After 2-3 years patiently waiting, (due to planning conditions and unreliable builders etc.) construction of my new garage is finally booked in to commence on 4th Jan. So fingers crossed I’ll be starting the long awaited restoration of my S1 by springtime 
I’m not sure if anyone is interested in following the build, but I’m happy to share some construction photos on here!
S1 restoration build thread to follow sometime early next year!!! 
Defo - love build threads car or garage!
Deffo a garage build thread:+1:
Oh yes! I love Grand Designs and that looks a grand design!
Yep, show all.
Pit and 4 post?
Interested! Love a garage build thread!
Yes please
Yup, defo interested in that! It’s my primary daydream material most days 
No pit and undecided on the lift type, so open to suggestions / recommendations!
The concrete slab will be insulated and suitably reinforced to take a lift. Also, the roof structure will be vaulted, so there’s plenty of height available.
I was originally thinking of a full height flush mounted / recessed scissor lift or 2-post lift, but now swaying towards a mobile type scissor lift similar to this:
Thanks for the recommendation on Instagram Kyle!
Once the car restoration is complete and if funds allow, I could always install 4-post lift(s) enabling storage for up to four cars.
I would also avoid a pit in my dream garage, I have access to one just behind my house and I’ve never, ever had a situation where I thought one would be useful.
The tamar is fantastic and a great compromise for a ‘part time’ garage but I do think it would be a little bit limited for non-Lotus cars. A front engine/rear drive car for example would struggle on a tamar just because you’d lose access to the gearbox/exhaust tunnel.
If I was building my absolute dream garage I’d go for a 4-poster with some ability to jack the car above that too - so like sliding bars that go along it to meet the Lotus jacking points for example. Pretty similar to what MOT ramps are like. That would allow you to use the ramp for storage and for tinkering, and would be pretty useful for most car types.
I’m not sure if a 2-post ramp offers much over the Tamar for Lotus purposes, it takes up more space and is more “permanent”. One of the great things about the Tamar is that you can change your mind on positioning if you want. If I was doing a really, really long project on my car for example I could put it on dollies, spin it 90degrees and jack the car up centrally in the garage and it would be pretty cool.
I have a pit with a jacking beam and a 4 post in the other bay.
Tough, but I think the pit is more handy
The 4 post has a motorbike scissor lift in it for jacking axles up.
http://www.sjrgarageequipment.co.uk/parking-lifts/
I have their ‘Model 1’
https://www.motea.com/en/motorbike-scissor-lift-constands-mini-lift-moto-jack-incl-rubber-pad-500kg-in-black-332581-0
One of my main preferences for a lift vs pit solution is that I don’t want to be working on the car at ground level, so I’ve ruled that option out.
I’m liking the ideal of a 4-post lift with a couple of jacking beams, but they do seem an expensive option in comparison to a mobile scissor lift (which I still haven’t ruled out as they should allow better access around the car etc.). However, they do have the added benefit that I could park another car underneath during the “lengthy” restoration of the S1. I’m not the fastest or very experienced, so I’m expecting it’ll take me some time to get back on the road .
Anyway, due to limited space, 4-post solutions would certainly need to be one of the smaller types similar to this (<5m long, incl. ramps):
Here’s some scale plan views of the garage for comparison between a 2-post and 4-post arrangement, for reference the car shown is a 3-series estate (sorry, no time to draw an Exige… 
):
Exciting day today, first day with the builders on-site to progress with the demolition
Original garage and carport:
Carport demolished during lockdown & new garage footprint roughly marked out with old bricks:
This is how far I got with the demolition before getting the professionals in:
Todays progress:
Nice! Great bit of space to play with
That garage is going to be huge!
Keep posting - this is great lockdown therapy!
Trouble is, they’re never big enough!
Super! Looking forward to regular reports and pics
I bought one of these for my “Mancave” cheap 240v and they can send a man to deliver and install for £400
Cheers for the link
I’m still as indecisive as ever on lift types, they all seem to have different positives and negatives. My original design has a 2-post, but I do like the idea of the recommended SJR 4-post with a jacking beam or Automotech equivalent: https://www.automotechservices.co.uk/products/as-4t36-mobile-4-post-parking-lift/
