Vehicle Inspection Pit

[Dobbin]

I'm considering putting a vehicle inspection pit into the garage probably about 2.5 meters in length. I'll probably construct it out of dense concrete blocks for the walls, solid concrete floor/base all tied into the existing concrete floor for strength. To ensure it was waterproof and I don't end up with a 5 foot deep swimming pool, this would be built on top of/ into a double layer of a dense waterproof membrane. I've been looking about at various 'DIY' options as well as existing garage pits locally for ideas. I intend to put rails in to accommodate a sliding seat as well as a rail to accommodate a jacking beam, or at least a form of this utilising a couple of small bottle jacks as well as a 50mm x 50mm angle steel frame around the top to accommodate the obligatory wooden slats to prevent me falling in!!!. Anyone got any advice through experience of putting one of these into their own garage that they would like to share? Lessons learnt?. I've checked the drainage diagrams for the area and it doesn't look as though there is anything underground to prevent me putting one in.

[TerryG]

I have been looking at these as I want a pit in my new garage:
I would suggest reading this
http://www.mech-mate.co.uk/How-to-Fit-a-Pit.html
And looking here to decide if it would be better value to buy one ready to go with a sump, etc.
I haven't picked a supplier as I haven't got as far as the garage itself yet (the drive is almost done) but these people were suggested by some members of piston heads: http://www.garagepits.co.uk/

[Dobbin]

I've seen both of those whilst looking and the first looks decent enough the latter is simply well out of the budget available.

[Minxy]

I've got one of those mech-mate pits and to be honest they are rubbish. Don't be tempted by a seat it is vertually impossible to work on the underside of a car when sat down and with that particular model it isn't deep enough to stand up in. The most annoying bit though is that the pit tappers down to a very base and your feet are constantly together and getting tangled. Another pain in the neck is the fact that, for safety's sake ( and convenience) the top needs boarding and it's a real pain in the **** taking them up every time you want to use it. I should have installed a ramp really as I have the room, it was certainly a mistake putting a mech-mate in though.

[kstrutt1]

I built a pit many years ago, mine has a concrete floor and shuttered and poured concrete sides and is about 3 m long, the concrete had waterproofing agent and it does not get wet, though this could just be our ground conitions, it is 1 metre deep and wide and I had the base of an office chair I used to sit on , the slot for the boards is cast into the top edge. I don't use it now though as I have a 4 post ramp, which also allows me to park 2 cars in a single garage.

The pit not being the full length of the vehicle was a pain, for instance when doing a clutch you often need to get the prop or exhaust off at the rear.

Kevin

[kevin]

I am going to put a pit in my garage soon.
The way I will do it is similar to many basements I have constructed on houses (I am a construction director)
Dig out the hole, cast the base with reinforcing and starter bars for the sides. Shutter and cast the sides. Apply a Bituthene layer to bottom and sides ensuring the correct detailing to the various joints etc.
Once this is fitted, cast a 2nd base on top of the 1st (will need starter bars inserting for the sides) then shutter and cast the sides. Long winded and full of detail but guaranteed to be dry and doesnt need any overly costly materials.

http://www.ribaproductselector.com/prod ... 0_180.aspx

Kev

[Young Farmer]

I have a pit in my garage and had one at the previous house. Given the choice I would go for a lift rather than a pit as long as you have sufficient head room. The pit in the last house was dug too close to the left wall ( both garages are double garages ) so that you drove in centrally through the door. There was very little room to work on the left hand side of the vehicle, in fact it was quite dangerous if the jack slipped. Present pit is 33" from the wall giving a reasonable amount of room to work. Pit boards are 44.5" long meaning that a morris Minor/ Wolseley 1500 has to be positioned accurately to get the pit boards up. Pit boards are 3" thick so there is no danger of a board cracking even if you drive the car up the centre of the pit. Ideal if you are fitting a new cill as you can remove all the boards, except for the ones that have a wheel on, and work from the pit . Beats lying on your side to weld the bottom. The pit has angle iron rails all round and has lights built into the sides of the pit. At the inner end a box has been built to keep tools etc in rather than putting them on the floor. . The pit is 56" deep which is a bit tight even for a short arse like me. When doing a waxoil job I usually put the car on four pit boards to raise it enough to work comfortably. I think 2.5 metres is too short, you will be constantly moving the car back and forth to reach all parts. Make it as long as possible and don't build concrete steps at one end. Have a short ladder that you can move to get out of the pit from either end. To stop the pit getting damp with condensation I have nailed 6mm off cuts to one edge of each pit board allowing a certain amount of air to circulate. Pit now keeps reasonably dry even when not used for an extended period. Hope this helps
Dave

[rich.]

can you post a few pics of you efforts chaps? im thinking of putting one in the barn..

[suffolkpete]

The only comment I'd make is to make it long enough to get in and out when the car is fully over the pit, otherwise you have to leave the door open and one end poking out when you're working

[ian65]

Gents, I can add a bit to this having bought and used both a Mechmate motorpit and more recently, a 2 post lift

About 11 years ago, I built a garage/bedroom extension on the side of my house and bought one of these pits. The delivery costs were very high but I contacted Chris, the owner of Mech-mate and discovered that he actually subbed out the manufacture of the pits to a fibreglass company in Telford ( about 20 miles away from me) so I paid for the pit and collected it myself direct from the industrial unit in Telford.

The pit I bought was an intermediate size one and cost £1000. I would have liked a much bigger one but I thought that a grand was more than enough to pay.

They are basically made out of 18mm ply covered in fibreglass with shelves at varying levels from top to bottom.
I put a dug out the pit with a mini digger, put a power cable into it before I poured the slab in the garage and then installed the pit.

Here's mine...



The advantages of these pits are:

* they are always dry irrespective of the water table

* they are easy to wipe out and keep clean

however the disadvantages are:

* They are very expensive for what they are... mine cost a grand and was too small really.

* They taper in towards the bottom making the working area narrow ( I'm an average sized bloke, 6ft and 14.5 St) and it was uncomfortable to be in there for any length of time.

* Mine was too shallow to stand up in and work comfortably. They sell this limitation by emphasising how the pit comes with a handy sliding seat that you can sit on to work and work in comfort. In practice though, this is hopeless.... I need to stand up to work on a car, not sit down. I used mine to change the big end shells in the Spitfire that you can see in the photo by dropping the sump with the engine in the car. What a miserable experience it was, sitting down with oil dripping all over me and the car not being high enough to properly see what I was doing.

* Ideally with a pit, you need steps or a ladder access from each end of the pit to make it much more versatile.... these mech-mate pits only have steps in one end.

* They need to be fully concreted in and so once installed, they are there for good..... I moved house 2 years later and left the pit there.

At my new house, there was an old detached garage with a brick built pit inside which I've used for the last few years.... it was always damp and mouldy and was a bit limited in it's usefulness..... you wouldn't want to weld the bottom of your car whilst it is over a pit and liquids and fumes always sink into it too.
Once I finally got around to demolishing this mouse infected ruin, I built myself and proper brick built garage. Right from the off, I decided to buy a 2 post lift instead and I designed my garage around this 4 ton 2 post lift...

http://www.automotechservices.co.uk/pro ... post-lift/

Once the garage was built, I bought one of these lifts and collected it from the supplier, Automotech, in Rugeley, Staffs and installed it....
The lift was £1199 plus the dreaded and I've got to say, it's absolutely fantastic. Done jobs on all our family cars plus my classics and it sure beats crawling in and out of a pit and is well worth the extra few quid.



















These 2 post lifts are very affordable these days and a pit would be a last resort for me now having experienced both.