Storage

[Nolatoolguy]

I was wondering how much "junk"do you guys have to store

I have a bunch of random parts, materials, aircompreser tank, tablesaw with no motor, etc.

I got to the point were I need to look around for a storage unit. I was using my aunts garge but shes buying a new car and wants to keep it in her garge witch I respect. She has been generous enough to let me use her garge for a little while.

I really have to ask myself is some of the materials worth keeping or should I just try selling on craigslist.

I think paying to store your own stuff is the stupidest thing ever. I mean we have a house and a yard why cant we just put crap in a shed in back. But no my town has a stupid restriction of maximum outbuilding square footage. With we allready exceed(we have two sheds both placed before that restriction was put in place). If I had my way I would just got buy a old beat up semi trailer or shipping container and get her put in the back but my mom and neighbors already hate the 22 foot trailer in the driveway.

[Branson]

I'm facing a similar problem.  I can put two 10X12 sheds in my back yard, no problem.  But I want a workshop, and I want to be able to rip a 10 foot board without being outside in the rain, as well as space for shelves and shelves of tools, work benches, and a couple stationary machines.  That's a different critter.  Can't be done without a permit.  But the permit can't be issued without the plans going through a design review board at the City Planning Commission.  Got about half way through the process, making additions to the shed for "architectural compatibility" and then ran into one of the building design people who insisted on detailed drawings of the trusses and their method of attachment (this for a commercially built shed).  Great.  Now I'm supposed to hire an architect to do all the drawings.  Then he said that concrete piers wouldn't do -- it had to have a poured concrete foundation with J bolts.  He penciled up a rough sketch, and that included an attached concrete slab.  He added that it was all very complicated and he couldn't possibly explain it to me.  Just another $2,500 apparently doesn't mean much to him, but it means the project now costs more than I have.  Shipping containers would be nixed as architecturally incompatible.  Otherwise, he opined, I could move to Idaho and put up anything I wanted.

It seems silly, and some of it is silly.  But these rules were put in place because of some of the ramshackle monstrosities people people have put up.  I saw one made almost entirely of pallets nailed together.    Some people have put up a bunch of sheds that nearly cover their back yards.  This is dangerous to both you and your neighbors, since, if nothing else, it impedes firemen trying to fight a fire.  Trying to snake through a whole bunch of sheds is a bad idea.

[john k]

I am so glad I'm in an area without covenants, restrictions or building inspectors.  I have a house, with full basement, which is full.   An old frame 10x19 building that is slowly becoming my blacksmith shop, hey got a new roof on it.  Plus my shop which is 20x40, which I moved in from another farm.  Now the wife is making noises about wanting a garage, something about scraping windshields all winter.  Don't want to make it too big or it will be another catch all, or too small as little garages really bite.   Nola, sounds like its time to thin the herd, look at it real hard, and make a trip to the scrap iron place, which will put cash in your pocket. 

[Bus]

Nolatoolguy, maybe you could bury a semi trailer or shipping container! I had a friend who buried an old school bus he used for storage when his neighbors complained about about it in his back yard.

[johnsironsanctuary]

Nola, I feel your pain. My wife is pushing hard for me to sell my 30 ft semi trailer because it costs $40 a month in the storage yard. Maybe Bus has a good idea.

Branson,

(Shipping containers would be nixed as architecturally incompatible.)
What would happen if you made a shipping container compatible with a peaked roof with shingles and furring strips with vinyl siding and maybe a fake window or two with curtains. Submit a digitally enhanced photo for approval.

[rusty]

Build an underground fallout shelter ;P

No architectural compatablity issues if you can't see it ;P

And when the "big one" comes you can sit in it and look at the last ten non-radioactive wrenches still in existance....

[Neals]

Bury a c can and call it a tornado shelter. Should be able to get a permit for that. On the other hand the cost of a c can and burying it would pay rent  for quite a while on a garage or storage unit. Guess it depends how long you plan to live where you are.

[Nolatoolguy]

I know theres a reason for the building codes and city ordinances but they can really be annoying.

"thin the herd" oh boy, your not talking about getting rid of my beloved junk now are you? Ok, so maybe some of it I can sell on craigslist or at the scrap yard. Ok its hard to say but I did put several adds up on craigslist.

Dont be giving me ideas on burrying a storage trailer. I just might be crazy enough to do it. Who knows maybe I will be lucky enough to strike oil well digging the whole.

We looked into a few local storage places. We found one, and we planed on leasing a 15x20 unit and packing it tight. My mom then got the idea as she really hates the featherlite car hauler in the driveway to put it in a storage unit. So now the plan is to rent a 30x30 unit an put the trailer in there as well. The price is actually much cheaper then we would of thought. Its just gonna be a hassle when we need something. Hopefully the adds on craigslist will sell soon, we already got a few calls on a few things so that will thin the herd and pay for storage for a few monthes.

[Branson]

I know theres a reason for the building codes and city ordinances but they can really be annoying.

Tell me about it!!  I've been dickering with a city planning commission for a few months now just to put up a 12X24 commercially made shed.  Has to go through a design review board, which costs around $240 on top of the permit, if they pass it.  Got through the design people (unofficially) and they loved what they saw.  Then some other section said they  couldn't approve the concrete pier foundation, and they required a poured 12" foundation, but when the fellow sketched the construction of that, it showed not just a foundation, but a contiguous pad.  And he wanted architects drawings and specifications for the commercial trusses (which he said was too complicated for me to understand) and also drawings and specifications for the framing that supported the doors, and.....

[rusty]

>architects drawings and specifications for the commercial trusses (which he said was too complicated for me to understand)

It is also too complicated for an Architect ;P
An architects statment of the load carrying capacty of a structure is utterly worthless. Only a certified engineer can make a usefull statment of such...

*sigh*

[Nolatoolguy]

I am in a vocational program at school for construction trades. I have learned alot when it comes to framing and blueprint reading.

I must say that the architects plans can be very complicated and talking to a engineer that came in makes me confused with all the formulas of snow load, wind rating, and 5,000 more formulas he uses. Boy was I confused the by the end of that day. I will stick to leting them draw and me build whatevers on paper.