Car lift dimensions: shaft, cabin, pit and headroom
A car lift needs a concrete shaft, a pit below and headroom above. In one maker's planning guide, the narrowest shaft is 3.4m wide. A drive-through cabin 5.8m long needs a shaft about 6.6m deep.
This guide walks through each dimension in plain terms. The figures come from Lödige's published planning guide for its car lifts. Other makers differ, so treat them as a starting point.
Updated
The four numbers that matter
- Lifting height. The travel from the lowest finished floor to the highest.
- Shaft width and depth. The clear space between the shaft walls. It sets the cabin size.
- Pit. The depth below the lowest floor, down to the shaft floor.
- Headroom. The clear height above the top floor, up to the shaft ceiling.
Lödige gives a maximum lifting height of 25m, with up to eight stops. A single-level gallery uses a small part of that.
Shaft and cabin width
Lödige's narrowest shaft is 3.4m wide. For travel under 6m, that gives a 2.7m cabin. The door can be up to 2.4m wide.
Wider is easier to drive into. Lödige recommends 400mm between each side of the car and the cabin wall. For a drive-through lift, it recommends a cabin at least 2.8m wide.
Shaft and cabin depth
A drive-through lift has doors at both ends. Its smallest standard shaft is 6.3m deep, with a 5.5m cabin.
Lödige recommends a cabin at least 5.8m deep for a drive-through lift. In its tables, that needs a shaft 6.6m deep.
Light barriers in the cabin check the car's position before it moves. So the usable depth is 100mm less than the cabin depth.
Cabin and door height
The standard cabin and door height is 2.1m. Lödige says that suits all common car classes. Taller cabins are available.
Dropping the cabin and doors to 2.0m saves 100mm of headroom. That can help under a low building.
Headroom above the top floor
Headroom depends on the lift type and the travel. Take a travel of 3m to 6m.
For that travel, Lödige's faster Traffico needs 3.4m of headroom as standard. Its Carrico, limited to 0.15 m/s, needs 2.75m.
Reducing the headroom can change the pit. The reverse is also true.
The pit below the lowest floor
For travel up to 9m, the Traffico has a standard pit of 1.25m. The Carrico needs 850mm as standard, or 350mm on request.
In a basement gallery, the pit sits below the gallery floor. So it adds to the dig and the waterproofing. Our waterproofing guide explains how it stays dry.
Load and axle load
Lödige designs these hydraulic lifts for loads up to 3,500 kg. The maximum axle load is 1,750 kg. Heavier designs are available on request.
Cars keep getting heavier. UK government guidance notes a weight gain of over 35% in many popular models.
Over half of the ten models it lists gained that much. So we state the total load and axle load in writing.
The shaft and the machine room
Lödige asks for a concrete shaft of at least class C25. Its walls must be at least 150mm thick.
Nothing unrelated to the lift may sit in the shaft. The hydraulic drive sits in a machine room, usually beside the shaft.
That room can be up to 12m away. It must be dry, ventilated and kept between 10 and 30 degrees.
Lödige recommends building the shaft apart from the house, to stop machine noise travelling. A garden pavilion over the lift does exactly that.
Driveway lifts are smaller
A driveway lift parks cars under a flush lid, and nobody rides in it. Wöhr's Parklift 461 takes cars 165 to 200 cm tall.
Its platforms are up to 270 cm wide. It parks cars rather than reaching a gallery. Our guide to car lifts for the home explains the difference.
How BELOW sizes a lift
We size the cabin to the longest, widest and heaviest car. We leave room to open a door. Then we check the next car the client may buy.
The shaft, pit and headroom are fixed with the engineers at feasibility. Our residential car lift guide explains the sequence.
Our underground garage cost guide explains what drives the budget.
Questions
- How wide is a car lift shaft?
- In Lödige's planning guide, the narrowest shaft is 3.4m wide. That gives a 2.7m cabin for travel under 6m. Lödige recommends a 2.8m cabin for a drive-through lift.
- How deep is a car lift shaft?
- For a drive-through lift, the smallest standard shaft is 6.3m deep. For the recommended 5.8m cabin, the shaft is 6.6m deep.
- How much headroom does a car lift need?
- It depends on the lift and the travel. For 3m to 6m of travel, the Lödige Traffico needs 3.4m as standard. The Carrico needs 2.75m.
- How deep is the pit under a car lift?
- For travel up to 9m, the Traffico has a standard pit of 1.25m. The Carrico needs 850mm as standard, or 350mm on request.
- How heavy a car can a car lift carry?
- Lödige designs its hydraulic car lifts for up to 3,500 kg. The axle load can reach 1,750 kg. Heavier designs are available, and we state both loads in writing.