New home for the Zedletts

[johnymd]

Time for change. Those who know me will know I love change and often need a little push to get the ball rolling but once the ball starts rolling its full steam ahead. My little Zedletts need space to develop and grow into something special and I needed somewhere local so I could spend more time playing with them.

So the deal was done on Saturday and I now have a workshop big enough to house them all and be able to work on them. Its not massive but will take 6 cars plus loads of room to work on another. I plan to build a large mezz floor for storage and somewhere sit and chill which will also serve as storage for one of my other businesses. I'm going to start moving in this week but really need to sort the mezz floor as soon as possible.

It will be great having all the cars and parts in the same place and it will give my a chance to sort through what I've got in way of spare so I dont keep buying things I already have. I'll also have the storage space to buy more parts without having to worry about where I'm going to put them. The other plus is my mate from Life Racing being in the unit next door so I need to get the blue car down there now as the ECU is being collected today.

 

[Rob Gaskin]

You are on the slippery slope John, more space = more stuff

I remember filling my garage with car bits and then I got the use of a garage and filled that, then I got another garage and filled that - all with essential spares of course!

Then I lost the use of one of the garages.

Another problem is requests from 'mates' to store their bits.

This is my mate who has a double garage with a pitched roof so spares in that space too. He has 3 kit cars and keeps a car in each daughter's garage.

The second pic is a Z Club member's rally car - now that space is more like it!

 

[STEVE BURNS]

So the deal was done on Saturday and I now have a workshop big enough to house them all and be able to work on them. Its not massive but will take 6 cars plus loads of room to work on another. I plan to build a large mezz floor for storage and somewhere sit and chill which will also serve as storage for one of my other businesses. I'm going to start moving in this week but really need to sort the mezz floor as soon as possible.

So what date is the invitation to the club for the grand opening going to be

 

[Rob Gaskin]

John, to be serious about your 'garage' I bet it's great to have the space and roof over your cars. One of mine is under a cover and it's far from ideal. Also I can't work on them without major rearrangement and good weather.

I enquired about a small 'unit' on a local farm but they wanted £4k/year. For that I would have had to make it earn money and then the pressure would be on and the hobby spoilt. In your position with 6 cars I suppose it makes more sense, especially with prices rising as they are.

Good luck with the mezzanine.

 

[johnymd]

It makes a load of sence to me. It will be part paid for by the ltd company and the shop and is only £260 more than I'm already paying. I can regain 2 of the rooms we currently use for shop stock so we get our house back.

The alternative would be to buy a house with enough land to build a big barn but that won't happen overnight so for the time being this is the best option.

 

[uk66fastback]

Sounds like an ideal solution ... I think we'd ALL like more space for our car(s) ...

A guy I know started out doing the odd Mustang in his garage at home, then took the plunge and got a small unit, then also the unit three away from that one. Frustrated at having to constantly walk between the two - plus drag tools etc, he took a massive unit across the way ... still going strong! It is his business now though ...

I think once you get the mezzanine in and all your tools/spares,/stuff etc (plus all the cars lined up), it'll be the ultimate 'man cave' ...

Looking forward to the first photo ...

 

[SacCyclone]

Congrats on the workshop John. I'm sure your local Zed friends are all hoping you will host the local cars & coffee on Saturday morns. Haha

 

[RIDDLER]

What kind of shop do you have already Johnny?

 

[johnymd]

Mike - As I will generally be there every Saturday, people are always welcome to pop in and organising a coffee morning on sunny Saturdays may not be a bad idea. Although parking may be an issue as they have clear rules about allocated spaces and not blocking the access roads.

I currently use some space at Terry's, which has been invaluable, but I needed more space and local if I'm to continue importing/restoring cars. It's not massive and I may well grow out of the space but it ticks all the boxes at the moment.

 

[jonbills]

Come on, lets have some photos John!

 

[tel240z]

Congrats on the workshop John. I'm sure your local Zed friends are all hoping you will host the local cars & coffee on Saturday morns. Haha

Thats been my job for the last year or so l suspect john will lay some ground rules like entry only if you bring food and bickys something i should have done

 

[TomZupra]

Be a lot more biscuits around if Johnny is at his own workshop

 

[andrew muir]

Hi Johny, I am really jealous!!
Sounds the ideal hobby/man cave!!

 

[johnymd]

At the moment its just an empty shell and I'm still looking at layout and creating an area with home comforts. Cleaned the place up a bit yesterday and collected some industrial racking. The floor area is only 6m x 12m and I want to retain as much of that space for the cars, hence mazzenaine area. I'm looking at haveing a 6m x 4m mezz area at the back of the workshop for storage and somewhere to sit and ponder with space for 2/3 cars underneath but the problem is the location of a post to support the mezz. Could have 2 posts with 2m bays for cars but thats a bit tight. Or 1 post in the middle and have 2 cars underneath with room around them. I'll probably go with the latter. That will then leave me a 6m x 8m ish area at the front to work on 2 more cars and racking/bench down one side. It will soon fill up. I could probable talk Ian into letting me leave a car next door if I'm stuck but I guess 4 cars on the go at any one time is about right. So, no room for anyone elses I'm afraid.