To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

Advising a friend setting up a man-cave

V

venne

Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2024
Messages
19
Location
St. Albert AB
Hi fellow Garage Journalists. I am helping a friend. Lucky guy is fitting out a warehouse to store his Porsche and 1963 corvette. It is a shop bay 22' x 100'. It will also have about 6 bays for friends cars. This is in Cold Edmonton, so 6 month storage is typical. He knows renovations and construction, so he is having his employees fit out the framing, bathroom, bar/lounge area, golf simulator(!!), and wash bay, compressed air and so on. He asked me for advice on what he should have there for tools, tool storage etc. The intent is not to actually do work there, floor is shiny clean with logos in it. But I recommended that he have some items related to vehicles sitting for a long time. and maybe some waxing and polishing.
So I recommend
-battery charger, big one and a couple trickle/maintainers,
-enough tools to take off a tire, tire gauge. Vette has knock-offs.
-tools to take out a battery, clean up
-orbital buffer/polisher and all the consumables needed. (has a guy already for this)
-inspection light,
-long magnetic pickup tool
Darn I had started a list, can't find it now.

I need to see the place and make suggestions for cabinetry to hold the above stuff out of sight. The look is to be "not like a shop, a cleaner place for meetings"

What I am asking the GJ Braintrust: What am I missing?
Any suggestions are appreciated.
This is where my corvette will spend the winter unless I sell it and I buy another mechanic's special project.
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
T

tarmy

Well-known member
Joined
May 28, 2014
Messages
4,684
Location
Nor Cal
Urinal, wash sink, tools…lots of tools, good Jack stands and 3 or 4 floor jacks…I could go on…
 
7

72Anthony

Well-known member
Joined
May 22, 2010
Messages
295
Location
Houston, TX
Since it's long and skinny, how about a tool cart or two with basic tools such as sockets, wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, cordless tools. It's not a fab shop, but these tools will allow some light maintenance.

Also consider a jack & jack stands to handle a flat tire, a nice tire inflator, and a selection of fluids such as motor oils, lube, etc.
 
O

onewheat

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 19, 2012
Messages
1,286
Location
Knoxville, TN
steve308 said:
Number 1... Never refer to it as a Man Cave. Other than that, a better then average alarm system is a must.
Click to expand...

I came to say the same thing. A Man Cave is a small corner of the basement where a controlling wife "allows you" to put a small tube TV and a sports poster next to the furnace. It's an embarrassing term.
 
M

Model A Fan

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 1, 2011
Messages
1,223
Location
NW Washington
How far between floor and rafters? Are you outfitting the whole shop or just the one bay where he will have his car and the rest is up to the friends?
 
H

hobie18

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 29, 2024
Messages
1,181
Multi park lifts, bbq center for parties during the year. All year long. Very large tv, for utibe tutorials of course.
Winterize days, detailing days, coffee and soda machines.

Bouncer.
 
OP
V

venne

Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2024
Messages
19
Location
St. Albert AB
steve308 said:
Number 1... Never refer to it as a Man Cave. Other than that, a better then average alarm system is a must.
Click to expand...
yes, thinking the Porsche Palace, or some other alliterative name. Corvette Cave. Classic Cave. Boomercar warehouse. no winner yet...
 
OP
V

venne

Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2024
Messages
19
Location
St. Albert AB
tarmy said:
Urinal, wash sink, tools…lots of tools, good Jack stands and 3 or 4 floor jacks…I could go on…
Click to expand...
Yes, the floor jack, need that and I didnt have that down. Tks. probably a set of those dollies so the car can be relocated a bit if needed.
 
OP
V

venne

Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2024
Messages
19
Location
St. Albert AB
no704 said:
Kegorator and a good jukebox.
Click to expand...
We (The group of high-school and party years dudes that now collect classics) are getting to that age where lots cannot drink the joy juice anymore. Sad eh? Factors like cardiologists and other nefarious characters are slowly changing the activities... But BYO for the others. And Tunes yes, thanks need to have some old-school music.
 
OP
V

venne

Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2024
Messages
19
Location
St. Albert AB
72Anthony said:
Since it's long and skinny, how about a tool cart or two with basic tools such as sockets, wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, cordless tools. It's not a fab shop, but these tools will allow some light maintenance.

Also consider a jack & jack stands to handle a flat tire, a nice tire inflator, and a selection of fluids such as motor oils, lube, etc.
Click to expand...
yes, selection of fluids, missed that. I should have mentioned there will be some Harleys tucked in there too. might need a bedpan under the old scooters.
 
OP
V

venne

Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2024
Messages
19
Location
St. Albert AB
onewheat said:
I came to say the same thing. A Man Cave is a small corner of the basement where a controlling wife "allows you" to put a small tube TV and a sports poster next to the furnace. It's an embarrassing term.
Click to expand...
Thanks, ManCave is out. There will likely be small parties, which brings in the women occasionally.
 
OP
V

venne

Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2024
Messages
19
Location
St. Albert AB
Model A Fan said:
How far between floor and rafters? Are you outfitting the whole shop or just the one bay where he will have his car and the rest is up to the friends?
Click to expand...
20 feet high, so there will be a mezzanine/ the upstairs where the golf sim, tv and bar are. Also going to install 2 lifts to increase the storage capacity. I think the lifts are electric, so no need to have hydraulic oil on hand, but any other maintenance items we might need for electric ones?
for the other question, he is setting up the whole shop for 8-10 cars. others will pay a monthly fee to store there. Since he happens to be the owner, he gets the prime storage spots and will choose to have the Porsche and Corvette logos inlaid into the main floor. I'm glad he doesn't have other logos in mind. If it were up to me it would be Corvette and Monte Carlo.
 
H

hobie18

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 29, 2024
Messages
1,181
Paying for it year-round. Make it useful year-round. Get a lot of use out of it.
 
OP
V

venne

Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2024
Messages
19
Location
St. Albert AB
hobie18 said:
Multi park lifts, bbq center for parties during the year. All year long. Very large tv, for utibe tutorials of course.
Winterize days, detailing days, coffee and soda machines.

Bouncer.
Click to expand...
Yes, the bouncer. Need to think about that one.
TV is covered. we will probably want wifi maybe
 
M

Model A Fan

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 1, 2011
Messages
1,223
Location
NW Washington
Indoor car wash and detailing section would be REALLY nice, along with a large enough hot water heater to do a car. Steam cleaning tools and a dumpster, not the little roll around trash carts.
 
D

dcg9381

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 20, 2018
Messages
11,778
Location
Austin, TX
venne said:
-battery charger, big one and a couple trickle/maintainers,
-enough tools to take off a tire, tire gauge. Vette has knock-offs.
-tools to take out a battery, clean up
-orbital buffer/polisher and all the consumables needed. (has a guy already for this)
-inspection light,
-long magnetic pickup tool
Click to expand...
I've had access to a "shared" space like this for years. It was a bit of a "co-op". We had a lift and a meeting space on the top floor. Everyone contributed "stuff" and helped do the finish work, financially everyone paid a bit per month.

I don't think I'd want to "share" tools in general, let alone with 6 people. We had a few very basic tools around, but people brought their own. If I was doing finish work or an electrical project, I brought my own tools and cleaned up after.

I wouldn't want to share polishers / car care items either. Leave something on the pad and that's a problem.

We did have "clean up day" every 1-2 months or so.. Logistics to consider, trash - bathrooms, etc.

And what to do if the keg floats... :)


venne said:
I need to see the place and make suggestions for cabinetry to hold the above stuff out of sight. The look is to be "not like a shop, a cleaner place for meetings"
Click to expand...
Dunno what you're looking for, but I just bought cabinets from New Age. Pretty impressed with their stuff so far.

We built a "mobile bar" on wheels. Helps to be able to re-arrange things.

With the right guys, anything is possible, but only takes one ******** to make things sideways. You guys have a process to "vote someone off the island"? Or at least one person deciding that. We had "probationary periods". Not everyone made it out of probation.
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
W

Wubicon

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 10, 2025
Messages
368
Garbage cans in convenient locations. Which probably means lots of them.
Also, with a golf simulator I quickly found that places to put a couple individual clubs so they don't slide over is really nice to have. And places to set down a drink too.
 
T

TRWham

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 11, 2017
Messages
1,961
Location
East Cobb County, Georgia
venne said:
... This is in Cold Edmonton, so 6 month storage is typical...
Click to expand...
A car stored that long needs to be off its wheels to prevent flat spotting tires and Brinelling bearings. Brinelling during storage may be rare in practice, but flat spotting is certainly not.
 
Last edited:
OP
V

venne

Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2024
Messages
19
Location
St. Albert AB
dcg9381 said:
I've had access to a "shared" space like this for years. It was a bit of a "co-op". We had a lift and a meeting space on the top floor. Everyone contributed "stuff" and helped do the finish work, financially everyone paid a bit per month.

I don't think I'd want to "share" tools in general, let alone with 6 people. We had a few very basic tools around, but people brought their own. If I was doing finish work or an electrical project, I brought my own tools and cleaned up after.

I wouldn't want to share polishers / car care items either. Leave something on the pad and that's a problem.

We did have "clean up day" every 1-2 months or so.. Logistics to consider, trash - bathrooms, etc.

And what to do if the keg floats... :)



Dunno what you're looking for, but I just bought cabinets from New Age. Pretty impressed with their stuff so far.

We built a "mobile bar" on wheels. Helps to be able to re-arrange things.

With the right guys, anything is possible, but only takes one ******** to make things sideways. You guys have a process to "vote someone off the island"? Or at least one person deciding that. We had "probationary periods". Not everyone made it out of probation.
Click to expand...
Good thoughts, this will help. as for the cabinets, I just want to make sure he has two large ones for Polisher and battery charger, not all small drawers. But we will need some small ones for a basic set of hand tools, DVM, torque wrench, code reader. You all have helped. Thanks
 
N

NORTON'S SHOP

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 30, 2010
Messages
1,580
Location
Upper Midwest
Model A Fan said:
Indoor car wash and detailing section would be REALLY nice, along with a large enough hot water heater to do a car. Steam cleaning tools and a dumpster, not the little roll around trash carts.
Click to expand...
If you're gonna go with the hot water heater, you might just as well get the hot steam cleaning tools as well. :ROFLMAO:
 
T

TurnipTruck

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 28, 2005
Messages
1,571
Location
Southcentral Alaska
dcg9381 said:
With the right guys, anything is possible, but only takes one ******** to make things sideways. You guys have a process to "vote someone off the island"? Or at least one person deciding that. We had "probationary periods". Not everyone made it out of probation.
Click to expand...
Yes, an exit plan in writing ahead of time is more than a good idea, it is a necessity.

In my case, we had to sell a large piece of equipment to get rid of half of the co-owners who turned out to be hogs and abusers and incompetent mechanics, so the other half had to maintain.
 
D

dcg9381

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 20, 2018
Messages
11,778
Location
Austin, TX
TurnipTruck said:
Yes, an exit plan in writing ahead of time is more than a good idea, it is a necessity.
Click to expand...
Yep, super critical in shared space. We had one person who had control of the building, but "membership" decisions were by group. As long as there is no equity ownership, should be as easy as month-to-month lease if you wanted to set it up that way. We never set up leases, it was always informal... And worked well. But that's the right group of guys.


I'd use the old bar trick and name it "The Library".
 
OP
V

venne

Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2024
Messages
19
Location
St. Albert AB
Metal-Marc said:
How about your friend registers and participates in the thread himself? Pictures would be nice too.
Click to expand...
How do I comment about him in a nice way? .. He is not the college type.
And if you think about it, joining a community like this and asking for help is a way of saying "I don't know everything". Some people don't like to admit that. In this forum the wise old ones have done things, made mistakes, learned life's lessons. Smart people.
I can attach photos later.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom