[DeTomaso] NPC: Awesome garages

[JDeRyke at aol.com]

My son & I just finished adding a 7-ft deep storage mezzanine to the back 
end of my 1000-sq. foot shop. We used steel shelving from an out-of business 
warehouse. This worked because I originally designed the place with an 
11-1/2 ft high ceiling, to clear a used gas station 1-post air-over-hydraulic 
lift. These lifts only need a single 7-ft deep hole in the floor for the 
cylinder, work off a small air compressor and can be arranged so the car goes up 
between the overhead door rails. 
The door may cause trouble if you insist on lifting big vehicles 
nose-first. It works fine if you back in -the door rails then fit over the hood (or 
deck of a Pantera). Gas station hoists sell used in CA for around $500 if you 
haul them away; the cylinder weighs around 1000 lbs while the lift platform 
weighs aroung 800 lbs so bring a full-sized pickup when you show up to get 
it. You can lift half-height for such things as changing tires, too.
A single ventless natural-gas heater w/built-in fan hanging on one wall 
keeps the whole place around 65 degrees when its 10F degrees outside and 
there's 2 feet of snow; it has walls framed with 2x6s; wall insulation is r-28 
(the ceiling is r-36), with an insulated roll-up door and an insulated 
man-door. Heating costs Nov-April are quite low. I built an exhaust vent from a 
clothes dryer door in one wall and heat-proof flex hoses so I can safely run 
engines inside with the doors closed. This shop cost me exactly $25K to build 
from scratch in 2002, but I paid my dues over the years- I've done clutch 
swaps outside in the snow. But not in my 'old age'! FWIW- J Deryke