Greetings all,
I have recently picked up shop in Nebraska and moved to Indiana to take care of my mother in law. We had to move in a pretty big hurry without much notice, so my parents found a house for us. (God love ’em) The problem is that the house has a garage, but it only has one incandescent bulb and two duplex outlets that are tied into the living room. Not quite what I need to set up shop. The landlord is not willing for me to have everything rewired at my expense. At this time we just can’t afford to buy. (housing is quite expensive here) Today I found a woodworkers guild that I could join for $200 initiation fee plus $50 per month dues. What would you people do? I have equipment sitting in the garage that I can’t use and I feel that I don’t want to sell it but it seems such a waste to let it sit there and collect dust. And I can certainly say that the need for my therapy (woodworking) is quite needed. The price for the coop is quite high in my opinion. There is not much room in there to build your project,let alone have the peace and quiet that one needs to work. I hope I don’t sound bitchy or anything. I just want to get the shop aspect of my life worked out . Any opinions?
Thanks
Jay
Replies
Jay,
Sorry to hear about your woodworking difficulties. I faced a similar situation a few years ago. Unable to make the changes to the garage I had, I made do. It required moving machines every time I changed operations, keeping a very tidy shop to keep from tripping over things and a lot of patience. I would usually have a heavy extension cord running into the living room to run the dust collector while running whatever tool I needed on the one line in the shop. (None were more than 15 amps.) In the end, it was worth it. It taught me the technique of better planning my work to minimize disruptions and wasted time. I say go for it, whatever you can manage in your limited location.
The coop sounds expensive to me. Would they be willing to let you bring in your own equipment for reduced rates? Otherwise, you end up selling and then repurchasing everything later when you situation changes. (Those of us who love to shop for tools wouldn't necessarily discount this idea!)
Good luck and I hope it works out.
Kell
Jay,
The co-op fees sound unreasonable. Could you possibly find a garage to rent for shop use only? Perhaps you could also find some space in a commercial/manufacturing building which you could rent reasonably. Good luck.
Jeff
P.S. There's no way that I'd sell my shop equipment and tools - "...from my cold, dead fingers..."
Can you purchase a medium sized generator to supply you with the power you need?? You may have to use only one machine plus the dust collector at any one time. OR just use a shop vac as your dust collecting system and invest in a GOOD dust mask.
SawdustSteve
jay:
I agree with JeffK. When I moved back from Florida to Atlanta in 1978. I had my tools stored in about 4 different places while I worked out of the shop at the local technical college. Decided to sell them as I couldn't use them at that time. Big Mistake....
Three years later when I bought a home with a basement and a double garage I replaced them at about 3 times the cost as WW had begun to really catch on and prices went up. Tools are like land. The prices are not going to go down. IMO do what you have to do to keep them, even if it means storing at your brother-in-laws who is a total idiot. (Just and example).. You won't regret it somewhere down the road!!!
Good Luck with all...Just had to move my 88 year old mom in and I know what kind of problems you're facing with that scenario..
sarge..jt
The guys covered it, I would look into renting a garage or even a shop if you know someone who you could share with to split the cost. The generator also was a idea that i was going to mention. Also look into some comnity college or adult education classes amybe you could get some shop time that way.
Darkworksite4: When the job is to small for everyone else, Its just about right for me"
Edited 9/15/2002 12:43:52 AM ET by Ron Teti
Thanks for the advice Sarge. How do you know my brother-in-law?
Jay
jay
I've been on 4 continents. Brother-in-laws are pretty universal all over. Ha... Except for my wifes husband. He is a super nice brother-in-law to her brother.grin<>
Good luck and drop a line if you need anyting..
sarge..jt
I'm sorry to hear about your mother in law. I hope it is something that she will recover from. And if not, I hope she can retain her dignity, and remain pain free for as long as it takes.
There is no worse feeling, than feeling trapped. You are feeling stuck between the rock of a landlord, and the hard place of the fees and non-convenience of a co-op.
Unlike dealing with an illness, a bad neighbor, boss, divorce lawyer, or some government beaurocracy breathing down your neck... this sort of problem can be fairly easily made into an opportunity.
Options...
1. You aren't "married" to this landlord.
Have your parents help you to find someplace better. You came there on very short notice. So your parents had a very short time to help you to find a place. Maybe they have the time now to help you to find a better place ?
2. Find ways to make this place work. Get creative.
Me, if I had been willing to invest in re-wiring the place, and leave that money behind when I moved... I would be willing to invest in the generator. Or in the biggest extension cords I could find. You'd probably come over to my place and find one extension cord ran to someplace in each circuit of the house. LOL If I couldn't find extension cords big enough for my satisfaction, I'd make them.
3. Do your parents or anyone else you know, have a garage and/or storage area, that could be used for a workshop ? You were willing to pay the fees at a co-op, maybe you could offer to rent the garage for 50 dollars a month.
...
Bottom line, try to think outside the barrel. You are in a hard situation that has a workable solution somewhere. Friends and family will not likely be put off if you ask for help. Cast some ideas around. Maybe someone you know has a perfect solution for you, but they don't know to offer it.
Cut me some slack here
Quittin' Time
Home Depot has 50', 12 ga. ext. cords with ground for about $16 dollars. Hopefully, you have 20 amp circuits in the house to plug into or can add a couple breakers to the box to satisfy your basic needs. If you need 220V, you could plug into the dryer, i suppose...good grief, this brings back bad memories...
After you've been an ideal tenant for about three months, talk to your landlord again about a sub-panel. I'm a landlord and i usually take some time to warm up to tenants before i go all lenient on them. <G>
A separate meter installation is way pricey if you have to hire it done, and you probably would if you don't own the place or aren't a lic'd electrician. Materials for mine came to about $200, but i was allowed to install as an owner, though it needed a permit and inspection. Can't remember what the sub-panel that i had before cost, but it was substantially cheaper and far less work to install. You'll need another ground rod, too.
Thank you all for the advice and encouragement. I think that the generator is a definite answer. And I have been known to test the limits with 220v extension cords.
This group is great. Even though I rarely post, I feel that I know all of you.
Thanks
Jay
Edited 9/15/2002 6:43:07 PM ET by jay
Jay -
Something to consider with respect to using a generator is the noise. If a dust collection system is a potential nieghbor relations issue in the making, a generator, of decent size to run a shop, is in a league by itself. I bought a 10kw unit as an emergency backup system for when the power goes out and had a gentrans wired into the house. I start it once a month to keep things in good shape. It's audible a good block from my house. If your neighborhood is in any way as dense as a normal suburban area, I'd recommend building an enclosure, properly vented, etc., etc., to minimize noise. If nothing else, for the peace and quiet you're looking for.
Dennis in Bellevue WA
[email protected]
A couple observations on your situation:
1. You are willing to rewire the garage, at your expense, and the landlord wont let you !?? Is he/she a fool? Sounds like there could be other problems down the road with a landlord this unreasonable.
2. For the price of one year at the coop you could buy a gas/diesel power generator. A lot of places are offering 6 months to a year interest free on high ticket items. Be careful though, make sure you understand all the terms before you sign.
3. The Yankee in me screams FORGET THE COOP!
You sound like the shop is important to you. If so, you will find a way. Good luck and bless you for being a good son in law.
Peter
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled