Subterranean Lift

We've done two of them on garage projects. Both times it was new construction, so it was an easy addition to the project. The excavation work was all done when the foundation footings were dug, and the form work was done too then. Both times it was a lower garage where the cars can be driven off the lift, and stored.

The brand was Subterra - but they're all the same really. We needed the capability to lift two cars at a time ( top and bottom car) so we needed higher capacity model, but we were well below 50K -canadian $$$s too.. Speed wise, yup. They're slow. I didnt think they are much slower than the regular lifts we do. I've always enjoyed the few seconds it takes to lift a car up.

 

Are they water proof?

 

nope. The ones I did have a 1/2" or so gap along the top. I guess you could fashion up some sort of garage door weatherseal along the top if you wanted. Mine had a pit for some of the mechanicals, and that drained into the weeping tile of the house.

 

I was thinking about outside as well, but it would need to be sealed.

 

I'm curious as well - was actually looking at interior units just this past Monday. I read $40-$50,000 as well. Happy to hear that may be on the high side.

 

I was interested but given my tiny house and the cost of remodel I couldn't justify another 50K. Given how often I hit my head on my Bendpak lift, I wish I had just gone for it. Life is short.

 

This seems to be a good business to be in, the margins sound tremendous.

 

we sell all our lifts at basically our cost. We get a slight discount from the manufacturer, but its pennies. It basically pays for my time of making a few calls. For us, its purely a convenience item to our customers. We do get a bit of preferential treatment, for install times, or if they're low on inventory before the next container arrives. We do it to have one stop shopping for a whole garage outfitting -floors, cabinets, wall storage, lifts. Most manufacturers advertise their lift prices publically, and also offer a install service too, so money is tight there. I dont want to start manufacturing lifts, so I wont ever realize any better margins, but I'm OK with that.

 

I work for myself. My company does closet organizers mainly, but we also do garages. I'm a car guy so it works, and lets me get to see some awesome cars, and we get to build some super awesome garages. Let me ask around. I can ask the installers who do the lifts for us. They do installs for a couple manufacturers so they might have some insight. We also have a lift manufacturer close by, and my project manager tells me they have been bugging us to meet in person. Since lifts arent a profit centre for us, I'm not in a huge hurry. I can ask them too to see
what they say.

Stay tuned.

 

I actually contacted AC Lifts and got the same info posted above. Decided to pass and we put our house on the market to build new and have some fun doing it.


Shaun,

off topic- but im in the process of building a new house. it will have a 6 car garage for me with a loft above the cars where I will house my office, a sitting area, golf sim, racing sim and some other toys. Do you have a website where you have done your garages? Im trying to get as many ideas as possible to make the space AMAZING. You can pm me so that we dont clutter the original thread.

 

I realize this post is a year old, but I am installing some subterranean lifts (2x) in my garage to be able to handle a pair of front-engine v12 fcars. I shopped around domestic suppliers and prices were insanely high and response rate and information was not very good. I am planning to import these from China at significantly lower cost (I import 100+ containers annually already). I may end up importing these for others since it is pretty straightforward to get the drawings made. Mine will have UL listed motors from a German supplier and run at the correct amperage and hz for the USA. The lifts themselves aren't too hard, but the install and prep is pretty involved. Mine will get installed next summer/fall when we are under way with construction so if anyone is interested, pm me.

The application is limited but I think honestly people just don't know these are an option.

 

Yes I am digging a new foundation anyway so the ancillary costs are marginal in my case. If you were trying to retrofit to an existing garage as a standalone project, yes it would be nearly impossible, especially since the lifts themselves weigh ~6600 lbs and have to be installed with a crane.

 

Hi there,

I couldn't figure out how to DM, I assume I need some rep or approval so apologies for making this a reply and resurrecting this thread. I've been looking into a subterranean lift for my backyard, and have ran into the same issue with information and cost, and I stumbled on your message. Just for kicks are you still going forward with your order, and if you are would you consider placing another order in? If so what would the cost look like? I'm up in Alberta, Canada. Thanks for any info you can provide!

 

Yeah thanks, got your PM, replied today. I am still moving forward with my project. I'll have my two lifts installed later this summer or fall. The construction approval process is a little slow. Isometric attached.
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Well I started this week on my two lifts. Gonna need some more fcars soon. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I was curious how these subterranean deal with water ingress? especially in an outdoor application. I live in a very rainy climate and would be concered about water, freezing, etc. Any failure of the drainage could possible create the car sitting in a swimming pool.

 

We have a pretty robust sump pump system we are installing, but this is a legitimate concern. There is a way to built it with a waterproof upper platform as well as the ring where it meets the surface, but I have not done one like that before.

Generally these are best suited to being included as part of a structure so they are not exposed to the elements.

 

Thank you for the reply. Look forward to seeing the progress of the install.

 

I'm building a new garage that is space limited. These lifts look nice! How can I find out more about costs, logistics, etc. I'm a commercial construction contractor. So getting installation resources is not a problem. Any help is appreciated!