Setting Up a New Garage: The Equipment Checklist

Fitting out a workshop from an empty unit is one of those projects where the order of decisions matters more than the decisions themselves. Get the sequence right and each step makes the next one easier. Get it wrong and you are cutting concrete around equipment that is already bolted down.

This is the checklist we work through with customers setting up a new garage.

1. Establish what the building can take

Before choosing any equipment, get three numbers:

• Clear height to the lowest obstruction over each intended bay — not to the roof ridge. This decides which lift types are possible at all.
• Slab thickness and condition. At least 180mm of sound, cured C20/25 concrete for a two-post lift. A core sample is the only certain answer.
• Door aperture, height and width, since the vehicles have to get in.

Our guides to workshop space and concrete requirements cover how to measure and check both properly. Everything downstream depends on these three answers.

2. Decide what work you are taking

Be specific, because it drives the whole specification:

• Cars only, or vans and light commercials too? See lifting vans and light commercials.
• Electric vehicles? See preparing your workshop for EVs.
• Tyres, or subcontracted out?
• Wheel alignment, and possibly ADAS calibration alongside it?
• Motorcycles?

3. Plan the layout on paper

Bay positions, vehicle circulation, storage and walkways, before anything is ordered — see our guide to workshop layout. Leave a bay's worth of floor uncommitted for growth if you can.

4. Services

These have lead times and need to be complete before installation day:

• Electrical supply — single or three phase, dedicated circuits, local isolators, all certified by your electrician.
• Compressed air — compressor sized for simultaneous demand, ring main and a drop at every bay.
• Lighting over working areas.
• Waste oil and drainage arrangements.

Our guide to power and air covers sizing.

5. The equipment checklist

Lifting

• Main bay lift, specified with capacity margin — see choosing lifting capacity.
• Second lift if the building and budget allow.
• Jacking beam, if you have a four-post — see jacking beams.
• Trolley jack, axle stands and a transmission jack.

Tyre and wheel

• Tyre changer and wheel balancer, matched to the wheel sizes you see.
• Torque wrenches and a wheel weight range.
• Tyre storage racking.

Diagnostics and electrical

• Diagnostic platform with current vehicle coverage.
• Battery support unit and charger.
• Multimeter and basic electrical test gear.

General

• Air tools and hose reels.
• Benches, vices and tool storage at each bay.
• Parts washer, oil drainer and dispensing equipment.
• Press, if you do bearings and bushes.
• Inspection lamps and creepers.

Safety and compliance

• Fire extinguishers appropriate to the risks, and first aid provision.
• Spill kit and bunded storage.
• Wheel chocks, barriers and signage.
• PPE, including EV-rated equipment if relevant.

6. Installation and first use

The sequence that avoids wasted days:

1. Floor confirmed, and any concrete pad poured and cured 28 days.
2. Electrical supply installed and certified at each bay.
3. Compressed air installed and tested.
4. Lifts installed to the manufacturer's instructions and BS 7980, with an installation certificate.
5. Thorough examination by a competent person before first use. This is a legal requirement, not a formality.
6. Records opened for each item of lifting equipment.
7. Staff briefed on safe use, capacities and pick-up points.

Our LOLER guide covers the examination regime you are now inside.

7. Set the ongoing regime up on day one

• Book thorough examinations six months ahead, every time.
• Put maintenance on a schedule under PUWER, separate from examination.
• Keep a file per item — conformity, installation, examinations, service, repairs.
• Establish who does servicing and who does examination, and keep them separate.

Frequently asked questions

What equipment does a new garage need first?

A lift specified with capacity margin, jacking and support equipment, a diagnostic platform, air supply and tools, plus safety and compliance provision. Tyre and alignment equipment follow once the core bay works.

What order should a workshop fit-out happen in?

Confirm building constraints, decide the work you are taking, plan layout, install services, then install equipment, then thorough examination before first use.

How long before a new concrete slab can take a lift?

28 days. Concrete keeps gaining strength after it is walkable, and anchoring early gives a fixing that never reaches its design load.

Do I need a thorough examination on brand new equipment?

Yes, before first use, because safety depends on how it has been installed. That is separate from the installer's certificate.

Should I leave space for equipment I cannot afford yet?

If you possibly can. Running services past an uncommitted bay makes a future installation a connection rather than a rebuild.

Planning a fit-out

A free site survey at the empty-unit stage is the most useful visit we make — height, floor, services and layout settled before anything is ordered. See our vehicle lifts and wheel equipment, or request a quote and we will reply within one working day.