After researching various options, we decided on a single-post lift to maximize floor space and minimize obstacles in the garage. I ended up ordering the Atlas SP6000 lift from gregsmithequipment.com. As the name implies, it’s a 6000lb lift, so it’s far stronger than we need for either of our sports cars.
The single post lift has a baseplate that must be bolted to a concrete slab. If you bolt it directly to the garage floor, then you have to drive over the baseplate to get the lower car in and out of the garage. We’re pretty tight on vertical clearance, so going over the base would raise the lower car 2-3 inches that we just don’t have. The base would also really get in the way of scooting around under the car on a creeper or a stool. The biggest problem we faced though is that the base needs to go fairly close to the side wall and this would put the most critical concrete anchors too close to the edge of the slab. For all of these reasons, we decided to pour a new slab that is recessed below the garage floor. This will let us extend the slab closer to the wall and make the floor under the lift smooth.
