ToolsnTrack
Posted a lot
Homebrew Raconteur
Posts: 4,128
Club RR Member Number: 134
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Have been posting this on Garage Journal, but you fellas might be into it too... I've been itching for some proper tinker space for ages. At the moment, I have nearly 5 cars (more on the "nearly" later) and I have always struggled with the space needed to feed my mechanical habit. A few years ago, I chipped in with a Filancia on here and rented a double unit in Glasgow...  With one car each it (and mine being the larger one) it didnt take long for the clutter to accumulate. After a couple of years, the space is not (for me) little more than storage. Oh, and thats the first car on the list... Number 1: Chevy Camaro Move on a few years, and I've bought a house 150 miles away from the rented garage. Still paying for it, and its doing nothing more than keeping the Camaro dry. That said, the house came with some fringe benefits...  A driveway and a lean-to garage. Only a single but definitely a step up! Oh, and meet car 2: MK1 MR2, with its ganky winter wheels on. It normally looks like this:  Anyway, inside this little single car hovel:  ...its cramped. Realistically, I can't fit a car in, so I bought half a car to fill it. Meet car 3: The Locost 7  Its a long term kit build, and for those who don't know, it will look something like this when its finished:  (I hope) So I essentially have no space for storing and working on my fleet (2 more to list...). Well, no covered space. I do, however, have a monster garden...  About 45 foot by 120 foot of property space. This pic is the end of the garden, and to my left is a LPG tank. This will be a consideration, but only a mild one. A bit of research later, and last week I put down the deposit on a 28' by 24' prefab concrete garage.  |
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ToolsnTrack
Posted a lot
Homebrew Raconteur
Posts: 4,128
Club RR Member Number: 134
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Councils can be funny up here, so with planning permission granted, and more importantly environmental department checked to ensure those trees are not protected, it was time to buy some "old fashioned tools"  The woman at the till asked if I had big plans at the weekend. Seriously. So my response was clear: "I'm going to put on some Phil Collins and lay some PVC". She didnt get it. Anyway, chop chop!  Wont need to buy firewood for the next year...   Top marks for missing that composter, eh?  No. Maybe not....  This was an interesting injury to explain at work...  Let the drying begin! Thats the trees cleared that need to go for the garage. Still, the stumps are next.... |
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ToolsnTrack
Posted a lot
Homebrew Raconteur
Posts: 4,128
Club RR Member Number: 134
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More progress last weekend:  All usable firefood taken, and i still have this quantity of "kindling" left over. I predict a bonfire this Sunday... All trees now chopped. Time to start removing those roots. A job i did not relish, as looking at the trunk structure i could imagine the roots were somewhat labyrinthed underground. As it happens, I'm actually quite glad I took these trees down now. They are over 30' in length, and had very little in the way of root structure. Just helluva big trunks buried in the ground!! Dug around them to the depth of a couple of foot, and chopped all roots i could find. I think there must be about a half a ton in weight in these big bastids! Time for an introduction to car #4:  The Suzuki Vitara. A tow rope around the tow bar, 4wd in low transfer, and we were off.  Out! And the next one...  Leaving me with this....  Nice little crater. That leaves me with 2 more stumps to remove. Let the weekend fun begin tomorrow! |
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Why can't I have a garden this big !!!
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Perfect start.
Council - check
EPA - check
B&Q - check
Blisters - check
Tea - check
More tea - check
Blood - nope (thankfully)
Sweat - check
Tears - you tell us
Stump puller - check
Satisfaction - you betcha - check
Well done.
Chainsaw would have been great.
Remember, those stumps and thick roots burn well too.
Looking forward to checking off the craters and more jobs.
Well done.
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Last Edit: Mar 2, 2013 6:57:03 GMT by grizz
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Excellent work!
What you now need to do is invite 'the lads' over for a BBQ and Beers session ......... but before they get too comfy hand them a spade and tell em 'dinner' will be ready when the groundwork is done ;D
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ToolsnTrack
Posted a lot
Homebrew Raconteur
Posts: 4,128
Club RR Member Number: 134
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Another weekend, another prgress update! Set about the scrawny stump on the far left. No action for a week, so i decided to break in gently. 3 hours in and i had this:  Pretty easy all things considered. left a nice gap though!!  The next step was the horrible big stump on the right. Ugh, this one had 7 trunks from its base, so there was no doubt it was going to have a grip on the earth. Not wrong! Spent the rest of saturday merely stracthing the surface! Sunday came, and i decided on a new tactic. Had been attaching the roots with a basic digging spade, and axe, and a wood saw. Problem is the base has soooo many straggly little roots which hinder the spade breaking the soil. Its densly packed! As a result, i nipped up to the local garden centre and bought a hand trowel...  Changed times. If only 20 year old me could see that transaction. Long story short, it worked! Vitara had its work cut out hauling it but got there in the end.  Site cleared! Still not sure what to do with the stump though. It is a beast....  Its still lying there. I'm out of steam..... still, job done! |
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10mpg
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,253
Club RR Member Number: 204
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Good work! \Looking forward to progress shots....
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The Internet, like all tools, if used improperly, can make a complete bo**cks of even the simplest jobs...
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bazzateer
Posted a lot
Imping along sans Vogue
Posts: 3,653
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Excellant work! Re the concrete garage, is it a brand new one?
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1968 Singer Chamois Sport
1972 Sunbeam Imp Sport
1976 Datsun 260Z 2+2
1998 Peugeot Boxer Pilote motorhome
2003 Rover 75 1.8 Club SE (daily)
2006 MG ZT 190+ (another daily)
2007 BMW 530d Touring M Sport (tow car)
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brilliant reading! its amazing how much room chopped down trees can take up. i did this at the start of last year and luckilt got someone to take it away for firewood. look forward to your progress.
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@ CRX_IN_SCOTLAND
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ToolsnTrack
Posted a lot
Homebrew Raconteur
Posts: 4,128
Club RR Member Number: 134
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Excellant work! Re the concrete garage, is it a brand new one? Certainly is. Will be delivered around mid May, so need to get the prep sorted sharpish! |
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hamps
Posted a lot
www.medwayrscentre.co.uk
Posts: 2,077
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Awesome keep the updates regular |
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bazzateer
Posted a lot
Imping along sans Vogue
Posts: 3,653
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Excellant work! Re the concrete garage, is it a brand new one? Certainly is. Will be delivered around mid May, so need to get the prep sorted sharpish! Cool! Look forward to watching the progress. |
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1968 Singer Chamois Sport
1972 Sunbeam Imp Sport
1976 Datsun 260Z 2+2
1998 Peugeot Boxer Pilote motorhome
2003 Rover 75 1.8 Club SE (daily)
2006 MG ZT 190+ (another daily)
2007 BMW 530d Touring M Sport (tow car)
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ToolsnTrack
Posted a lot
Homebrew Raconteur
Posts: 4,128
Club RR Member Number: 134
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 Getting a bit itchy feet now, so i mocked up a scale sketch of how everything might fit together. Good news is the 2 "shorties" (MR2 on maintenance work and Lotus 7 rep full build) will fit lengthways with room to spare, and i reckon the wiggle room between one side of a car and another will be ample. Really glad at this as squeezing out of a car or shuffling down the door to get under it when working on it is my biggest irritance. I like plenty of room when I'm working. Also, plenty of room in front of the Camaro for a workspace. Now, how to best make use of that..... |
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MiataMark
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,971
Club RR Member Number: 29
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Something I've done in the past is draw up the plans in 1:43 (or whatever) scale and use models to get an idea of space etc. Or cut out shapes to move around.
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1990 Mazda MX-52012 BMW 118i (170bhp) - white appliance 2011 Land Rover Freelander 2 TD4 2003 Land Rover Discovery II TD52007 Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon JTDm
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Something I've done in the past is draw up the plans in 1:43 (or whatever) scale and use models to get an idea of space etc. Or cut out shapes to move around. Lego and 1:43 scale models? good excuse to play with lego to lol. |
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Mar 10, 2013 11:22:27 GMT
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Something I've done in the past is draw up the plans in 1:43 (or whatever) scale and use models to get an idea of space etc. Or cut out shapes to move around. With appropriate brum brum noises as well ;D (cos i know i would end up making em .......  ) |
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MiataMark
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,971
Club RR Member Number: 29
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Mar 10, 2013 11:52:50 GMT
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Something I've done in the past is draw up the plans in 1:43 (or whatever) scale and use models to get an idea of space etc. Or cut out shapes to move around. With appropriate brum brum noises as well ;D (cos I know I would end up making em ....... ) But of course and the use of models of cars I'd never ever be able to afford.... |
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1990 Mazda MX-52012 BMW 118i (170bhp) - white appliance 2011 Land Rover Freelander 2 TD4 2003 Land Rover Discovery II TD52007 Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon JTDm
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Mar 10, 2013 12:35:16 GMT
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i used google sketchup to mock up my garage when i was building it... great wee program.. 3d modelling etc... and it's free!!! my kind of soft ware. can't reccomend it highly enough.
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That's some terrific stump pulling you've done there. I dealt with three large stumps in my garden by hand 'cos I couldn't get a vehicle near enough. It's amazing how well a handful of puny looking roots can hold on to the earth!
I'll second Google (now Trimble) SketchUp. The learning curve is gentle and instant results can be had. You can even export views as PDF files to use as printed out plans with dimensions. Top software. I've bought the full version that gives extra export options for work as I often produce 3D drawings.
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Peugeot 307sw - Suzuki SV650S - MX5.
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)