Building a Garage - What would you do?

tailwindhome

Thinking of building a garage, roughly 18' x 10'.

So. Blank sheet of paper what would you have in your garage?

How would you store you're bikes? How would you secure them?
How would you lay out your cycling workshop?
Would you have a Turbo Dungeon?


Any links to dream cyclists garages?

(The car will probably never be in here)

veronese68

You must have really small bikes. I'd go for something 12 times that size.
Seriously now.
Good sturdy bench, racking for all the stuff you'll accumulate, toolbox (I have a large rollcab), workstand.
Bikes can be hung if they've been naughty. I'm thinking of getting a rack to keep the bikes in so they're not all leaning against stuff.
This is how NOT to do it:

I've been out there today putting new shelves in and tidying up today. Both of those motorbikes have gone, I just have my Bonneville in bits hanging from the ceiling.

davis

Oh, go on then.
This is still a work in progress, but I think it's the best way of many bikes accessible in lots of space. Security to be upgraded by quite a lot beyond the simple thin chains here...



I'm also planning ceiling-mounted hanging space for tyres/tubes/wheels, a decent (deep) workbench, a wall-mounted workstand, and approximately 1 Sol worth of lighting

tailwindhome

Veronese68 wrote:

You must have really small bikes. I'd go for something 12 times that size.

:oops:

edited

redjeepǃ

I have my bikes in a 20' x 12' shed. Bikes hung on the wall from their wheels and my turbo semi permanently set up in one corner, with built in ventilation (extraction fans directly above it). I sometimes use this area for my rollers instead of the turbo. I've got an old TV and a DVD player set up and am tempted to fit a flat screen TV on the wall.

My 'best bike' is locked with a motorbike chain & padlock to a concrete beam, if (when) I redo the shed, I'll probably get wall anchors included in the build (something simple set into the concrete). I've always liked the motorbike ground anchors that are basically just a conduit through a concrete lined pit as I figure they can't be cut. However I still think the best security is to prevent anybody getting into the garage in the first place (reinforced doors etc).

There's also a large & solid (think it's about 8' by 2') workbench built from 4x2's and a couple of sheets of plywood. I have a folding bikestand that I set up when I need it.

Don't forget plenty of power sockets (I've got 5 or 6 double sockets) and lighting. Think about where you'll need the sockets. I put three above the bench, one by the door and one on the apex of the end wall, which is going to be for the TV.

tailwindhome

TailWindHome wrote:

Veronese68 wrote:

You must have really small bikes. I'd go for something 12 times that size.

:oops:

OP edited

ETA it's Sunday morning so the maths may be off but I'm pretty sure 12 times the original 18" X 10" plan would still be on the compact side

[/Spinal Tap]

taff..

note the ground anchors sunk into the base..









the left hand end of the building is a utility room and toilet, the rest is my sanctuary, approx 24ftx12ft IIRC

redjeepǃ

the left hand end of the building is a utility room and toilet, the rest is my sanctuary, approx 24ftx12ft IIRC

(I didn't want to quote all the photos again).

Nicely done taff..

veronese68

TWH, I think you're right about the maths.
I would get a pair of locks like these. I got some from a local locksmith.

sketchley

@taff, did you need planning permission for that?

taff..

Sketchley wrote:

@taff, did you need planning permission for that?

no.

the locals disageed though. there are allotments to the left in the first photo, and when the builder got up to about 5 courses of block it was visible from the allotments and he told me one evening that he had noticed lots of locals over there nosing at what he was doing :roll:


cue a letter from the local planners. I did talk to them informally before starting, but because they had a complaint they had to follow it up. a planner came straight out the same day and agreed everything was fine and we were within permitted development, which from memory is more than 5m away from the back of the house, less than xm tall, less than 50% of the total garden area.

CarlosDSanchez

I would put a bike washing area in with a drain, stand and shower head with hot and cold water.... No more freezing my t*ts off cleaning the bikes outside in the winter.

tailwindhome

CarlosDSanchez wrote:

I would put a bike washing area in with a drain, stand and shower head with hot and cold water.... No more freezing my t*ts off cleaning the bikes outside in the winter.

That would be handy for the kids too...

rjsterry

To decide whether you need planning permission:
http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/

@TWH: You wash the kids outside in winter :?

EKE_38BPM

rjsterry wrote:

@TWH: You wash the kids outside in winter :?

It builds character








...and increases the chances of hypothermia.

davmaggs

Good timing Taff, I'm toying with the idea of having a new garage built.

What sort of money has the project cost you?

fossyant

Only thing I'll stress is security. If you have glass windows/doors make sure they are barred, and you have additional locks on the main garage door. Also make sure the bikes are anchored down. The buggers might just walk off with other stuff instead.

taff..

davmaggs wrote:

Good timing Taff, I'm toying with the idea of having a new garage built.

What sort of money has the project cost you?

in the region of about £15k iirc.

which was split up between builder, roofer, electrician, plumber, materials, planning drawings, double glazing units, roller shutter door etc etc. and a million other small things that you don't think of in the planning.

Kieran_Burns

TailWindHome wrote:

Thinking of building a garage, roughly 18' x 10'.

So. Blank sheet of paper what would you have in your garage?

How would you store you're bikes? How would you secure them?
How would you lay out your cycling workshop?
Would you have a Turbo Dungeon?


Any links to dream cyclists garages?

(The car will probably never be in here)

I'm not a bike, and I'm not into kinky stuff.

SimonAH

One really good tip is keep an eye out for office hanging-filing cabinets - the full height ones with roller doors that open left and right with steel shelves and the pull-out file hanging draws.

It's easy to use spare shelves to turn the pull out hanging file thingummies into roller bearing-ed tool drawers. I have four of these cabinets side-by-side down one side of my workshop. This equates to twelve pull out draws (they can take a load of weight too - one of them has my MIG system on it), masses of shelving and best of all, it's all lockable and by pulling the doors closed protected from dust if I'm doing woodwork or something else dusty. All for under £100 :-D

The next thing you must have is a workbench - and a BIG one. Figure out the largest you think you'll need and make it half as long again. You'll never regret it. Mine is fabbed out of a massive steel engineering workshop base, huge lockable castors and then I've welded 5mm sheet steel to the top as a worksurface. Dimensions approx 10 feet by four. Total cost free (probably not so easy to find the bits now that scrap has got silly).

Finally the workshop itself. Build it as big as you can get away with! And dig an inspection pit when you're having the foundations put in. You never know.

Plumbing water to it is also really useful - washing greasy hands in the kitchen sink gets really old really fast with my good lady. A little sink in the garage saves a load of grief.

And of course, sockets. Lots of them. Put a ring main around the wall at about chest height and position a double socket at about every four feet.

Finally lights. Lots of salvaged industrial flourescent units. Lots. Individually switch them in banks so you don't have to have them all on - a well lit shop is a happy one.

It's all about hunting down industrial bits and bobs - I reckon I kitted my thirty foot by fifteen foot workshop out for well under four hundred notes (building construction cost excepted of course). The only problem is wives and daughters assuming that because you have all that space they can use it as storage. No. You can't. Get out. This is man space.

fossyant

SimonAH wrote:

The only problem is wives and daughters assuming that because you have all that space they can use it as storage. No. You can't. Get out. This is man space.

This is a problem. Half my garage is full of kids crap. Most boxed. :evil:

Levi_501

For a cheap garage, you can very often pick up an old Marley or Bradbury concrete sectional garage for little money in the local adds.

Even better, if you are willing to take it down, the owner will often give it to you for free.

But mind the aspestos roofs!

dhope

fossyant wrote:

This is a problem. Half my garage is full of crap kids. Most boxed. :twisted:

:shock:

itboffin

non bike stuff left in my garage is deposed of immediately and funny enough not much gets left there anymore.

Kieran_Burns

itboffin wrote:

non bike stuff left in my garage is deposed of immediately and funny enough not much gets left there anymore.

You rule!

mudcow007

itboffin wrote:

non bike stuff left in my garage is deposed of immediately and funny enough not much gets left there anymore.

you see i bought my self a 10ft x 10ft shed as my "man room" an that soon got cluttered with "non man" stuff

i have tried to remove it, but my mrs shouts louder than me

ITboffin, when i grow up i wanna be just like you...teach me the ways