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[ians]

I'm about to get a new garage floor laid and considering getting a shallow inspection pit set into it - deep enough to lie in when my wife finally does me in I mean when I'm working on the old chap to save the agro of getting him up on stands/ramps.

Does anyone have any experience/advice on dimensions etc?

Cheers

Ian

[STMO123]

Be careful Ian, there are a lot of safety issues. Dont want any flat forum members

[GaryB]

The house we had in Garelochhead 16 or so years ago had an inspection pit in the garage that must have been about 5 feet deep - I could stand in it and it was brilliant for oil changes, exhaust repair/change etc.  It must have been about 10-12 feet long and ~4 feet wide - a good few inches on either side between the edges and the inside of the wheels on a Peugeot 505 STi and a Carlton.  When 'dormant' it was covered by a number of (trimmed) railway sleepers, so that I could just open up the front half , for example, if needed.

It was a nice surprise when we finally got to see the house (which we bought before we saw it, but that is another story).  If you can dig it deep enough to stand in, you will not regret it!

Gary

[ians]

The problem with that deep is it will compromise the foundations of the garage (house...), so I'm really only looking at something I can lie in.

STMO123 - safety issues?  Can you expand on that?

Cheers
Ian

[SteveD]

My father has built pits at his last three houses. I'll get some info off him tomorrow but they were all built in accordance with building regs and nothing has fallen down yet! He has had some problems at his current house with water seepage since some new houses were built nearby and the water table raised but he sorted it by screeding the brick work with some mortar similar to swimming pool stuff. I'll PM you whatever info he tells me.

[STMO123]

Ian. SteveD has just explained the building side of it. It needs to be concreted properly. The weight of a big car is capable of pushing the sides in if its not done correctly. If you're going to do it, take advice from a builder first.

[MaxV6]

Safety issues.

A gearbox falling on your face is as dangerous lying down as it is standing up

also, more insidiously,
Exhaust gases are generally heavier than air. (of a similar temperature)

so if you lie down under the car, in a trough, with the engine running , expect Carbon monoxide poisoning.... amongst other things

it's less of an issue in a 5-6 ft deep pit, as you're standing up... and your ankles don;t need to breath as much


so ventilation is a MUST.

in many cases, digging the deeper pit wouldn't actually be an issue for the foundations...  as you'd be clear of all the support structure....

however, in areas with High Radon levels, , groundwater or other similar issues.  there may be other serious risks involved.

including that of your old engine oil contaminating the ground water if you don;t do the build properly, or dispose of it carefully.

[RolandL]

I've got an inspection pit in my garage, it's not deep enough to stand up in tho   .   I thought that it had been built by a midget, until a friend pointed out that it was just the right depth if you sat on a stool, very comfortable to work in.  Construction is concrete floor , brick sides (don't know how thick).  When not in use it's covered with railway sleepers.  Very useful piece of kit, wouldn't be without it.      

[ians]

So I guess its about a metre deep or so?  Do the sleepers give you ground clearance to drive over for parking? or are they recessed into the floor?

I take the point about CO build up.   Anyone know if there are building regs for such things?   While I don't particularly intend to have the motor running when I'm in there, I'm not sure how long it would take for CO to disperse , or indeed if it would accumulate over time  - bit concerning.

[Nickbat]

Inspection pit?

[size=12]Toooo dangerous!!![/size][/color]

http://s114.photobucket.com/albums/n270/v6nick/?action=view&current=BrooksOct102006.flv

 

[nixoro]

Inspection pit?

[size=12]Toooo dangerous!!![/size][/color]

http://s114.photobucket.com/albums/n270/v6nick/?action=view&current=BrooksOct102006.flv

 

 

[Big Rod]

I was going to have one built in my new garage, but it was going to be too expenxive considering everything. I don't thing the building warrants people are so keen on them either.

The way I figure was, instead of paying £1000+ for a pit, I could just buy a huuuuuge jack for about £500!!

[Auto Addict]

Inspection pit?

[size=12]Toooo dangerous!!![/size][/color]

http://s114.photobucket.com/albums/n270/v6nick/?action=view&current=BrooksOct102006.flv

 

Classic

[Ken T]

I was fortunate enough to have one in my first garage a few years back. It was built from a concrete floor with 9" walls of engineering bricks. There was a lip around the top to locate the covering wood planks. It was very useful for working on cars, and made jobs like brake pipes, welding up holes, draining oil etc so easy!  .  Only problem was the "builder" didn't do a very good job with the damp course so it kept getting a few inches of water, but I got a small pump which drained it quickly. I didn't have one in my last garage, but the foundations for that were about a metre deep concrete, so its unlikely that a pit would have upset those foundations.

[Marks DTM Calib]

You do require building regs for them....they will need a proper concrete base and structural walls to support the surrounding concrete flooring...

[Big Rod]

And it'll need 'tanked' to keep the water out and the contaminants in.

[RolandL]

So I guess its about a metre deep or so?  Do the sleepers give you ground clearance to drive over for parking? or are they recessed into the floor?

I take the point about CO build up.   Anyone know if there are building regs for such things?   While I don't particularly intend to have the motor running when I'm in there, I'm not sure how long it would take for CO to disperse , or indeed if it would accumulate over time  - bit concerning.

The sleepers are recessed so they don't interfear at all. When working under any of my cars I don't have them running. If I need to run them I push the car back a bit so exhaust is outside garage

[SteveD]

Here's what he told me...

Get a proper builder

Here's what the builder did...
Dug hole about 1.5 feet wider & longer than required
Install visqueen(sp?) sheet
Drop in concrete base
Build walls on concrete base
Backfill gap between walls and ground
Finish off floor

Get a proper builder (although you can labour to save some dosh)

I'll get some photos of his current hole   if they would be any use and measurements too. I've also got some photos somewhere of a local garage who had problems with a pit filling with water so they got a steel tank made to drop in. They came into work after the weekend and the car they left over the pit was 3ft up in the air on top of the floating tank  

[Tony H]

Pits can be very useful for car repairs but one thing to be very aware of is the potential fire hazard. A mate of mine was welding underneith his car and burnt through the petrol pipe resulting in a fire in the pit fortunately he was able to push the car from underneith and climb out of the pit however the car caught fire and ended up a right off