Parking Lifts
If you’re new to parking lifts, you may soon find getting the information you need is a bit more difficult than initially thought. There are a vast array of parking lifts to choose from. Not just the type or style of lift, but an assortment of manufacturers as well. Below are brief descriptions of the most common types or styles of lifts to help in sorting it all out.
The Single Post Lift
One of the most versatile lift styles available. The centrally located post allows for more intricate maneuvering in tight spaces.
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- Manufacturers: Gemini | Bendpak | Katopark
- Easiest type of lift to install – provided the footing has been properly engineered and installed. (We can work with your structural engineer to make sure this is done right).
- Price: middle of the road. The price will fluctuate greatly depending on manufacturer and quality, “middle of the road” is relative to the other types of lifts listed here.
Monterey residence / San Francisco commercial | one
The Two Post Lift
The workhorse of parking lifts. This style is the most frequently installed in high volume parking facilities due to its economical price and sturdy design. For two or more lifts, the center post will be shared.
- Manufacturers: Gemini | Klause | Bendpak | Harding Steel
- Installation is just as easy as the single post, just twice as much work.
- Price: middle of the road, typically. Once again, as you’ll find, the prices fluctuate greatly between manufacturers. We can guide you through inevitable value/quality decision process that will take place.
- Project examples:San Francisco commercial | one / San Francisco commercial parking | two
The Four Post Lift
Lift type most frequently installed in homes. The evenly distributed load among the four posts works best with the thinner foundation slabs found in residential construction. This type of lift is generally the easiest to retrofit into a project because of the footing issues (more accurately, non-issues).
- Manufacturers: Autoequip | Superior | Bendpak | Gemini
- Installation takes a bit longer than the two post lift.
- Price: least expensive of all the lift styles.
- Project examples: Menlo Park residence / Napa Valley residence / Oakland residence | two
The Underground
Lift It is also called a Phantom lift. The most inconspicuous parking lift style available. Most appropriate for spaces that cannot provide the vertical clearance required for the lift styles mentioned above. Typically, these lifts utilize a hydraulic scissor mechanism below the bottom deck that sits in a concrete vault. Because the concrete vault is subterranean, drainage is required, typically be means of a sump pump.
- Manufacturers: Autoequip | Harding Steel | Klause
- The most challenging type of lift to install. Because the lift’s operation is dependent on its enclosure, the proper construction of the concrete vault is very important, i.e. a level floor and plumb walls.
- Price: most expensive relative to other models.
- Project examples:San Francisco residence | one / San Francisco residence | two
Articles:
San Francisco Citizen