Anyone ever rent a garage/shop?

[STINEY]

Got the cops called on us for a bonfire.

Like the swingers never had a bonfire....sheesh!

[tedly]

Glad to see you enjoying the shop! 530 to the tire, would like to know whats in it! I sure it will fly if you can get it to hook! How is the T-bird coming?

I'll go into more in depth as soon as I can, here's a little tease til then. 331 stroker, Holley intake, massive fuel system, full length headers, 3 inch exhaust with no mufflers - it's LOUD, Vortech. He got it with the engine already built, did the fuel system and a few other things himself. Whoever did the engine obviously knew what they were doing because he doesn't baby it in the least and drives the snot out of it including many road trips and it's held together very well. Every time I look in that engine compartment it just baffles me though. There's wires and lines all over the place. I don't know how the hell it works, but it does and I don't want to mess with it for fear of pissing something off. I've taken to calling her Voodoo because that's what it seems to be held together by. It's downright scary on the street when it hooks. He had to go to less sticky tires because when the drag radials are on it there's no telling when they'll bite, but when they do you are going whatever direction you are pointed at that time REAL fast.

TBird is coming along, but it's just been tedious, non glamorous things. I'll update soon.

[tedly]

I guess it's time to wrap this thread up. I no longer have the shop. Due to the house from hell trying to kill us and the evacuation from it, the shop got turned into a storage unit for all our possessions and we ended up living in it for awhile. Landlady found out, flipped out and terminated the lease. So as promised, here is the good and the bad of the experience.

Would I do it again? Better believe it, and when I get my feet back under me again I will. I had just started to scratch the surface of what I wanted to do with it before all hell broke loose in my personal life.

Weatherproof the hell out of the place. A few cans of expanding foam, caulking around windows and doors, and a few other basic things can save you a TON of money when winter gets here. You may bitch that it's the landlords job to do that or not want to spend a few bucks from your own pocket. That thinking goes out the window the first time your utility bill is more than rent, yet it's only in the high 40's or so inside the shop. We hit over $700 once. One trick I learned was to use a ratchet strap to pull the roll up door in, getting a better seal.

When you have a place besides your home to have people over, things can get out of hand real fast. Hmmm... you can drop cigarettes on the floor, spill drinks, make a hell of a lot of noise and mess, and nobody complains or calls the cops, yet I can still go home to a nice, clean home? Why aren't we doing this every weekend?!

You don't throw parties at the shop every weekend because you can't get any work done when there's a shop full of drunks. Partying is fine, just keep it in check.

Shop time is awesome therapy for whatever ails ya. It's amazing what you can get done with absolutely no distractions, all the space you possibly need, and a mini fridge filled with Mountain Dew and/or beer.

It's really cool to introduce younger guys to stuff like car repair, carpentry, fixing something like an old bike for their kid...

It is possible to live in a shop, if it's not set up for it you will be miserable until you figure out how to make it livable.

If you're thinking of doing this yourself, read all the input from everyone that posted here. It's pretty much spot on.

In the end, the shop turned into a life boat for us and thank God I had it. It had it's faults, but it pretty much spoiled me. I will have my mad scientist lair again.

[Scott Liggett]

John McGann of CC has been living at his shop for a couple of years now. Proof what a total gearhead he is. Not sure of his living arrangements there.

[tedly]

I can see how it can be done, you gotta have it set up for it though. Things like a shower, some kind of kitchen, having at least one room that is insulated so that there's somewhere to warm up when it's -40 outside... When your girlfriend works from home and the place is packed with everything that was in a 2 bedroom house, there's not a lot of room or time left to work on stuff either. keep these things in mind if you're thinking about it. Also remember even the most forgiving landlord needs plausible deniability if the place isn't zoned for residential. Code enforcement can get you both in a lot of trouble. Also things like nice furniture? It will get trashed fairly quickly from having grease, oil, metal shavings, sawdust, etc, everywhere. Do it right, plan for things like that and it would easily work if you're willing to make the sacrifices necessary to live like that. Jump into it (or get forced into it) before those things are thought out and addressed... No different than having an old car or hot rod as your only ride really, it's all a matter of what you are willing to live with.

[Deaf Bob]

Buddy, Gary rented a 3 story barn, 2 nd floor was his girlfriend's clothes and their nice furniture, first floor was his shop and tool/supply storage, he had a 25' travel trailer in one section on first floor to eat, sleep, and cook in...

[Scott Liggett]

I can see how it can be done, you gotta have it set up for it though. Things like a shower, some kind of kitchen, having at least one room that is insulated so that there's somewhere to warm up when it's -40 outside... When your girlfriend works from home and the place is packed with everything that was in a 2 bedroom house, there's not a lot of room or time left to work on stuff either. keep these things in mind if you're thinking about it. Also remember even the most forgiving landlord needs plausible deniability if the place isn't zoned for residential. Code enforcement can get you both in a lot of trouble. Also things like nice furniture? It will get trashed fairly quickly from having grease, oil, metal shavings, sawdust, etc, everywhere. Do it right, plan for things like that and it would easily work if you're willing to make the sacrifices necessary to live like that. Jump into it (or get forced into it) before those things are thought out and addressed... No different than having an old car or hot rod as your only ride really, it's all a matter of what you are willing to live with.

His shop includes an office area he uses for his living area.

[tedly]

If you have a bit of lawn, you can set up a fire pit and drag some lawn chairs out there. Helps with the cooking situation too. Grills work really well too.

Another thing to consider is trash removal. You'll either have to take trash home to go out on collection day or rent a dumpster. If you rent one, people will dump all their trash in it if they get the chance, and you have to pay to empty it.