Pit in a garage

[crankedup]

As I am about to purchase a new timber garage I was considering the posibility of building in a working pit, has anybody built one of these and is it a DIY or experienced hands only. Any advise grateful.

[blaineuk]

you used to be able to get a preformed liner to go in the hole. think it would be like doing a garden pond, just a bit bigger

[Wacky Racer]

Make sure you use a good thick plastic or similar liner.

My dad built a pit in the garage when I was a kid and it was nearly always a foot deep in water......

[ATG]

Should be fine to DIY with a bit of forethought. Strength shouldn't be too much of a problem unless it gets really wide and the floor of the garage doesn't spread the load. As has been said, I'd think the main problem area would be drainage.

[mrmaggit]

Have you looked at the price of lifts? It may be easier to install those two-upright lifts. Most pits I've ever seen were full of water or rubbish, and hardly ever used. Saves breaking your arm falling in as well.

[pistolar]

sod that a "man of leisure" should get someone else to do the work on the car

[wedg1e]

Mech-mate pits. Fibreglass liners that you concrete in. Adverts in the back of Practical Classics and the like, if you can't find them on the net.

Ian

[MATHEW]

Being a Contracts Manager for a Civil engineering company I would not recommend carrying out the works yourself without having a structural engineer looking at the ground conditions. This sort of work needs to be carried out by someone who knows what they are doing. It may seem like a small job but what you have to remember is this sort of thing needs to be constructed from concrete blockwork at a minimum, and really should be done with reinforced concrete with a full structural design.
You will aslo need to consider a drainage system for the pit eg sump.
Anyway dont want to put you off but please get some advice from and engineer just to be on the safe side.
Mathew

[tvrbob]

Buy your pit here

[wedg1e]

Hey Bob, any more thoughts on those ramps we were discussing a while back?

[tvrbob]

Too many other things to do at the moment Ian. Still see them from time to time on dealership forecourts and look on with envious eyes though.

[motorvator]

Don't forget they have a tendency to fill with all sorts of noxious stuff like co2, petrol vapour etc. iirc the hse take a dim view of them being installed at all in commercial premises for this very reason and insist on all sorts of ventilation / spark proof lighting etc.

[jigs]

A lift/ramp device would be far more useful than a pit - with a pit you can't really work on the brakes/suspension. Only drawback with lift/ramp is the amount of headroom needed.

[crankedup]

Thanks everybody for really useful info. May consider lift instead, any links info?

[Incorrigible]

This was mentioned on this thread about trailers

Seems good, and a lot less hassle than digging a pit


>> Edited by Incorrigible on Wednesday 28th January 14:53

[rev-erend]

I had a pit in my garage of my last house..

The house was on top of a big hill but the walls of the pit were brick and the base was 4 inches of cement - so that's how to do it properly.

Wooden boards covered the pit when not in use.

[Colin Blues2]

Keep thinking about these for the garage. But if I had that much to spend then I would probably spend it on improving the car.

www.restorationramps.co.uk/

[Incorrigible]

Colin Blues2 said:

Keep thinking about these for the garage. But if I had that much to spend then I would probably spend it on improving the car. www.restorationramps.co.uk/

they're nearly as expensive as the one in my post, and much less versatile

[5mug]

We may have the answer for you if you wanted something more convenient
www.pistonheads.com/sales/detail.asp?i=18529&s=146
Have a look at the website and see what you think
Andrew and Sarah

[sagalout]

Heard a good tale this morning of the chap across the road from a work colleague who drove his car over his brother in laws pit to have a look underneath.
Unfortunately he had a Reliant Robin.......