Thinking outside the errrrrrrr garage

Jay Lock

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LOML has encouraged me to think about leasing some space to set up my shop so we (she) can reclaim the garage. The zoning/setback requirements in our town as such that building on simply isn't possible, and going "up" would be way too expensive for what we'd get. I'm trying to find some kind of cool way to provide cover for the cars in the drive way similar to these things

http://www.shadesails.com/ but I don't even know if I'll be able to get that by the zoning board. If that is successful, I'll have complete access to the 2 car garage without any guilt!

But, being the realistic pessimist that I am, I think that "plan B" will be more realistic, finding someplace to set up a work place.

Of course, this doesn't allow me to stroll over to the workbench when the spirit moves me, or to have Linda call out, "dinner's ready get in here" or "when are you going to start the barbecque" :rofl:

I imagine that I'd have to get separate insurance to cover my tools/equipment, and have to put in lots of security features so things didn't "walk" when I was home. What other issues must I consider? Is 220 volts availablity common in these types of circumstances? Multi year leases? This isn't a business, just a hobby.

Jay
 
Jay, I have a similar situation at my house. My wife parks her car inside the garage and i have to move everything to one side. it's impossible to make even a simple cut with things put away. because of hurricanes a cover like shade sails would not be practical. i do have a nice size backyard and i built a 8 x 10 shed in the back yard. it matches the style of my house and allows me to store all my hurricane supplies, generator, fuel ect. i could of easily built it 2 to 3 times bigger if i had known 5 years ago i was going to get into this hobby. at the very least it allows a place to store the things that most people keep in their garage allowing more room just for woodworking. i would only want to work at the house for all the reasons you stated. whoops gotta go time to start the barbeque

Gene
 
Gene

Yeah, I know about hurricanes! But I'm hoping that something like that could be "furled" or at least taken down when storms threatened.

As it is, we can only get one car in the garage if we are facing a "wind event" so I have to decide where to park the second one with an eye out for potential falling trees.

Jay
 
When LOML threatens to take back the garage, I suggest a compromise involving something she wants, like, "well maybe after I finish those dining room chairs you want...". Luckily, the list of furniture she wants grows faster than I can make it, so I'm pretty safe.:rofl:

Maybe you could tempt Linda with the prospect of a nice new piece of furniture.:huh:
 
Jesse

The honey do list is well established, it isn't that she doesn't want me to be doing it, it just is THAT SHE WANTS IT ALL :rofl::rofl::rofl:

One of the other problems is that our driveway is shaded by some lovely live oaks, that constantly drop err "stuff" on the cars so there is an ongoing maintenance issue that would be reduced if we could put them under cover.

Jay
 
Jay,

I suspect that you could have a problem with renting and insurance. You might want to check with tod evans to get an idea of what his insurance is costing, but as I recall from my days as a fire inspector (about 30 years ago) the building codes classified woodworking as a hazardous occupancy and required somewhat stricter structural requirements. This could easily lead to higher insurance costs. The thinking, as I recall, is that the dust generated (both fine dust and larger saw dust) can become both an explosion hazard and increased fire hazard.

Now that I think of it tod may not be the right person to ask, since I think he lives outside a city. Normally there are no or very few codes applied outside a municipal area. I would be concerned that even if the individual renting the space overlooked the possible insurance problem, the fact that you were conducting this kind of operation could open you up to liability should anything happen. Perhaps one of the insurance guys can expand on that.
 
LOML has encouraged me to think about leasing some space to set up my shop so we (she) can reclaim the garage.
....
This isn't a business, just a hobby.

Jay... I'm just speculating here, but somehow I think that those two facts (leasing space, and it's not a business just a hobby) are going to be contradictory.

Move to a place where folks are reasonable :D

I find I agree with Frank. Or at least move to a place with the room that you need.

If I had to drive to visit my shop? I wouldn't.
 
I rented a shop I shared with my Mentor John for several years. Yeah it's a royal pain in the tuckus, however. In the end, I'd look for a nearby light industrial park and see what is available there if you're going to look for a place to rent, you'll have fewer problems in that sort of neighborhood.

You'll get the power you need probably already installed, or at least available without too many issues. The business incubator I was in with John had more than ample power available. If you go through a realtor, tell them you're looking for xxxx sq ft in a 'flex' building.
 
I think that Ned's suggestion about a light industrial park would be the best answer for a rented remote shop. They are accustomed to things like that and as he says you would probably not have any electrical problems to face.

At the storage place where I have my storage unit there are at least two guys that have places rented there that have set up shop. They have the larger units that have doors that open on both ends. I often wonder how they handle any extra charge for electricity and if they have 220 or not but have not stopped by to ask. I guess that the stroage place is set up for it. You might want to check this sort of thing out if there is one near you.

Add me to the list of members that would not like a remote shop. I do not think that I would tend to go there near as often as I would out to my garage to work on some projects but a guy has to do what he has to do.

I also would like some type of carport covers but I would never get away with it here.
 
Allen

I'm not certain that I would like it either, just starting to think about alternatives -- sometimes getting stuck in the same old rut isn't productive. Sure most of us dream of having the shop within walking distance of the house
(especially having seen Marty's place!) but that isn't going to happen where I am and moving just to have a shop is like throwing out the baby with the bath water. Code enforcement is tough here and there is no way that I could do what I do in my garage as a hobby if I were to run it as a business, so I don't! And I support that, I live in a residential neighborhood and I would't want someone to set up a business next door that caused lots of traffic, etc.

That being said, there are lots of people who do hobby work nearby and on Saturdays you can hear the occasional saw or router winding up.

On the other hand, my time is my own, I could "go to the shop" on a scheduled basis, I might actually be MORE productive with a schedule rather than just ambling into the garage when I felt like it.

In the final analysis, it is a classic rent buy decision that may lead us to conclude that we should just leave the cars in the driveway and wash them a bit more frequently! Hey, a pressure washer is probably the cheapest of all the alternatives. I was just wondering if anyone actually had done what I was thinking.

Jay
Jay
 
Jay,

I rent a unit on an industrial park for my shop and it gets EXPENSIVE!

Unless costs are way cheaper in the States than here (and I don't suppose they are!) there's no way it would be viable for a hobbiest even with a very small shop.

You've got to think about;

Rent
Service Charges
Local taxes
Insurance
etc
etc
etc

The only way I can think that it would be possible is if 3 or 4 guys got together and set up a shop between them.

The only way I can cover the costs of my shop is to employ two guys to help me achieve the required level of turnover. It would be impossible on my own.

I sometimes fantasize about downsizing and working out of my garage on my own. Funny how no-one's ever satisfied, isn't it?
 
I can't add anything to this. I personally would never live in a restricted neighborhood. Just not my style. I prefer a couple of acres and no neighbors. Of course if you look in front of my house it is very dense development but they are the best neighbors you can have. :D It's a cemetery.

Others love those types of neighborhoods. I see comments about them all the time on other wood working forums. We would hate it though.

I have a basement shop. I designed our house and of the shop was designed for my shop. Something I have wanted for years. For me it's an almost perfect situation. I love the fact is it close. I can walk down stairs barefooted and without a coat (in winter) and get a tool to fix something in the house. After this I don't ever want a detached shop.

Driving somewhere to have to work would be awful for me. Of course it might work for you. I am assuming your retired. If so then it might work out great. The down side I see is your probably looking a commercial properties, then your looking at commercial rates on insurance, electricity, etc. Neighborhoods are sometime not so good so you might be a target. But who knows, you might find the perfect place, someone has excess space and wants to sublet it.

I am curious to see what you find though.
 
Jeff

We don't live in a restricted neighborhood, no gates and guards for us either. It is a real neighborhood, with sidewalks, an elementary school a couple of blocks away and a cross section of generations, very atypical for this part of FL. But, the city does have pretty strict building/use codes, and they enforce them! There was a situation a couple of years ago where a couple had a drapery business that they were running out of their house. Not a big deal you might think, but their neighbors complained about large truck deliveries late at night, cars blocking the street etc. Then, when that couple decided to "expand up" their building permit was held up for quite awhile until they assured everyone that they weren't adding the space on to expand their business.

I guess this is just one of life's little jokes, when we moved from a small condo to the house it seemed like we had all the space in the world. I wasn't as interested in woodworking as I now am so the garage seemed huge. But then I starting buying equipment and building things! Maybe a carport will be the way to go if we can figure out how to position it so it won't destroy the house's appearance.
 
Steve

Thanks, looks interesting but I think I'd have hurricane permitting problems with those. They are really getting tough here, rightfully so

Jay
 
Jay,

Is there any kind of guild or woodworking club nearby? How about neighbors? Maybe someone close by has some extra space they wouldn't mind having you use, especially if you make them something nice.:D

Just a thought.

Renting seems like such a hassle. Plus, I wouldn't feel comfortable working in an isolated location with all of those sharp tools around. You'd have to figure out some way to deal with potential emergencies....

Jack
 
Apart from all that has been said, paying a monthly fee for the use of a workshop, while it may motivate you to work it will prevent you to invest the same amount of money in tools or lumber.

Having a shop on your garage or a few steps down the basement allows for those short interventions that eventually take you to a finished project.

If you have to take a ten minutes walk to it or even worse your car to get to it, 80% of the times you won't go there. It will be like like (not)going to the gym. One registers for it, goes a couple of days and keeps on paying without going again.

My five cents..
 
Jay

My workshop is a 20-40 minutes drive from home depending on traffic. But then its my place of work and is , necessarily, on an industrial estate and is an industrial building. A drive is OK if you're going to do a days work but not if you just want to spend 20 minutes checking whether an idea is going to work. My advice would be don't. If you can't make the things you want in the space you got you either need to change the space or the things. Acquiring an expense for rent, insurance, taxes for a less convenient space would be no kind of fun.
 
jay, unless you have intentions of doing woodworking for profit i`d advise against renting shop space.....now if you have the fincial wherewithall to buy a building to use as a shop that`s a whole `nuther animal....real estate even in todays climate is a good investment. there`s more than one way to "make do" with your current space, it`ll just take some thought and effort.....the ol` "where there`s a will, there`s a way"...
 
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