Building a Garage Pit

[PhysAssist]

Pitfalls of a pit:

Car drives in service pit - YouTube

Inspection pit fail - YouTube

Bruce

I see what you did there...

Simple Definition of pitfall
: a danger or problem that is hidden or not obvious at first

Full Definition of pitfall
1
: trap, snare; specifically : a pit flimsily covered or camouflaged and used to capture and hold animals or men
2
: a hidden or not easily recognized danger or difficulty

 

[PhysAssist]

I did that with two 14' long pressure treated 2x12's. Cut them into 5', 4', 3', 2' lengths, stacked them and nailed them together for a 6" lift. Just enough to get the truck or car high enough so I can lay on a piece of cardboard or scrap 1/4 plywood I get from work and not be cramped underneath. Works great! :thumbsup: I tried creepers, but I end up running over my jacket or hoodie. Cardboard is just slippery enough to let me slide very easily right under there. Also, any spills drop onto the cardboard and not my garage floor or driveway.

Speaking of spills, I noticed about a 4" puddle of oil on the driveway after working on the truck. So I put some kitty litter on it to soak it up. Works great. Been using it for years. Came out the next day to sweep it up and there was a nice pile of cat poo covered up neatly in it! Stupid neighbor's cat.

Hahahaha- I really did LOL!

 

[PhysAssist]

"That's not a service pit. It's a tornado shelter."



Bruce

SF Bay area- you mean "earthquake shelter"- not that it would be a good place to be in during one.

 

[OrangeB2400]

Well I was going to do it without consulting any building codes people. After thinking it over it would just be a hazard and a hindrance if I decide to sell my house. Maybe I'll try to build a ramp system like someone mentioned. I use the metal car ramps now but they are a pain.

 

[lucky llama]

My last house had a low ceiling in the garage so I bought a Kwik Lift. I loved it and it worked well.
http://www.kwik-lift.com/big_images/rod17.jpg

 

[ultrarunner]

Do you still have the street rod?

 

[OrangeB2400]

Wow today I was at a commercial truck garage and noticed they had a pit in their shop. Now it has me considering the idea again. Theirs was seven courses of block high.

 

[bigdeano]

My neighbor at one place had a pit. He leaned a large mirror against the wall so he could see where the tires were to get the vehicle centered and not drive in it. He was happy he put the pit in.

 

[Cord]

Wow today I was at a commercial truck garage and noticed they had a pit in their shop. Now it has me considering the idea again. Theirs was seven courses of block high.

That place wasn't in Sacramento, was it?

 

[EddieWalker]

I have no interest in storing extra cars on a lift, but I don't want to put a pit in my workshop either. I like those ramps, but don't want to deal with putting them away, or tripping over then when not in use. I also couldn't get my backhoe into a shop and up on them.

This got me to thinking. Why not build a set of ramps outside of my shop out of concrete filled cinder blocks?