Hello - remember me??

Ian Barley

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Hello all - sorry I have not been around for quite a while. Family stuff mainly but also an explosive business growth that has pretty much taken up every waking minute for the last 4-5 months. I have been popping in from time to time but no time to contribute or post.

Anyway, the above conditions continue to apply but I thought I would squeeze a few minutes now and then to share the vagaries of yet another shop move.

At the moment I am in about 1100 sq ft of industrial shed and this years growth of business has seen me bursting its seams and suffering gross inefficiency as a result. So when a neighbouring 2000 ish sq ft unit came up I thought I would have to take the chance and have therefore agreed terms with my landlord (just about) on a new lease on the bigger property. At the moment they are doing some tidying and repainting after the mess left by the previous tenant but some photos below show what 2000 sq ft looks like with nothing in it!! More will follow to show how to fill 2000 sq ft with loads of stuff that makes it look crowded!


(Sorry - Pics will have to follow later - workshop PC is absolute bare bones and has no pic editing available to resize - ho hum!!)
 
Hi Ian,

Just as was thinking I was the only Brit on here you've been lurking all the time!

Glad to hear business is good and wish you well with the move. I moved shop 2 years ago in the space of a weekend and still have the aches and pains to prove it!

Look forward to seeing your pics.

Cheers
Duncan
 
Hi Ian,

Just as was thinking I was the only Brit on here you've been lurking all the time!

Glad to hear business is good and wish you well with the move. I moved shop 2 years ago in the space of a weekend and still have the aches and pains to prove it!

Look forward to seeing your pics.

Cheers
Duncan


Hi Duncan - I saw your ship pics and waned to make sure that you didn't get too lonely! This is the third time I have moved shop in 6 years. One of the reasons for taking this unit is because it is about 100 yards from the existing one and I have a great landlord who has agreed to give me some handover time. Should make life easier. I have moved from 400 (extended to 700) to 1100 to 1100 (cowshed to proper industrial unit) and now to 2000. I am starting to get to know my way around. Part of the reason for this move is that I kind of plan to take somebody on next year and I need the space but it also means that I need to get things like electrics done "properly" so that H&S don't get excitable. That means more money going out but probably less time commitment in exchange.

Larrry - Your very welcome anytime - can't make it over sometime in the next 4 weeks so you can help with the move????:)
 
Good to see you drop in, Ian. Of all the problems one could encounter, explosive growth and booming business are pretty good ones to have. ;) Looking forward to the pics when you get a chance.
 
OK - Here are the pics

Here are the pictures so far - nothing much to see - concrete floor - brick wall - steel frame - profiled steel cladding.

Roof line is 11' 6" at eaves 15' at the ridge. 12' wide roller shutter door
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The one thing that this definitely isn't is a studio :D (Marty's shop is looking nicer than my house!!)
 
ian, that`s a shop i`d be proud to make a mess in......and ask anybody who`s been to my shop....i can make a mess;) .....i wish you the best of luck and good fortune in the new digs! tod
 
Larrry - Your very welcome anytime - can't make it over sometime in the next 4 weeks so you can help with the move????:)

Sorry, looks like I won't be back in you neck of the woods for quite some time. However, there is talk about sending me to China before the end of summer. I am trying to wiggle my way out of that one. A 14 hour flight is NOT my idea of fun.
Larry
 
Looks like a nice unit, Ian.

You've got plenty of height, which I find invaluable. Manhandling 8x4 sheets and long lengths of timber with low ceilings is a pain. The skylights make for a more pleasant working environment, too.

On the negative side - it's going to be a bugger to heat!

It's good that you've got the time to get your electrics and dust extraction installed before moving in. That way you shouldn't lose too much production time. My previous landlord wasn't quite so accomodating - hence why I had to vacate completely my old premises over a bank holiday weekend!

What sort of thing do you make? It'd be interesting to see what's selling down south.

Best of luck with your move - and with your seach for good staff.:doh:

Not sure that given my time again, I'd go down that route!

Cheers
Duncan

PS Looks like you got plenty of single phase sockets already installed. Do you have a 3-phase supply?
 
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Good to hear from you again Ian, I'm also glad to see things are booming for you!

Got to keep H&S happy, I hear they are quite the........pain...... in many a small businessman's existence :bang:

The new digs look good, lots of space, but I'm sure you will fill it up quickly.

Your "Regular" power over there is 220V-240V right? I imagine you would have 3-phase in an industrial setting like that.

Don't envy your move, but it will give you a chance to start fresh and clean out the cobwebs from your shop.

Cheers!
 
Heat?? - we don't need no stinking heat!! Thats what thermal underwear is for. In fact I am looking into installing a big wood fired heater , that way I get to dispose of my waste at a lower cost and a higher benefit, but there is a capital cost (£3-4K) which I am not quite ready for yet. Maybe next year.

The site has a 100amp 415V three phase supply and I have the machines to use it!

The search for staff is a completely different problem. I guess that what I am really looking for is a workshop helper, somebody to sweep and tidy and stand on the outfeed side of a machine when I need them. Hoping to be able to find somebody for maybe 20 hours a week and hopefull that a card in a newsagents window might find somebody of a semi-retired disposition (or a student - who cares?) who fits the bill. I just feel that I am getting to the edge of what I can do by increasing my own efficiency. Alternatively I may just look for a part time bookkeeper so that I don't have to spend so much time on admin at the end of a long day making.

I make outdoor furniture and the beauty of making a product rather than bespoke is that I get to keep busy even in the off season, making parts ready for the on season.
 
Duncan

I had one of those in my previous shop. It did not last well with my (probably too heavy) use of it. The secondary air feed tube, which is mild steel not cast iron, lost over half its length in the course of one winter. Also, speak to your insurance company before you buy it, they will not like it. The bigger units have a number of advantages (sealed combustion chamber, "warm to touch" casing, summer heat dump options for waste disposal use.) The only downside to the bigger units is that they are bigger -about 1m2 - and that they are more expensive. But one lesson that I have eventually learned is that the cheap choice that will almost nearly just about do if your lucky is more expensive than the right piece of kit (4 compressors - it took me 4 compressors to learn that - tha's how stupid I am!!)
 
ian, i`ve been an "earth stove" user since the 70`s....very good product if you`re able to get one across the pond?
 
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