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How high should I make my ceiling in my new shop,,,10 feet or 12 feet
- Thread starter Desoto291hemi
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Inertia
Well-Known Member
Consider calling it a "barn" if possible/nec depending location.
"Shops/garages" may have height restrictions, "barns" not so much cuz they often have hay lofts.
"Shops/garages" may have height restrictions, "barns" not so much cuz they often have hay lofts.
1WildRT
Well-Known Member
Never known anyone that regretting building to tall.. Or to big.... Known plenty that regretting not building taller... Or bigger...
12' and don't even think about it. Mine's 12' and I'm happy, I can't believe I considered 10'. If I had to do it again tomorrow I might have to think about 14'. That's a 10'x10' roll up.
Dartswinger70
Well-Known Member
12 Ft. coming from someone who wishes they had 12 ft. My garage is 8 ft.
Kendog 170
Let the boy go !
You guys with garages are making me jealous!
Mine are 8 feet too. To work under a car, I have to put it on ramps or jack stands and crawl around underneath. It does have room to host a Studebaker club meeting, though.
I built what I thought I could afford (30 years ago), and never even thought about having a lift, but my Studebaker friend (recently passed away) had two lifts in his 6,000 square shop that he let me use and that made a lot of things so much easier.
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FISHYPETE
Well-Known Member
My climate controlled shop is 20’x40’ deep with 12’ ceiling. I keep my Barracuda and 59 pickup in it side by side with room to work in front. Problem I did not foresee is I can’t lay on the ground under a car any more and a not really any room for a lift. Width and height.
Yeah,,,that’s what I’m thinking about for the future .
I’m making mine a 36 X 50,,,for now .
Then I plan on adding a 36 X 15 on the back end for my compressor room and bathroom area .
That will make a 36 x 65 so I think I will be okay with that .
But I want to make sure I have plenty of height for added storage and clearance of a lift .
Tommy
If you plan on running an RV in there at some point, 12' door will be required.
I highly endorse 14', which is what I built mine to. Many hoists are like 12'-3" so no need to worry about where to put it. I would also recommend considering where a future 2-post lift might go and pouring the concrete 8" thick in that area. Then no worries about the floor when/if you do it. You might think now no future 2-post but things could change.
14' means no worry or concern on height. And the cost difference is not that much in the scheme of your total overall cost. You can also use taller (10' or 12' or more) high garage doors that roll up flush to the bottom of the truss so an RV could get in.
I have things i would do differently (bigger!!) but height is never a concern. Sounds like you're building a terrific size so I wouldn't skimp on height.
My 71 Demon up on my lift. No worries with the hood being up.
14' means no worry or concern on height. And the cost difference is not that much in the scheme of your total overall cost. You can also use taller (10' or 12' or more) high garage doors that roll up flush to the bottom of the truss so an RV could get in.
I have things i would do differently (bigger!!) but height is never a concern. Sounds like you're building a terrific size so I wouldn't skimp on height.
My 71 Demon up on my lift. No worries with the hood being up.
Educated guesses pay off here. The extra mud would only be in the two spots where the posts land. Easy as digging a hole 4” deep and 4x4.
Another idea is put in a floor drain. You don’t have to tightline it to the sewer, just run it out 10-20 feet past footing or edge of pad into a big hole filled with rocks. Easy to clean stuff inside.
Are you Running sewer to building? Allow for washer dryer hookups as well. Easy to rough in now. Small things like this make it easier to hide your friends on the lamb…….and wash stuff that is shop related without dragging it into the main house.
$0.02
gzig5
Well-Known Member
Toilet rough in too. I get in trouble all summer getting greasy hand prints on the doors from going in and out to use the bathroom. Seems it is a more frequent occurrence as I get older too.
This will work. What’s the cost of special trusses vs building the walls to 12’6”?
There is the worry of every time you put something on the lift if you are setting it up in “the box” or if you are hitting the corner of the”the box”
If you ever do drywall it will be easier to do a ceiling that is flat.
Dartswinger70
Well-Known Member
I do dread doing low work on a creeper any more they don't tell ya that when you are young...
missing linc
Loose nut behind the wheel
My garage height was limited by city regulations to 14' 4" overall at the peak and I wanted storage in the attic/loft area, which limited it to 10 ft inside ceiling. Overall it's 24x30 and I do have a MaxJax hoist, lifts to about 48". I'm 6' 7" tall and there are very few hoists that lift high enough for me to stand underneath a vehicle without crouching. I have a rolling shop chair that I use to get around underneath vehicles to work on them. It's been almost 12 years now and I have no problem or complaints with it, I've been able to do anything and everything I have needed or wanted to do on my vehicles. It would be great to be able to store one on the lift and park another under it, that's the only thing I would like, but it is just not quite high enough, I have tried it a few times. My door is 16x8 steel insulated, but I have not insulated or finished the interior walls or ceiling, I seldom do any work in there in the colder months anyway so it isn't really a problem. I had considered the custom trusses, but that requires putting the lift in the center of the space, negating the usefulness of the rest of it.
Just my .02.
Just my .02.
JDMopar
Well-Known Member
Finally drank enough coffee to go take pics….lol. I was wrong about my ceiling height, it is 10’ 10”. There is 5” between the Duster roof and the light bulbs. You have to leave room on a 4 post to go up and clear the locks, so you can let it down. I could stand up under the Duster to work, but it would be nicer if I had a 12’ ceiling and could raise it up a few more clicks. Hope this helps some. Excuse my mess….lol. The shop is 40 x 40, and has 8 vehicles in it, not counting the Suzuki TS-185. I swear, if a man built a shop 500 x 500, it would be too small in a few months! Hope this helps.
Thanks JD ,
So,,if I had a 12 foot ceiling I would for sure clear okay .
Those pics are very helpful .
Tommy
JDMopar
Well-Known Member
You're welcome Tommy. Unless you were working on a 4WD pickup or SUV on the lift, 12' will give you plenty of room. I had to duck and dodge when I had a 2WD 2004 Dakota on mine so I could work under it. I'm 6' tall and could work up under the Duster just fine as it sits now. The biggest problem I have run into is that I had to tip a bellhousing on the 545RFE transmission to get it out from under the lift while sitting on a transmission jack that is made to work under a lift. It only needed an inch or so to clear the bottom of the lift, so it wasn't that hard to do. When I got a lift, I had to learn new ways to work after laying on my back up under cars my whole life.
Unless cost or issues with height (bylaw, etc.) are an issue I would go 12 foot minimum. I have 9 foot walls with the center vaulted to 11 feet. Its the tallest I could build 15 years ago due to bylaws and such although the city is now allowing people to build pretty much anything. I can only get my 4 post lift to the top 6 foot position with low slung cars. Another foot would have made a big difference. If I had planned for an SUV on top then 14 foot would be required.
If you put a two post in that is a minimum height. Mine is 12’ with two layers of 5/8 type x drywall as i have a living space in the second story. I have to remove one layer where the post meets the ceiling.
Food for thought…..12’2”
Check out the lift requirements first.
4 posts isn’t the same of course but who knows…. You might get one of each.
Getting down is easy. Now getting back up is another story...
Dartswinger70
Well-Known Member
Well when I was young id lay under there do transmission swaps etc. now its like man...it hurts 3 days later...I want to pull the engine out of the wifes Mustang but its like...gonna take a while I told her that...cause I'm in no hurry...
I'm stuck with an 8' ceiling! Was trying to not build a monster because of what the deed restrictions say. I'm nearly 1500 sq ft and caught hell for that from the neighborhood watch dogs. Was already catching hell because I looked like a teenager when I bought my place (was 33) and to them I had to be a drug dealer to afford to live in this neighborhood. They would turn over in their graves if they saw the neighborhood now. There's even steel buildings out here that were built recently LOL. Build it to fit. 10' is good but 12' is even better. How tall are the 4 post lifts and how much more head room does a car need to be all the way up?
And I know all too well about how the wife is. Thing is, I don't have to worry about her anymore as she left in 17. Best thing that ever happened to me after 31 years of hell!
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