I never thought I’d get this excited about a piece of garage hardware.  The lift arrived this week, and it is gorgeous.  Lest you forget what this project was all about, M&J were stealing their former two car garage to make a family room, and that means their cars have to go somewhere.  Since the lot could only accommodate a one car footprint, the new space is getting a lift, literally.  The blue hardware you see below is the car lift, designed to “park” one car on top of the other.  It is a surprisingly cost-efficient and modern way to solve a space problem in this one-hundred year old neighborhood. 

After the lift is professionally installed by the garage door mechanics, it will require an electrician’s attention.  It also requires a heater mounted in the garage, since the hydraulics require a temp of at least 41 degrees to operate.  The operation is surprisingly simple, J to set the stop so that the car parked on top and the car parked below both have enough space.  This a 12+ foot ceiling, both cars will fit just fine.

If you are asking, like I was, do you have to be a gazillionaire to own one of these things, the answer is no.  The gadget costs roughly $5K, which is reasonable, especially if building another bay simply is not allowed by code or physics.  I can’t wait to see the cars using it!