One of the smallest "Man Caves" around

[thomfr]

Hi!
After reading and commenting for a while I have to present my “man cave” now.
Some background; I live in The Netherlands, aprox 175Km. south-east of Amsterdam, 41 years young and self employed, married to Chris and we have 20 month old twin daughters.

Land is scarce and expensive over here so we live in a 3 bedroom semi-detached with a tiny garage (4,25mtr x 2,25mtr). Before our twins arrived I parked my Alfa Giulia in the Garage and I had some high racks on the walls for some stuff.

However, with the arrival of the twins we had a huge storage problem. Twin stroller, wash tumbler etc. etc. and we had only one solution.. YEP…
I insulated the garage (what I already intended to do so since I bought the house) and tiled it.
After putting in all the stuff only one space was left over for a small “man cave” the space under the fold away stairs to the attic. But this meant that the space should also be fold away.

Inspired by Jack Olsons tables it became this solution build form a hefty wooden pole bolted to the wall, some hinges, an Ikea table top and some old wooden poles lying around which fold away when the table is folded to the wall (and stick with magneto's).


When the stairs are not needed the space is always ready for use:

However, this is only to do some minor jobs or to be able to work in parts of a project without going to my dads where I now park my hobby cars and can work on them in his 2 car heated garage with two post lift:

Dad’s pre war Alfa beside my former Formula Junior (Foglietti).

Thom

 

[Thruxton]

Re: One of the smalest "Man Caves" around

It's not how big it is, it's how cool it is, which depends on what you do with it and what's in it. A pre-war Alfa and a Foglietti FJ. Wow! That is ******* the cool-o-meter! Seriously, good things in small spaces is a GJ Gallery sub-theme. And more pics PLEASE of that Alfa!

 

[gatewaysysop]

Re: One of the smalest "Man Caves" around

Very nice setup, definitely making good use of the space you have! Nice work! Not to mention the Beta cart, that thing is slick.

 

[thomfr]

Re: One of the smalest "Man Caves" around

And more pics PLEASE of that Alfa!

Thank you, yes you have to be creative when space is limited:

The 6c Alfa:

It is a 1933 Alfa 6c 1900 Gt three position cabriolet which was owned by one Scottish family from 1933 till 1971. It moved this year to Switzerland.

The Giulia:
View media item 11585Original a 73" Giulia 1300 Super (one of the last before the Nuova came) but now with 1750 engine, big brakes and 50% diff lock rear axle. On the picture playing around with a 147 GTA on the Zandvoort race track.


On the Teuven Hillclimb


As holiday donkey (before the kids arrived we did this almost every year, camping in Luxembourg, France, Switzerland and Italy and driving a LOT of Alpine passes).

Thom

 

[Dillithium]

Re: One of the smalest "Man Caves" around

200 KM ten zuiden van Amsterdam is wel in belgië he!

Beautiful Alfa's, hope to see more of the garage.

 

[Thruxton]

Re: One of the smalest "Man Caves" around

Love that 6C1900! I have owned a GTV6, hot little bomb, and a 1965 2600 Spider (which I wish I had never sold!). Looking forward to more pics of the cave.

 

[thomfr]

Re: One of the smalest "Man Caves" around

I only could find one inside shot of my fathers garage, here with my Giulia and our old race beast, a 1964 Giulia TI Super which we used to race in the FIA European Touring Car Challege and some endurance races (Dijon, Spa 6 hours, Nürburgring 1000 Km. etc.) but which we retired now:


Above the Green Alfa is an attic which we use to store spares, because of the lift (a 1973 Zippo working with spindles) there is no attic above the blue Alfa. The workbench was welded together by my dad for his first garage back in 1970 and with some changes still in use. The drawers are from old steel office desks which fit very nicely and free of charge.

Thom

ps: this was an action shot, so sorry for the mess, I will make a shot of the cleaned garage.

 

[thomfr]

Finally bought myself my dream toolbox (with the current $ to € rate I would need to get a mortgage for Snap-On):

Beta C24SA XL


And some filling bought with it (not yet everything in it, still have to move my older Beta stuff in the top drawers and all the other stuff in the lower ones ;-) )




My old folding (Beta) tool chart will be used for the odd tools like woodwork tools etc.


Sorry for the crappy iphone pics.

Thom

 

[Richard Cranium]

Thanks for the tour, And I agree, it is not the size of the space, it is how you use it.

 

[Sunbimmer]

We do not have the garage space that many of our GJ friends have, but we can make it work. Nice space and Alfa's man, oh and very nice BETA tool cart, I'm jealous

Another Dutchman here

 

[AGVI]

Great use of the space available.

 

[thomfr]

We do not have the garage space that many of our GJ friends have, but we can make it work. Nice space and Alfa's man, oh and very nice BETA tool cart, I'm jealous

Another Dutchman here

And even almost in the neighbourhood

Thom

 

[j p smith]

Looks like you are dealing well with the challenges. Looks great. How about some pictures of Dads pre war Alfa

 

[vegar]

That is a nice collection of Alfas Why have you retired the TI Super??
I would like to see more of your small garage

 

[SierraDenizen]

Impressive. Next time you are in profess on a project can you send another picture?

 

[thomfr]

That is a nice collection of Alfas Why have you retired the TI Super??
I would like to see more of your small garage

Because ti Supers are getting stupid expensive and that historic racing is getting very harsh in Europe with all those guys either comming from cup racing or with too much €. Both sorts have No respect at all for others pride and joy.

Have to look up some pictures of the 6c during the next days.

Thanks for the positive feedbacks. I dream of a bigger garage and up to that moment I try to make the best out of it.

Thom

 

[vegar]

It is a genuine Ti Super? Then I understand fully. 10 years ago I buildt my Mini mkI into a Cooper S for historic racing. Back then it was a cheap way of getting in to gentlemans racing, but the prices are sky rocketing. And some races are more demolition derbys than gentlemans racing. I was reading an ad in the latest Octane, and it was a Mini for sale at 80 000£
I am the moment concidering converting my mkII Mini to FIA group G for historic racing, butif so it will be done the cheap way, and will not be any way near the fastest,

 

[thomfr]

Yep a real 64' Ti Super ;-)

The 6c:



and my latest project:
a 1965 Volvo P210 Duett in need of some tlc..


More info will follow.

Thom

 

[vegar]

That 6c is a beuty

 

[1/2 Cup]

Great stuff and thank you for sharing.

I have fallen in love with your Alfa.

Regards

 

[Monte]

any updates ?

 

[thomfr]

Hi,I did not do much to my space at home and my fathers garage but did a lot of work in the garage. For some reason my wife came with the idea that it would be great to go on vacation this summer with the Volvo Duett. This was in November and the Volvo needed a total restoration (which I knew when I bought it). The last months in a few pics:









Currently I'm pushing my local panel beater and painter as I did my part of the preparation and these are more or less the last external specialists I need. But they are busy!
Concerning to the garage the only news is that I need a new compressor. My old Mecha Concorde direct drive twin was already a bit sick but the sandblasting and painting of a lot of Volvo parts has given it the last kick.

I have both 240V (16A) and a 400V group in the garage but decided to go for a 240V max 3hp.compressor because I also use it sometimes at my house or outside, for this reason also a horizontal model on wheels. 10 bar max pressure with 90 or 100 Litre tank and around 400 litre air displacement, w.m. about 275 litre per minute effective. I want an European (or US) made pump, no Chinese for obvious reasons.
Thom

 

[thomfr]

I finally bit the bullet and bought a new compressor

A Javac TX3 4HP EU 230 Volt made in Cheq Republic.

Choose this one mainly because of its free run start, 100% EU made, High output (480ltrs gross, 400 ltrs nett output) low noise due to low revs (72 dba at 950 rpm.).
Paid € 545 incl. shipping excl. tax.

Have to move around some stuff in the garage to free its corner where it connects to the air lines (it is a bit higher than my old Concorde).

Thom

 

[Krokodil]

Excellent setup you have. Please show bit more pics of your tools and equipment. Is that a Ridgid vise in storage?

 

[thomfr]

Excellent setup you have. Please show bit more pics of your tools and equipment. Is that a Ridgid vise in storage?

Thank you for your comment!
Yes, it is a Ridgid (good eyes!, the one in the back is a smaller Heuer).


We have two identical ones which I bought new at a company closing auction.
I do not know anything about them but they are quite nice finished and made in Germany.
Thom

 

[Krokodil]

Thanks. I love seeing garages full of European tools!

 

[old-air-performance]

Hi Thom,

Nice setup and very nice cars!

Are you pleased with your new compressor?

Kind regards,
Toon

 

[thomfr]

The new Javac compressor works very satisfactory and also nice quiet. Only disadvantage I found until now (and which I knew beforehand) is that due to its sheer weight (120Kg.) it is not easy to move around if you wanted so.
In our case it is now located in its permanent corner directly under the connector to the air ring air line which goes around the garage with connectors everywhere (and a airpress reel near the doors for pumping tyres outside). This ring line was built by my father years ago with sturdy 1" galvanised pipes and dryers and/or oilers on several locations. Very strong but also heavy. I will make some pictures of it and post them.


As you can see I had to lift the workbench a bit as the Javac is a bit taller than our old compressor (temporary with bricks but I will weld some reinforcement under the feet in the near future to give more strength and also to replace the bricks).


The only work which needs a new way of working is sandblasting. With the old compressor I moved it out of the shop and blasted ouside. With the new compressor I left the compressor inside and hung a good (large diam>) hose out of the window to the blast space. This thing gives a LOT of air for (hobby) sandblasting of parts etc.! however due to (well very reasonable) complaints from our neighbour we decided not to sandblast outside any more but to transform a little part on the back of our shed to a blasting room with a special blasting cabinet and ventilation. The way of working with an air hose out of the window will stay the same. Will post some pictures of the build as soon as I start it.


One half of the garage is now empty (does not last long most of the time) due to the fact that the Volvo Duett is finally gone for the paint shop.
I was intended to go there a few weeks earlier but all paint shops around here a very busy with the damage done to vehicles a month ago in a big hail storm. So my project (off course on a budget price) had to wait a bit.
Thom

 

[HCNDM]

Hi Thom,

I feel you on the space in our country! Beautiful cars and great work!


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[thomfr]

Breaking news! We bought an other house with a just two car garage (and sold the current one). Will get the keys the first of April 2017.

(Picture from googlemaps, garage has a seperate entrence at the back of the land).
Very excited!
Thom

 

[FRSMech]

Congratulations on the new garage! Be sure to get lots of "before" pictures.

 

[Denwood]

Just dropped in on your thread for the first time. Congrats on the new shop! Based on what I've seen so far, it will be a busy place

Cheers,
Dennis.

 

[thomfr]

Thanks for the feedback!
Yes! the previous owner of our new house (and garage) worked at a Tractor repair shop and used the garage for metal fab work (you can see his long items stock space on the right in the picture). Unfortunately he died about a year ago and before his widow decided to sell the house they cleaned out the shop which is really a pity.
The garage is a good start with a wall mounted natural gas heater some insulation and 400Volt power connection etc. but further empty and basic.
Plans enough:
-Inside fits (just) two cars but the overhead door is not so wide, some time I would like to replace it with a wider one but this will mean most likely structural work with a steel beam for roof support.
-In front of the garage (driveway) behind the gate is an nice space to make a carport which would give dry space for two more toys.
-Inside it first needs white paint on the walls and some new led lights to start with.

Thom

 

[HCNDM]

Van Harte Thom!


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[1/2 Cup]

thomfr great stuff and thank you for the update..

Regards

 

[thomfr]

Finaly we received the keys of our new house yesterday.
As some work has to be done to the house the garage will be used as storage for a few weeks. This gave me the a reason to paint the walls first ;-)
Before:

After:

A detail picture of the (Typical, older Dutch system) 3 phase power supply which will provide sufficient power.

Next update will take some time. First have to concentrate on painting and refurbishing the house and afterwards the real move in.
Thom

 

[thomfr]

We live in the new house now since two months. The old house is closed to the new owner and the inside paintwork is finished and all furniture is on it's position.
So time to do some things in and to the shop

I Replaced dead water well pump (used for garden watering) with new one:
old:


New:

DAB (Italy) 5m3 hr. pump on hydro tank (that one is Chinese I discovered).
I also replaced some of the piping as the previous owner used cheap plastic pipes of which some had a bouble due to water pressure...
A lot more water now!

and finally got the ladder off the floor (storage idea from GJ):


Next steps are:
Planning the power distribution (some idiot ripped out most cabling after the garage sub fuse box before we bought the house). So I have to make it new.

New light fittings:
Consider LED panels (see Light topics) I wonder if 6 will do for 36m3:


Think about a finish for the floor. Now its is rather rough (a lot of stone ballast in it) and slightly uneven concrete floor. Options I think about is epoxy or tiling it (I do not like Racedeck style floors, reminds me too much of Rubbermaid).

On the project side I did some work on the Volvo Duett (which still lives in my dads shop for the time being) . The rear doors are fitted now (and fit well for a semi hand built commercial). Next will be wiring harness and inside door window mechanism etc.



Thom

 

[thomfr]

Finally I had some time to assemble my new workbench:



A 2 meter wide Malow with 40mm. multiplex top.
It is very stable!
The lower shelf still has to be delivered as it was not in stock while ordering.
Next thing to do is to attach the Ridgid vise to it which I only put loose on top now.

Thom

 

[thomfr]

Fitted the air and power reels in the "new" shop (have to attach the cable and air line to the wall).


Compressor is standing right under the reel so saves piping work until I have more time to make the nice solution.

And then there was light:


Local "Home Depot" had nice LED fixtures on sale (240V 45W) so I bit the bullet and bought 8 of them. Connected them In 2 groups (Left and right side together and the middle 4 ones together). So I can have good light if I just need to do a normal job in the shop and VERY GOOD light if I want to do a job requiring more light (like the electrics on the Alfa which I have to tidy up now urgent).
Please do not look at the mess, I'm still cleaning out (aka installing in the house) all kind of stuff after moving into the new house. It is slow and I hate all the trash/precious material which I'm not allowed to bin by the boss but which looks like glued to the shop for some reason.

Between replacing the second bathroom in the house and replacing the heather I finally managed to "install" the playhouse for our children. It was lying on it's side on my car trailer for 2,5 months and I needed the trailer to pick up a car so the kids where lucky.. ;-).

Also did some fencing (taking the old fence down and mirroring it more or less to the outside of the garden) to avoid the kids running onto the street while playing. It is a quiet street but..
Progress on shop is slow and on my car and cycle projects even slower due to the work still to do at the new house but we are crawling further.
Thom

 

[losvre]

Nice stuff!

I like the Dutch way in many aspects of life. Good Engineers too!

All the best