A garage is not just a place to store a car, but a small workshop. That’s why there should be everything you need to repair the car. Tools in the garage are selected universal so that they can be used to perform a wide range of tasks. The minimum set includes hand and power tools. In certain cases, you will also need specific garage equipment, which is necessary to quickly solve complex and time-consuming tasks: a floor jack, a lift for the garage, and other devices.
Garage Car Lift
Garage car lift represents one of the most demanded and necessary kinds of equipment intended for operation in the garage for implementation, not only maintenance but also repair of various models of cars.
Thanks to it, you can easily raise the car to a height that will allow you to inspect, perform the necessary operations, carry out locksmith work, involving the diagnosis of the functioning and repair of the transmission, wheels, and repairing the exhaust system.
Quite often in the garage lifts are indispensable for the implementation of tasks with engines or wiring.
Also, it is much more convenient and practical, because by lifting the car, opens up excellent visibility of all components and individual parts. Therefore, even without additional lighting, a detailed diagnosis and repair can be carried out.
There are professional and residential garage car lifts, stationary, and mobile lifts for garage.
Floor Jack
One of the elements that ensure the smooth operation of the vehicle is the floor jack. Although this device is not used continuously, it can be used to avoid various unforeseen situations on the road, replace the wheel, and solve other serious problems.
They come in three types – mechanical, hydraulic, and pneumatic.
Mechanical type – low functionality
The design is made based on a lever with support. Their functionality is low due to the application of great physical effort. Installed in special grooves. The load capacity of a mechanical jack depends on the pitch on the thread. The bigger it is, the heavier the load can be raised. Mechanical jack is suitable for cars, weighing up to 2 tons. It should be installed on a flat surface to give support. Alignment errors can lead to jamming of the mechanism. Lifting more than the allowable weight will break the thread.
Hydraulic jacks as the best option
Such devices use a special liquid – hydraulic oil. When the pump is pumped, the lower part of the mechanism is filled with oil and raises the piston to the top. The bypass valve creates and maintains pressure in the cylinder. The load capacity varies from 2 to 50 tons, depending on the needs. Most often, there are models that lift – from 2 to 20 tons.
For road, the optimal option is the hydraulic, bottle jack. It is compact and convenient to use. You will not need to put a lot of effort to lift or lower the car. The only caveat is that it needs to be transported only in a vertical position. The main reason why bottle models fail – is incorrect transportation. The fluid leaks out, and they lose their performance.
Trolley Jack
Trolley jacks have a similar principle of operation with the bottle jack, but a different design. There are jacks, specially made for low ground clearance. Trolley jacks with low clearance are called low profile floor jacks. Quickly raise the car, quite heavy and cumbersome. The speed of operation and small expenditures of human efficiency allows to use them on service stations. Fans of the DIY car repair buy them for garage. The load capacity of the professional device can reach 4 tons.
Car Ramps
Need an oil change or access to the chassis? Then a good and reliable pair of car ramps will help to do the job.
Car ramps have many advantages over floor jacks for lifting the front of the car. It is a convenience, price, and safety.
And since most people don’t have a car lift in their home garage, anyone who regularly changes oil at home should purchase a set of quality car ramps.
There are many reasons why car ramps are superior to jacks when it comes to oil changes.
First, they are more convenient. The installation of the ramp takes less than a minute. On the other hand, safely lifting the car may take several minutes.
The second reason is the price. A set of quality car ramps can cost as little as $40, and high-quality floor jacks and stands can cost several hundred dollars. The last reason is security. Jack stands often have cheap interior parts that can fail, which can lead to tragic results.
Garage Flooring
Garage floor covering involves high loads, much higher than the load in the house. Also, the floor can be affected by chemicals, and mechanical damage is common. Therefore, the chosen coating must be wear-resistant and durable.
Choosing the garage floor covering
Standard and conventional garages are built on a concrete base. This material is poured over sand and gravel and reinforced with metal bars. This technology is strong and durable but requires additional surface treatment.
These are the following methods in which the floor covering of the garage will be more durable and wear-resistant:
- self-leveling coatings based on cement and polymer;
- porcelain stoneware;
- concrete, rubber, wooden floor;
- reinforcing compounds;
- modular coverings.
Paint for cement floor in a garage
Most often, the average person chooses a concrete screed or a wooden coating. It is cheap, reliable, and durable. However, it is impossible to leave concrete not protected. It has a high hygroscopicity, so it will absorb moisture, which is usual for the garage. Over time, such unprotected flooring will be corrupted and destroyed. To prevent this from happening, you can use the old proven method – painting the floor in the garage. Thus, you will protect the concrete and extend its service life.
Porcelain stoneware
It is possible to equip the floor in the garage with ceramic tiles. Only for these purposes, use industrial technical tiles with a high degree of wear resistance. For non-heated garages, it must also be frost-resistant. In new buildings, you can not lay tiles on the floor. Due to the low coefficient of expansion, the tiles will crack when the building shrinks. For better adhesion, the base is primed before laying the tiles. Be sure to leave the seams between the tiles 2-12 mm. The composition for covering the seams should be stable enough for gasoline and chemicals not to destroy it. Otherwise, the coating will quickly become unusable.
Cement-based self-leveling floors
In earlier times, cement self-leveling floors were not designed for industrial loads. Modern compositions include Portland cement, high-aluminate cement, and several additives and fillers. They are produced in the form of dry mixtures, which are diluted with water before use. The concrete composition is diluted strictly according to the instructions. The too thick solution will spread badly, too rare reduces the quality of the finished coating. The semi-liquid solution is poured in a thin layer on the cleaned base and leveled. The optimal layer thickness for the garage is 1.5 cm. You can use this coating only after complete drying. Self-leveling floors in the garage align the base well, have excellent adhesion to the base and high strength.
Modular floor coverings
The simplest floor coverings are modular PVC tiles of industrial applications. This rubber floor covering for a garage is designed specifically for floors exposed to heavy loads. Heat-resistant PVC used in the manufacture of products resistant to most chemicals. Laying of tiles is carried out without the use of adhesive compositions, at the expense of special “locks.”
As you can see, the options of flooring for the garage are enough to make a choice. It depends on the financial capacity and desire of the car owner. When choosing, it should be borne in mind that inexpensive coatings have to be changed more often. Expensive will last longer. Decide for yourself, spend more at the start and lay a reliable cover or save now, but return to this issue later.
Other garage accessories
Depending on what kind of car you have in the garage, it is desirable to have additional equipment to simplify the necessary work. If, for example, you are the owner of a Jeep Wrangler with a hard, removable roof, such equipment as a hardtop hoist is a must. Hoist selection mainly depends on the height of your garage.
In this article, we have tried to list all the necessary garage equipment and accessories. All of the above products will help significantly ease your life. We hope that with this article we have saved you a lot of time.