TheRecklessEngineer Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Wondering what you chaps think of this place (it isn't a workshop yet). It is a WWII bunker in the middle of a field. Plus points are: - No neighbours - Can make as much mess/use as many toxic chemicals as I want - Cheap! - Reasonably secure (land lord lives by the only entrance to the field, which is a locked gate in any case.) - HUGE! Minus points: - Very exposed - No roof - No doors - No electricity However, I am free to add roof/doors and no electrickery can be solved with all that engineering ingenuity that I have been dying to use.... So...at £120 pm, is it a bargain? I'm trying not to let the romance of being far away from anyone, and 'off grid' sway me. How hard can it be to stick a roof on here anyway? Would be awesome for a rave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Workshop? I'd buy it and make it into a house, that's cool as! B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbarton Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Even it was nuclear bunker I bet the Pikeys would still get in. Be careful if you improve it, the landlord could put the rent up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astro_Al Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Any idea how high a roof you can put on? Low ceilings are a pain for lifting etc. Planning permission wise - are there any restrictions? It'd be a shame to have to tear it all down again! Are you sure you can get leccy for reasonable money? My 3 phase (which was about 20 quid more than 1 phase) cost nearly a grand, and the cable was about 5 metres from my garage! Water supply / drain (as a bonus)? Doors are easy, dunno about roof building. Will it be forever wet inside? Looks good though! Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike4444244 Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 cost you a lot to put even a simple roof on, which might be hard because it looks like an odd shape in the pics, also youd want to pour a concrete floor, whats the access like? I pay 150pm for a barn with a concrete floor thats about 3 lwb landys long and about 20ft wide, and it has an upstairs for storage, IMHO i would keep looking, theres bound to be more out there Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astro_Al Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 How much floor area is it & is it all divided into individual rooms (pain in the posterior), or are they connected / a single volume? Height of doorways? Can you haggle on price - after all, you are going to do a lot of work for this guys property - roof it, supply power, possibly a floor, make it secure and weatherproof. If you ask me, you should get a years free rent for that lot! Its basically useless as it is. Al. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OilIT Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 With the amount of work that looks like your going to have to do - unless your a builder and can get materilas for nowt - I think I would look elsewhere - the + points you list are good - but the negatives are a real pain. I have just had some electic put into a property - it went about 10m and cost me nearly £3k including all the ground works thanks to southern electric. Also agree with all comments above... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted February 5, 2008 Author Share Posted February 5, 2008 It's probably around 600sqft. There is the large space you can see in the photos and some back 'rooms' that are as manky and dingy as you would expect from a bunker. Power will come from a generator of some sorts. Probably an old diesel hooked up to an IMAG or similar. Yes, a roof would be difficult - it is essentially round with the opening you can see. It would have to be raised to get an LR in there. I'm thinking some sort of tepee type construction. As it stands it is handy as I have a lot of stuff in several places spread across many counties, and I need somewhere to put it all by the end of this week. I have more or less covered all of Swindon's farms in the past two days and this is the best that is available (unless I'm willing to pay £600 per month...and even then I can't use it to make biodiesel!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Sparkes Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 I'm not sure what we are looking at here, perhaps we have different 'mental images'. It looks to me like several single vehicle garages around an open courtyard. So for roofing I'm assuming you mean separate roof's on each garage, keeping the open courtyard. Was anyone thinking of roofing the courtyard? A picture with a vehicle in one of the garages would give us some idea of scale. Re Planning Permission, I'd ask the Landlord how they are shown on plans at the moment, workshops, agricultural buildings, what? I'd make a note of his answer and put it in any documentation between you, so that if he has inadvertantly misled you the original statement is recorded as such. What they are classed as may affect what you can do with them. If these were domestic property the key phrase is 'permitted development'. There is a maximum height BENEATH which planning permission is not required. Even if you aren't 'developing' them, just repairing them, it would still be handy to keep under that height, unless the owner has pictures of them with original roofs. My gut reaction is that, as they stand, £120pm is outrageous. If you take out an agreement you need the first 3 months (6 months?) free of rent while you spend on improving them. Get some costs of what it will cost, quotations if possible, even if your labour is free, so that you can argue how long this rent free period is against what you are spending. You might taper this, say 3 months free + 3 months half rent. Specify a minimum term, say 5 years, perhaps more, with no rent increase, and 6 months notice, plus 3 months (6 months?) rent reimbursement if he wants you out before the 5 years is up. You to give him one months notice if you want to leave, as he is going to be left with improved buildings that will be easier to re-let. Basically, those walls are earning him nothing as they stand. They can't earn him £120 next month when they haven't changed. I'd say your biggest problem is finding a Solicitor who can draw up a good agreement without it costing you 3 months rent. Good Luck, you must be desperate :-)) Edit: I see a few comment came in while I was typing, so that's why there is some duplication of points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted February 5, 2008 Author Share Posted February 5, 2008 Hmmm...thanks David. The 'single garages' you can see are not big enough for a car. Even a smart car would have trouble fitting in - imagine a really big cupboard with no doors. Yes - the roof would have to go over the courtyard. This is the usable space. I'm inclined to agree - £120pm does seem a bit steep, especially if i'm going to be making it usable. I also don't know how long i'm going to be here - I may end up moving away from the area in 6 months anyway...or buying a property, in which case ill be building something from scratch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddy Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 I bought a 40ftx20ft camo tarp off ebay for £60 i suppose two or three of those strung over a lighweight frame would be a cheap alternitive to a 'proper' roof. 120 is far too steep IMHO 60 would be about right if a tad high in its current state. Will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Sparkes Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 2nd thoughts. Look at the cost of containers, the sort that fall off the backs of Artics. A couple of those might sort out your 'store everything in one place' problem, and they are instantly weatherproof. Really you are just using the area to stand them on. If the Landlord is a Farmer he should have something to pull /push them around with, and you can discuss leaving them behind when you go, for a suitable cash adjustment. Marquee from Argos or similar to work under, with the car pushed / pulled back into a container when the day is done. I'm assuming there is a chassis and wheels somewhere to be worked on. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happyoldgit Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 In a word - damp. 120 a month he's having a bit of a laugh I reckon, has he rented it out before? As an aside I'm interested in such structures - any idea of it's history? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 You are not seriously considering this are you, James ? If you have stuff to store, then put it in the big yellow storage places but don't pay £120 a month for a big pig sty ! Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 A tent roof would be the cheapest and easiest to do, Big blue placcy tarpaulins are dirt cheap, a couple of poles for the peak, and then guy ropes to keep everything in place. Not very secure though. Swindon (apart from being a dump, a toilet, run the most inept council), is also the home of the Pikeys - there's a permanent camp on the motorway junction for Wootten Bassett/Wroughton, and Chiseldon has a large community of them too. Come to think of it - most of Toothill is pikey land, plus Pinehurst West, so avoid these areas like the plague. West Swindon is ok (better add Purton in case Diesel Jim reads this East SWindon is carp, north Swindon is also carp (except for me, 'cos I live there ) South Swindon is pretty carp. East swindon is the home of most immigrants, so you will need to learn at least two other languages in order to communicate with anyone at all, but at least a huge tent is less likely to get complained about Oilit lives not far from Swindon, has a huge back garden and lives out in the sticks - I bet he won't mind/notice if you bung a shed up in one corner Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bull Bar Cowboy Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Come to think of it - most of Toothill is pikey land, plus Pinehurst West, so avoid these areas like the plague. West Swindon is ok (better add Purton in case Diesel Jim reads this East SWindon is carp, north Swindon is also carp and full of Pikey's( 'cos I live there ) South Swindon is pretty carp. East swindon is the home of most immigrants, so you will need to learn at least two other languages in order to communicate with Abdul Henson, Mustaffa Henson, and Rashid HensonLes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Ian, I think you may find Mr Henson will 'Fatwah your Ar$e' So to speak Apparently "Catflap" or "to Catflap" (from the Koran) means "To DeepFatFryer a perfect good Series" I am told Could you squeeze over a bit in that coffin - were going to need it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted February 5, 2008 Author Share Posted February 5, 2008 2nd thoughts.Look at the cost of containers, the sort that fall off the backs of Artics. Excellent idea - found some people on the net who deal in 2nd hand containers...ill speak to them tomorrow. In a word - damp. 120 a month he's having a bit of a laugh I reckon, has he rented it out before?As an aside I'm interested in such structures - any idea of it's history? Yes - to some guys who do banger racing. Apparently that is what they were paying. No idea of the history i'm afraid. You are not seriously considering this are you, James ? If you have stuff to store, then put it in the big yellow storage places but don't pay £120 a month for a big pig sty ! Yes, I'm afraid I am. I've spent 2 days going round every farm/industrial estate Swindon has to offer. This is the only thing I have found below £350 per month, doesn't require an additional 2 months rent as a deposit, and will let me make biodiesel. Oilit lives not far from Swindon, has a huge back garden and lives out in the sticks - I bet he won't mind/notice if you bung a shed up in one corner Well...whaddya reckon Oilit? You get a shed when I move out and extra income while i'm there I found myself in Pinehurst yesterday. Was an interesting experience. I've seen burnt out cars on estates before, but never burnt out houses... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 You were less than 1/4 mile from my house James - welcome to Beirut! Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted February 5, 2008 Author Share Posted February 5, 2008 If I'd known I would have started looking for the tell tale trail of oil drips... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92.9 Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Fantastic building. I love it! Looks like a lot of work to get it into a suitable workshop condition, but I still think it's great. I'd like to live in a place like that. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 The container idea is good, they're not usually cheap (because I looked) but they're secure, waterproof, and you can fill them with cr*p and move it lock stock on the back of a truck. My uncle works for a transport co at Southampton docks so may know a few people, delivery up your way may be a few £'s though. If you just need somewhere to plonk a container or two full of stuff I have a field, albeit not local to you, but the rent would be very much open to negotiations especially if there was a chance of a container being left behind when you moved plus the local scrap guy keeps an eye on it for me and chases the pikeys away. It's there if you need it anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbarton Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Another thing about containers is that you don't pay business rates on them. A firm I knew dismantled cranes and stored all their stock in containers. They had a huge yard and a small building for an office. It would have cost a fortune in rates if they had industrial units. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheeppimp Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 another plus for containers - don't generally need planning as it doesn't need any groundwork so classed as a temporary structure . caveat not necessarily everywhere but this was the advice I got from our planners last year when I needed more storage space Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 I'd like to live in a place like that Bluddy Pikey! Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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