hopefully getting a garage tonight
 

Hi folks,



Right im hopefully getting the keys to a garage tonight. Nottoo far from home it will allow me to park the bike up and get some rubbish outof the cellar. Nowthen the only garage ive had before was my parents which isheated, has a pit, overhead beam crane and fantastic lighting. This one will bea pre fabbed concrete thing with a corrugated roof and gabs in the walls. In shortits going to be a bit rough.



Sooo what do I need to do to turn it into a home from home.Its rented to I cant demolish it as I would like and build a wondergarage likeowenski and others have. There is no power to it or water. Soo thoughts? Im thinkingthe first thing on the list would be a new lock? And some way of sealing thegaps between the roof and walls?

Re: hopefully getting a garage tonight
 

I had one like that and the bike was fine. If you leave your bike in it over the winter though get one of these to keep the battery topped up as it wont have any power sockets.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/solar-powere...-charger-98358

The only problem I had was with my insurance company. The insurance company wouldn't let me say I kept the bike there because it didn't have it's own postcode so in the end I had to just say I kept it as home under a cover, only added a few quid to the premium anyway.

Re: hopefully getting a garage tonight
 

Id rather have my bike at home where I had my eye on it TBH.

Re: hopefully getting a garage tonight
 

I've always been wary of these garages. The only stories I ever hear is of thefts and kids playing football in those areas. Could you not buy a workshop/shed for in the garden then run a feed down there to it? Rear access to the garden for the bike?

I'd buy some cheap battery powered PIR alarms from ebay, I got one for £6 and its great, I have it in the back of my van and its LOUD! (Companies work van and they wont pay for it to have an alarm).

Re: hopefully getting a garage tonight
 

Its incredible! Never thought I'd consider moving due to lack of a garage. Almost everything is perfect living wise (renting), yet the number of sleepless nights, with people messing with the bike outside the house, means I seriously considered moving.

I presume AndyBrad is in a similar situation to me that he either has no rear garden or access to it (I have no access). I've considered this option but sadly there are none near enough to where I live.

I have one suggestion. A dummy camera outside on the building somewhere can be a good deterrent. I'll leave the rest to those with actual garages (envious) :)

Re: hopefully getting a garage tonight
 

i dont have a garden but a yard. i can and do park the bike in it but having a garage is what ive allways wanted. this may lead onto other things as i only really got a bike in the first place as i couldnt have a garage and needed a tinkering fix (im a classic car guy originally) unfortunatly im now hooked!

Anyhow its basically a fancy shed and needs securing and fixing up a little to bring it anywhere near upt o scratch. any advice is welcomed :)

Re: hopefully getting a garage tonight
 

is this any good as a lock? instead of a padlock im thinking?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50mm-Gate-...item53eb232a4a

Re: hopefully getting a garage tonight
 

Just remember the old adage 'if it's worth locking up, it's worth having' Andy, any twoc'ing scumbags will most likely notice a decent lock and then give your lock up more attention during the research stage..

Has it got power? I'd be looking for some kind of alarm, security lighting if possible (cheap halogen security lights from b&q are £8 ) and then high quality mechanism which could go on the inside of the door so it's hidden from view = good security without advertising it.

In terms of pimping it, paint the walls with light coloured masonry paint and fit as many flurouescent tubes as you can, this will provide and bounce as much light around as possible.

Shelves are good, but old kitchen cupboard units with shelving inside will help you to organise stuff more effectively. If you can't get hold of a 2nd hand kitchen worktop, ikea sell 2.4m lengths for about £30 if you get a generic black one. If you get wall mounted kitchen cupboard units, buy some cheaper 12v mini flurouescent tubes to fit on the lower side of the wall mounted cupboards to throw as much light as you can on the worktop area..

Also a cheap calor gas fire will make the place far more comfortable on chilly evenings. JUST DON'T DECANT PETROL FROM A BIG CONTAINER INTO A JUG IF YOU HAVE ANY NAKED FLAMES NEARBY.

Can't remember if your bike has a can on it, I'd be tempted not to fire the engine up until the garage door is down & locked when riding away, and when returning kill the engine, get the door open/bike in/door shut sharpish. Do as little as possible to advertise that you've got a bike & tools in there.

Ground anchor.

If all the above seems like too much effort, just get in there with the local hells angels & don't p*ss them off.

Re: hopefully getting a garage tonight
 

cheers paul,

unfortunatly its not big enough for worktops and such. i recon i could just about get an mg midget in there :)

there is no power and the doors are crap! im looking at a decent lock and sorting that first but if anyone wants in it wont be too hard. However that said ive never had any problems leaving stuff on the street and the worst ive had is a local youth hand me my keys back after i left them in the bike all night (oops) the bloke whos garage it is owns a bike shop and keeps his tourno and super duke in one and theres also some very expensive expedition type stuff in another so i doubt they will bother with mine. After all a chav wouldnt be seen dead on my bike as its not cool enough :)

yea its got a can on it. not doing me any favours with the locals atm. should probably get a baffle.

Re: hopefully getting a garage tonight
 

why are you paying good money for a garage you'll need to do loads to to make it suitable of housing a nice bike....can't you just throw together a shed/fort knox in your back yard? I'm inclined to agree with my other half, would much rather have the bike closer to home and in the area you live in...