In floor scissor lift

After marking out where the lift will go, the perimeter is then scored on the first pass, then wet cut to full depth on the second.

The bulk of the concrete broken up.

Concrete removed and dug out a bit deeper.

Bottom packed with hardcore and sand.  A channel for the control box cable is cut.

New damp proof course (DPC) laid down and a layer of concrete poured in.

The rebar mesh is laid down and the remaining concrete poured on top to make a total thickness of about 100mm.

Another thin layer of concrete for a smooth finish.

Final clean up of the edges after the concrete has fully set, followed by a few coats of damp proofing paint.

Holding my breath as the driver dangles the half ton lift above the neighbours car as he tries to manoeuvre into position.

But he makes the job a breeze.

A centre cover made from 18mm plywood and well braced/supported to take a fair bit of weight should it be required to (hopefully).

Finished!  Shame I didn't have any matching colour floor paint for the centre cover!

2.5 ton Range Rover is about the biggest thing I will ever want to work on.  As the air suspension can be lifted on these beasts I managed to get some axle stands underneath instead of using the normal rubber blocks.

Ceiling, storage and wiring

Having installed some better garage doors I thought it was time to address the ceiling a bit, not only to make it look nicer but also to plug the big air space that made heating the garage pointless.

 The before shot.

12.5mm foil backed plaster board screwed on.  I also installed a wooden loft hatch and folding stairs for access.

View from the top.

I took the opportunity to lay down lighting cable for new workshop lights and for lighting the storage area above and also dropped wiring for 6 additional double power sockets around the garage.

After taping up all the joints with foil tape I laid down 100mm of fibre insulation between the joists.

...and over-boarded with 18mm chipboard flooring.  The new storage space should allow me to keep the garage below nice and tidy.

Plasterers called in to skim the ceiling.

Twin 6ft high frequency fluorescent battens fitted with 70w triphosphor tubes outputting 4800lm in total.

I chose the 3500k colour temperature tubes as I find the cool/daylight ones too stark.

There's one more batten to come which will be fitted under the cupboard above the workbench.

I can see!