Mudmonkey Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 As I've moved into the big world of work finally and have flown the nest, to London at the moment so not good for any Land Rover related activities but moving more "rural" in October. I'm looking for hints and tips on how you all manage to store various projects etc. I'm currently renting and will be looking for a place with a decent sized garage/area to house a Defender and a project as well as tools etcetc without spending my whole disposable income just on storge. Those of you with workshops I assume are lucky enough to live on a farm or run a business as well, as rental prices for units seem OTT plus business rates on top. Please share with me any knowledge you may have on the subject, it has aready crossed my mind to rent a unit and just sleep in there but I don't think the girlfriend would be too impressed when she comes to stay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrRob Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Normal garage with lots of shelves and still get the Classic in. Garage has a pitched roof so have an attic there too. Shed for other stuff including gardening tools. Just don't hoard stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Whilst my 90 was still living at home I had about 1/8th of a single garage for all my stuff along with some stuff in the shed and down the side of the house. The 90 was then on the drive. My advice with any sized space be it a shed or garage or barn, keep it organised. If you can keep it organised and tidy you will make the most of the space, I would have benefitted from this when my 90 was at home!! This is why I decided to build my own bench and storage in my unit, it fits the space perfectly and doesn't waste any space either. Its not the most helpful information, but I spent over 3 years on-and-off looking for somewhere to rent. turned out in the end there was somewhere about a mile from home as the crow flies. Ask around any local farms, that's how I found my unit (28.5ft x 14.5ft). Feel free to have a look at my thread in my signature, posts on the workshop are in the last 5-6 pages I think. Another forum I have found really useful for ideas, is www.garagejournal.com You will get very garage-jealous from some of the huge builds on there, but equally there are lots of ideas and threads where people have made some incredibly useful and productive spaces from not a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shackleton Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Garage - destroyed with stuff, and a 20ft shipping container painted a camo green colour and hidden out back. Only thing about containers is they turn into cookers in any kind of sunshine. Good idea to let those spinning vents or some such into the roof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudmonkey Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 Whilst my 90 was still living at home I had about 1/8th of a single garage for all my stuff along with some stuff in the shed and down the side of the house. The 90 was then on the drive. My advice with any sized space be it a shed or garage or barn, keep it organised. If you can keep it organised and tidy you will make the most of the space, I would have benefitted from this when my 90 was at home!! This is why I decided to build my own bench and storage in my unit, it fits the space perfectly and doesn't waste any space either. Its not the most helpful information, but I spent over 3 years on-and-off looking for somewhere to rent. turned out in the end there was somewhere about a mile from home as the crow flies. Ask around any local farms, that's how I found my unit (28.5ft x 14.5ft). Feel free to have a look at my thread in my signature, posts on the workshop are in the last 5-6 pages I think. Another forum I have found really useful for ideas, is www.garagejournal.com You will get very garage-jealous from some of the huge builds on there, but equally there are lots of ideas and threads where people have made some incredibly useful and productive spaces from not a lot! Ross, just read through your thread, your unit is fantastic! If you don't mind me asking how much do you pay for that? At the moment I'm using a family members garage which is both a blessing and a curse, it is a decent size wide enough to open both doors of a LR and long enough to fit two LRs in with space to walk around and keep the bench at the back. It also has a small pit and an open fire. I get sole use of the garage apart from storage of said family members garden tools but I have to transport tools etc from my house whenever I want to use the space which turns into a logistical nightmare resulting in wasted time which could be spent tinkering. Anyway, as I have moved away from home it is an even greater logistical nightmare to get anywhere near my stuff hence the start of this thread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 £125 a month with electric/water/bog :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timpo Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 You will never have enough storage space..... I gave up looking! ;-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missingsid Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 When single I bought a house with garage which held the LR (but not with the roof on) and a motorcycle, then I got married and her stuff forced the LR out. Next I rented a large garage (2 x LR long) on a farm for £50 a month incl levy and shared WC. This was fine but very dusty in the summer and muddy in winter. As the farm was a few miles away and the company car was getting dirty travelling from home to garage I got another LR! More wifey stuff and more tools meant the addition of a container on the farm for the second LR and loads of wife's stuff (excersisors that never got used etc)! My ideal was an old fire station, rural ones are the right size to live in etc. but unfortunately are usually in expensive locations (high street) and local councils like to sell to charities first, though the one I wanted (but could not afford) is now a commercial physio so it is not impossible! Good luck looking. Marc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Originally, during the 109 build, the dining room. I was young, free & single then so welding & grinding in the dining room was OK as long as I kept the door shut. A big set of wire shelves recycled from my employer held all the bits, bobs, oils, greases etc. Then I got a big tin shed, 8m x 5m, in the back garden which was marvellous. Two bays of pallet racking & a sturdy workbench, lovely. Then I moved 50 miles away from it. I would say, from experience, that having a shed/garage/workshop in your back garden is 100x better, in terms of getting-stuff-done, than one that's even a couple of miles down the road. Being able to wander out with a cuppa, do half an hour tinkering or a quick oil change etc. and wander back in again without having to pack stuff up, get in the car, remember to collect all the tools you might need, be sober, etc. is soooo much easier. Otherwise everything becomes a bit of a mission. I've ended up in the "remote" shed driving to the nearest Halfords/B&Q/Screwfix and buying a duplicate of a tool I already own because it's cheaper & quicker than driving all the way home to collect it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynic-al Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 I had use of a unit where I worked, farmers sometimes rent out building without having to worry about the rates... The problem with this is to go do a job I had to load the tools into the car, drive to the unit, unload the tools then start and repeat at the end of the day. I lost about an hour and a half of working time doing so. Not too bad if your spending a day at it but it made evenings pretty unproductive. Half the time you would realise you hadn't brought a tool you needed so you'd have to pack up, go home and try again the next night. My employer got busy again and was struggling for space so I took the motivation to put up a 24' x 13' shed in the garden. It's still not finished but it has the landy in it & tools + work bench etc. The trailer is outside but secure. Even though everything is a real squeeze as it's not a huge plot it's soooo much better to just be able to wander out and do a bit of fiddling if you have a spare hour. If you get fed up you throw the tools onto the floor in a strop and storm back inside The biggest downside is I have nowhere near as much space as at the unit, especially as I'm still getting organised, I can't run the car as I don't have the big yard anymore and I don't have tools at home like forklifts, parts washers, lathes etc. But if I ever need to I can still take bits back to work to do jobs, some of my stuff is still there anyway I've tried to devote that shed just as a workshop, I have a regular shed for garden stuff and kids toys and the garage attached to the house for putting road cars, washing stuff etc in so you just have to make sure you spend the time keeping everything organised and tidy. If I was single i'd buy a tiny old cottage on a huge plot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 keep it organised. If you can keep it organised and tidy Hmmmm, hope you've had a tidy up in your workshop Ross Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Yes I have Ralph!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreePointFive Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 I would say, from experience, that having a shed/garage/workshop in your back garden is 100x better, in terms of getting-stuff-done, than one that's even a couple of miles down the road. Being able to wander out with a cuppa, do half an hour tinkering or a quick oil change etc. and wander back in again without having to pack stuff up, get in the car, remember to collect all the tools you might need, be sober, etc. is soooo much easier. Otherwise everything becomes a bit of a mission. I've ended up in the "remote" shed driving to the nearest Halfords/B&Q/Screwfix and buying a duplicate of a tool I already own because it's cheaper & quicker than driving all the way home to collect it. I one hundred and millionty thousand times agree with this. Having had my 90 rebuild "up the road" for the last 3 or 4 years (at an extremely generous mate's workshop) I was setting aside two week slots of leave to get things done, and while that worked it did also mean nothing was done for up to several months at a stretch. It just isn't possible, with all the desire to finish the project you can muster, to make use of every spare bit of time when you have to travel there. And that is why my car has been there for 3 or 4 years. But on the first weekend of this month it moved to my own property, which means I can start to get things done as and when. Also hitting a problem and then coming indoors to look it up online rather than having to down tools for the day is unbelievably useful - some will note an increase in my post count these last few weeks. Not having to compete with lock up times is another bonus. The best thing is that suddenly you don't have to optimise your time as you do when traveling, you can have one job in mind, even if it's just to solder a wire, then anything extra you do is all bonus. Otherwise you have to plan out a series of jobs, buy all the bits, get all the tools, read the 'how to's and then upon arrival immediately shear the first bolt you come to and throw the whole plan out the window, coming away feeling like you've achieved nothing. The downside is that your neighbours find out just how large your vocabulary of rude words is when said bolt shears at home. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 The workshop away from home thing, as mentioned before, is a total pita. It took me 4 years to build my car as mentioned above. So garage at home is vital. One problem you will find is that your landy is too tall to fit the average UK garage. I used to fit bare rims to the rear axle to get mine in. This is also a pain, so at least take a tape measure if youre viewing a house with a garage, and at least have a contingency plan if the garage is too low. Daan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotts90 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Built many a Nova in my youth in a mates garage, the biggest problem was other mates helping themselves to tools and sundries! I am now fortunate enough to have a very large man-cave, the downside is the bigger it is the more spares (or cr4p as the wife says) you keep. I reckon there's almost enough bits for another rebuild in there.... Buy a small house with a large garage....or a barn conversion/old warehouse! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffR Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 No matter how big or small your garage is, the stuff that finds its way in there is ALWAYS greater than the available space. Bloody junk stuff expands to fill any available gap 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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