diff --git a/lib/hooks/http/index.js b/lib/hooks/http/index.js
index 5d09db202..eb8075b2f 100644
--- a/lib/hooks/http/index.js
+++ b/lib/hooks/http/index.js
@@ -29,6 +29,9 @@ module.exports = function(sails) {
       // Port to run this app on
       port: 1337,
 
+      // How long before warning Sails is taking too long to lift.
+      liftTimeout: 4000,
+
       // SSL cert settings end up here
       ssl: {},
 
diff --git a/lib/hooks/http/start.js b/lib/hooks/http/start.js
index b8a61045e..3913975d0 100644
--- a/lib/hooks/http/start.js
+++ b/lib/hooks/http/start.js
@@ -12,9 +12,6 @@ module.exports = function (sails) {
 
     // Used to warn about possible issues if starting the server is taking a long time
     var liftAbortTimer;
-    var liftTimeout = sails.config.liftTimeout || 4000;
-    // TODO: pull this defaulting into `defaults`
-    // and also ensure this config is properly documented.
 
     async.auto({
 
@@ -40,7 +37,7 @@ module.exports = function (sails) {
         }
 
         // Start timer in case this takes suspiciously long...
-        liftAbortTimer = setTimeout(failedToStart, liftTimeout);
+        liftAbortTimer = setTimeout(failedToStart, sails.config.liftTimeout);
 
         // If the server fails to start because of an error, or if it's just taking
         // too long, show some troubleshooting notes and bail out.