My new workshop
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 12:27 am
After years of struggles, both with time and location, I've finally managed to get my very own workshop.
Doing restorations on a gravel driveway, albeit with a carport cover, has always been an issue.
I know I must stretch my neighbours patience whilst they're trying to enjoy a peaceful Sunday afternoon or midweek Summers evening, so they'll be glad too!
I've been on the lookout for a suitable premises for a while, it needed to be big enough but cheap enough too to be affordable for a part time amateur restorer such as myself.
John's unit has long been a source of envy for me, not in a bad way as he is very generous with it and well deserving of it due to the amount of Alfa's he saves, but it only served to make me aware of what could be.
So before Christmas I got a call from John's Landlord to say that a small unit would be available in the New Year but it may be too small, we had been asking for a while for him to let us know if anything was coming up.
The dimensions he gave seemed likely to disapoint, barely big enough to get a car in let alone work on.
So we waited to view it with little hope of it being suitable, the wait for the tennant to vacate so we could have a look too weeks, a lifetime when you might be so close!
We got the chance to view it a few weeks ago and luckily enough (or not, I'm gonna be busy now!) it was a little bigger than first thought. Actually measures about the size of a Residential double garage, almost 20 feet each direction. Bonus is a little storeroom off the back at 7 feet square which will be handy.
There is also an Industrial dust extractor in the roof that works a treat, will come in handy when doing the painting.
So finally I got the paperwork sorted yesterday afternoon, all signed over to me now. There was a lot of cardboard and general rubbish left in there yesterday which the Landlord wasn't chuffed about, the previous tennant was supposed to have cleared it all, but he promised to bring his trailer in this morning and clear it out for me plus have a bit of a tidy-up around the outside as dead leaves had been left to build up around the outside causing damp to show on the inside walls.
I got a text from him this morning saying it was all clear and I could now do as I wished.
This afternoon the 147 resembled a small van, loaded up with wood/saws/power tools etc to start making an effort to convert an empty space into a small workshop.
With Rob's help we got the framework cut up and screwed to the wall to make an 8 foot long workbench which will hold my metal folder, vice and a bench grinder. Should be able to fill the lower shelf with a few odds and sods, no end of choice for that as I have collected stuff over the years..
I bought another mig welder last week to take down there, got a spot welder to collect this week, bought 3 new 4.5" angle grinders yesterday. Compressor is next on the list.
The finishing touch we did this evening was to hang the Alfa shield I bought a good few years back, been waiting for somewhere suitable to hang it since then, now I finally have the place.
Doing restorations on a gravel driveway, albeit with a carport cover, has always been an issue.
I know I must stretch my neighbours patience whilst they're trying to enjoy a peaceful Sunday afternoon or midweek Summers evening, so they'll be glad too!
I've been on the lookout for a suitable premises for a while, it needed to be big enough but cheap enough too to be affordable for a part time amateur restorer such as myself.
John's unit has long been a source of envy for me, not in a bad way as he is very generous with it and well deserving of it due to the amount of Alfa's he saves, but it only served to make me aware of what could be.
So before Christmas I got a call from John's Landlord to say that a small unit would be available in the New Year but it may be too small, we had been asking for a while for him to let us know if anything was coming up.
The dimensions he gave seemed likely to disapoint, barely big enough to get a car in let alone work on.
So we waited to view it with little hope of it being suitable, the wait for the tennant to vacate so we could have a look too weeks, a lifetime when you might be so close!
We got the chance to view it a few weeks ago and luckily enough (or not, I'm gonna be busy now!) it was a little bigger than first thought. Actually measures about the size of a Residential double garage, almost 20 feet each direction. Bonus is a little storeroom off the back at 7 feet square which will be handy.
There is also an Industrial dust extractor in the roof that works a treat, will come in handy when doing the painting.
So finally I got the paperwork sorted yesterday afternoon, all signed over to me now. There was a lot of cardboard and general rubbish left in there yesterday which the Landlord wasn't chuffed about, the previous tennant was supposed to have cleared it all, but he promised to bring his trailer in this morning and clear it out for me plus have a bit of a tidy-up around the outside as dead leaves had been left to build up around the outside causing damp to show on the inside walls.
I got a text from him this morning saying it was all clear and I could now do as I wished.
This afternoon the 147 resembled a small van, loaded up with wood/saws/power tools etc to start making an effort to convert an empty space into a small workshop.
With Rob's help we got the framework cut up and screwed to the wall to make an 8 foot long workbench which will hold my metal folder, vice and a bench grinder. Should be able to fill the lower shelf with a few odds and sods, no end of choice for that as I have collected stuff over the years..
I bought another mig welder last week to take down there, got a spot welder to collect this week, bought 3 new 4.5" angle grinders yesterday. Compressor is next on the list.
The finishing touch we did this evening was to hang the Alfa shield I bought a good few years back, been waiting for somewhere suitable to hang it since then, now I finally have the place.
