' go for the 12 or more for possible future.

 

[Desoto291hemi]

I’m planning on going 15 blocks high which measures out to 10 feet .
If I go 17 blocks it will be almost 11 1/2 .

But,,I can still calculate about where I might put a lift later and have a few special trusses built to clear 12 feet
That’s what a few of my friends suggested .

Tommy

 

[MobileCustoms]

Even 12 feet is tight if you want to have a storage lift (mine is 12 and I reach the limits pretty often with what I do). It will work for two cars but not for any taller vehicles. If there's any way you can go 14, you will ultimately be thankful in the long run. Taller people will want to raise the lift as high as possible to be under the car without having to crouch down. My 2 cents.

 

[SpeedThrills]

I'm stuck with a 9' ceiling. I didn't know any better when our house and garage were built.

You sound like you're talking yourself into a ceiling that will be too low, and trust me, it'll remind you constantly.

Why not build a higher ceiling? The only disadvantage would be that heat rises. Put ceiling fans up. My wife would've complained it's an "eyesore". (A monstrosity in the driveway.) I've always told her that she got the whole house to play with, I only got the garage.

Maybe you can't afford a lift now, but things change quick.

A bigger garage will increase resale value, too. Get what you need and want.

I don't usually participate in these kinds of threads. After all, it's your garage, build it how you want. But I really think you'll be sorry if you don't raise the ceiling.

 

[JDMopar]

12' minimum! Mine is 11' 9" and it is barely enough. Actually, it is fine for old cars on my 4 post lift, but it was not really high enough when I had a 2WD Dakota on it to swap motors. Nothing wrong with a 4 post.....except having to remember to duck!

 

[Oldiron440]

The additional cost of increasing the height of the building will make it more attractive when you are looking to sell, it probably the cheapest way to increase your square footage.
I’ve owned a shop with a 12’ ceiling, I would consider that a minimum.

 

[Scott_ 69HemiDart]

My side walls are 14' with my 4-post lift..................

 

[Scott_ 69HemiDart]

 

[413]

Will it be heated?
Will it be sheetrocked?
What cars or trucks will you raise up on hoist?
How tall are you? You need to stand up under the car on hoist.

I have 11" ceiling sheetrocked and it's not enough for a 4 post to get a car underneath for storage.

 

[Scott_ 69HemiDart]

With my 14' walls, I can put the car up there on the top lock and be able to park one of my full-size 4x4 truck underneath.

 

[33IMP]

Build it as tall as you can afford. You can thank me later.

 

[str12-340]

12 feet - the biggest thing that compromises a shop is lack of storage that doesn't take up floor space. Find these:

View attachment 1716425267

 

[Desoto291hemi]

Will it be heated?
Will it be sheetrocked?
What cars or trucks will you raise up on hoist?
How tall are you? You need to stand up under the car on hoist.

I have 11" ceiling sheetrocked and it's not enough for a 4 post to get a car underneath for storage.

Yes,,it will be heated .
No,,not Sheetrock,,,block walls with the ceiling insulated .
I’ll only have my Dart (73),,or the Challenger (70) ,up on the lift,,that’s assuming no new acquisitions take place .
I’m 5’8”,,,so not really too tall to fit under a normal raised lift .

And even then,,,,I’m only looking at a lift for maybe sometime in the future .
I’m trying to figure this out as I go,,,,but I don’t want to make it difficult to add something later .

And yes to some others ideas,,,I plan on having plenty of shelves .
I’m even going to build a loft in it for storing stuff that is not going to walk off .

Tommy

 

[ProjectBazza]

Are 10’ and 12’ your only options? If so, why? (Don’t answer, that was a rhetorical question.)

I’m building out my existing metal building RIGHT NOW that has only 10 foot walls, and I’d damn near give anything to have at least 12’ walls. 14’ would be even better, but I’m using what I have and I’ll just have to make do.

As others have already said, since you’re starting out from scratch, 12’ would be the minimum, and 14’ if you plan on putting in a lift.

Lastly, DON’T let money be the controlling factor here! If money is tight, beg, borrow, or steal some, as you only have this one chance to get this right!

Edit add: Unless you’re planning on stacking Corvettes, Ferraris, or GT 40’s, a 10’ ceiling will NOT get the job done!

 

[gzig5]

More higher, more better

And ya’ll can quit showing off your garage palaces, if you don’t mind. Some of us suffer from severe garage envy. It can be a debilitating condition.

 

[RustyRatRod]

With a lift, I'd go 14 or 16.

 

[JDMopar]

I'm gonna measure my ceiling tomorrow, and add a few pics. One with my Duster on the lift with the 65 Barracuda under it, and another one of my storage rack that looks like a lift, but it ain't. 68 Roadrunner on top with a 77 Trans Am underneath. My shop looks like an airplane crashed in it....lol.

 

[gdrill]

14' ceiling, 12' door

 

[ch1ll]

1200 sq ft 16 ft tall walls. Once your floor space is filled, the only place to go is up. Build it as big and as tall as you can afford. It won't take long to fill up if you know what I mean. If I had more room, I'd have 3 more cars that I passed on because I had no where to go with them.

 

[Inertia]

I needed 13' to be able to lift a van, or if I had the hoist with the cables/connector over the top .

 

[Yunick13]

Here you go. I can see a car guy wanting a garage like this: