Concrete slab thickness for vehicle lift? (And some great concrete suggestions!)

[BritKLR]

We in the final design phases on our outbuilding and I'll be installing a two post vehicle lift. The manufacturer recommends slab thickness of 4 inches. We're pouring 5 inches for the entire floor. I'd love to hear from those that have done this and if you have any advice/suggestions? And any advice/suggestions on lift placement or "I wish I had done this......". Much appreciated!

 

[180out]

do the cables run over head or across the bottom. if the later is the case you might want to think about sinking it in to the slab so that you can roll a whatever around under the car without having to deal with that dam 2-3 inch piece of steel. lots of extra work but worth in IMO.

 

[Howard70]

In addition to the thickness of the slab, the psi capacity of the concrete ought to be considered. For a shop I'd go with a minimum of 3,000 psi. Under perfect conditions with well compacted and prepared material below the slab, a 4" slab might suffice. I've never seen those perfect conditions achieved. Another consideration is if you have iron in the slab and then want to put in some anchors later for something you didn't anticipate, you might find it problematic to drill a deep enough hole for the anchors without drilling through the slab or hitting iron. When we designed our new shop several of our guidelines came from things my dad told me about shops many years ago (he was a self employed tool & die maker / machinist):

1. When you build a shop it can't be too big. Build what you can afford and fit in the available space.

2. Never put a shop on a slab less than 6" thick. A six inch slab can handle some thin spots - a 4" slab can't.

3. Include 1/3 to 1/2 the sq footage of the shop in exterior concrete - a large apron in front of the door for outside work on vehicles and generous walkways along the sides.

We followed all of those and 2 years later we're glad we did!

Howard

 

[EmersonHart13]

5" sounds about right. Most lifts are good with 4" but a little extra always helps. I'd focus on PSI like mentioned above. to make sure you have strong enough concrete.

 

[justjames]

All good advice above. If you know exactly where the lift will be situated, it's simple to do a 3' x 3' pier under the posts that is a few inches deeper than the rest of the slab and you will have cheap insurance.

 

[dreadlocks]

Whats the capacity of the lift? that's the determining factor..

2-post lifts (under 12,000 LB. capacity):
Four (4) inches of concrete at 3000 PSI
12,000 pound two-post lifts (and higher capacity):
Six (6) inches of concrete at 3000 PSI is required.

My shop I'm planning on building is getting 6in floors, and an ultrawide 2 post lift my trailer can pull through.. IIRC it was 6ton

 

[Huffy]

I installed a 10K lift at my home. The 6" slab is a bare minimum even though the enginnering sheet may allow 4". My 6" slab cracked with a 7K lb truck in the air. It did not totally fail. I cut out a 36" x 36" section, Then epoxy doweled it and added steel to form a 36 x 36 x 12 support. Do youself a favor and add a section no less than 6" and possibly 8-12" deep with some added steel. The cost negligable and will save you a ton of heartburn. After the improvements 10K went up with nary a issue.

 

[BritKLR]

In addition to the thickness of the slab, the psi capacity of the concrete ought to be considered. For a shop I'd go with a minimum of 3,000 psi. Under perfect conditions with well compacted and prepared material below the slab, a 4" slab might suffice. I've never seen those perfect conditions achieved. Another consideration is if you have iron in the slab and then want to put in some anchors later for something you didn't anticipate, you might find it problematic to drill a deep enough hole for the anchors without drilling through the slab or hitting iron. When we designed our new shop several of our guidelines came from things my dad told me about shops many years ago (he was a self employed tool & die maker / machinist):

1. When you build a shop it can't be too big. Build what you can afford and fit in the available space.

2. Never put a shop on a slab less than 6" thick. A six inch slab can handle some thin spots - a 4" slab can't.

3. Include 1/3 to 1/2 the sq footage of the shop in exterior concrete - a large apron in front of the door for outside work on vehicles and generous walkways along the sides.

We followed all of those and 2 years later we're glad we did!

Howard

Great advice. Thanks!

 

[BritKLR]

I installed a 10K lift at my home. The 6" slab is a bare minimum even though the enginnering sheet may allow 4". My 6" slab cracked with a 7K lb truck in the air. It did not totally fail. I cut out a 36" x 36" section, Then epoxy doweled it and added steel to form a 36 x 36 x 12 support. Do youself a favor and add a section no less than 6" and possibly 8-12" deep with some added steel. The cost negligable and will save you a ton of heartburn. After the improvements 10K went up with nary a issue.

This is very helpful and what I'm most worried about. Thanks!

 

[Dances with Wolves]

I've been a part of 2 lift installs. One was in a friend's garage, the other a shop I where I was a partner.

My friend, who is an architect was building a new home when he built his. He formed & poured footers with rebar at the post locations. He also used rebar in the slab instead of wire mesh. His slab was 4000psi & a consistent 6" thick. His lift is 10K capacity.

The one I installed in the shop had a inconsistent 4" slab so we cut out the floor and poured 12" footers. This was a 10K Bendpak.

Both of these were built in Florida.

 

[vintageracer]

If you are on a budget and want to save a little moolah on concrete you can always pour two 6 inch deep 3 foot by 3 foot squares with rebar in the floor area where you will mount a 2 post lift and a thinner 4 inch slab for the remainder of the shop floor. Saves you a little money on concrete and will work absolutely perfect for mounting your 2 post lift in your new shop.

 

[BritKLR]

I've been a part of 2 lift installs. One was in a friend's garage, the other a shop I where I was a partner.

My friend, who is an architect was building a new home when he built his. He formed & poured footers with rebar at the post locations. He also used rebar in the slab instead of wire mesh. His slab was 4000psi & a consistent 6" thick. His lift is 10K capacity.

The one I installed in the shop had a inconsistent 4" slab so we cut out the floor and poured 12" footers. This was a 10K Bendpak.

Both of these were built in Florida.

Good ideas. Thanks.

 

[BritKLR]

If you are on a budget and want to save a little moolah on concrete you can always pour two 6 inch deep 3 foot by 3 foot squares with rebar in the floor area where you will mount a 2 post lift and a thinner 4 inch slab for the remainder of the shop floor. Saves you a little money on concrete and will work absolutely perfect for mounting your 2 post lift in your new shop.

Also a good idea. Thanks.

 

[dreadlocks]

Gonna put any anchor pots down? I'm thinking of putting a few in for winching vehicles in/out and for chaining dirt bikes n stuff up.. just something to think of while in this phase. can just run pvc pipe where yeh want em and then cut it out after it sets.

 

[krick3tt]

Never do the min for a slab, 5 to 6 inch is better. As a minimum use 4000 pound concrete and get it verified by the invoice from the concrete company for later insurance claims. Use min 3/8 inch 24 inch on center rebar (wired together) not mesh. Dig a min of 24 inch deep by 36 inch square footing below the point of connection to the equipment above the slab. Use 3/8 min repair frame in the footing.Tie the slab rebar into the footing. Install tie down 'J' bolts into the slab using a template of the base of the equipment. Measure carefully for the placement of the template bolts. Just my 2 cents as a retired Architect.