The inspection pit in the garage is not just a useful, but often very necessary design. When carrying out any repair work or even a simple preventive examination of a vehicle without it, sometimes you can not do. And to make it yourself is not very difficult. The main desire.
The inspection pit in the garage is usually erected at the stage of construction of the garage itself, more precisely, to the arrangement of the floor. But it is quite possible to arrange it in a ready-made structure. Only for this purpose it is necessary to make first a number of dismantling works.
Starting a pit is necessary with planning. And first of all it is necessary to determine the overall dimensions of the created structure. The width of the inspection pit in the garage is usually chosen based on the car brand. And usually it is equal to the inter-wheel distance of one axis minus 20 centimeters. If the arrangement of a universal pit is planned, i.e. Without reference to a particular model of the vehicle, the width is chosen approximately 75-80 centimeters. The depth is calculated based on the growth of the car owner. Usually 15 centimeters are added to this indicator. This depth of the pit allows free access to all units of the car. As for the length, it should be made a meter longer than the length of the vehicle. This size allows easy access to the pit itself.
When the issue with dimensions is solved, the very construction of the observation pit in the garage begins. The first stage is the digging of the excavation. Its dimensions should be larger than the dimensions of the final pit determined at the planning stage. This is due to the fact that it will still be necessary to equip the walls and the floor in it. Therefore, you should make small allowances - for 25 centimeters - for each side of the pit and floor. The length and width of the excavation will be 50 centimeters more than the analogous values of the inspection pit, and the depth - by 25 centimeters.
The next step is the arrangement of the floor. First you need to create an air cushion of 10 centimeters of gravel and 5 centimeters of sand. Each layer is laid separately, leveled and tamped. Next, you should cover the resulting sand cushion with clay and lay on it waterproofing. Thanks to this constructive approach, the observation pit in the garage will be protected from groundwater. After this, it is necessary to lay out reinforcing mesh and pour all with concrete. When the solution dries, the floor can be treated with a finishing coat.
The last stage of construction is the erection of walls. Since the inspection hole is a deepening in the ground, care should be taken to protect it from groundwater. For this, the walls of the excavated trench should be covered with clay, and then the waterproofing should be fixed. Such work is usually enough to protect the pit from the penetration of water from the ground. Next, you should erect the walls themselves. The most common method is a concrete pouring with obligatory reinforcement. To do this, you will have to additionally equip the crate. Also, take care of the limiting rail at the floor level of the garage. It prevents the car from rolling into the pit. For these purposes, a metal T-profile is usually used. But sometimes the observation pit in the garage along the perimeter is simply enclosed by a small curb height of centimeters 5. And, of course, it is necessary to provide steps for descent / lifting or at least a ladder.