Your shop looks awesome! I want to do the same. Do you have any tips?
Certainly! Brace yourself:
Space
- When looking for a space, keep in mind that bigger spaces usually
have a smaller cost per square foot. Go big or go home. In our
experience it's not very hard to find somebody interested in renting
a car/project spot. Whether they're willing to pay what you charge, whether
they're reliable and trustworthy -- that's a much harder question to
answer. Make sure you know the people you're accepting as
sublettors, or at least somebody you trust is vouching for them.
- Make sure the lease allows subletting and doesn't require you to
pass on a certain percentage of the sublease rent to your landlord.
- The landlord may require you to get a General Liability
insurance. Ours is about $1200/year for $1mil coverage.
- If you're planning on putting in a lift, make sure the concrete slab
is thick enough. Ours is 1/2" over the minimum 4" required for a
two-post, but I'm glad we knew before ordering! Just drill a test
hole and use a coathanger to measure (bend it into a little L, stick
it into the hole until you can hook under the slab, pinch the hangar
at the floor, pull it out and measure from your fingers to the L
bend)
- Btw, if you're putting in a lift bolted down to the concrete slab,
you're going to have to buy a rotary hammer. A little "normal"
hammer drill won't work (we tried and tried and about burned it
out. On the first hole. There were 11 after it.)
- You want electricity (at least 110V and 220V, 480V 3-phase is ideal --
second-hand 3ph tools are WAY cheaper) and at least one bathroom. A shower is a huge plus!
- Security: you're going to store a bunch of cars and tools in there,
so you want the place to be reasonably secure. If there are any
windows (e.g. in the door), apply obscuring film. Also, get a bunch
of cheap USB/WiFi-capable security cameras. As a bonus, they'll let
you see if any of your friends are currently at the shop (or if someone is already on the lift).
Money
- After rent, insurance, utilities, etc. you will have some sort of
idea what things space is going to cost you (an arm and a leg,
that's what). Divide up the money over the spots and round up
liberally. Use the extra money as a buffer when people pay late and
to buy tools and consumables for the shop. Given that many tools
are hundreds or thousands of dollars, you will probably have to
both round up liberally and be the one to finance some of them in advance.
- Even if you're doing this with good friends, even if you're
positive that no one would ever be late on rent, write in a
late-rent penalty into your sublease. Seriously. This is actually
the number one caveat BY FAR. It caused the most consternation over
the first year because we assumed pleas like "seriously, we have to
pay the difference out of my pocket" and "guys, SERIOUSLY we do not
have an extra $1000/mo to cover several of you" would be enough for
people to pay on time. People will still (occasionally) be late. So, the 2nd+ year's
sublease has a penalty and is due no later than 3 days before the
first of the month. So far, so good.
- Make a friend-access pricing up front (inevitably, someone's friend
will start to hang around more and more, and then start to change
their oil...and fix their exhaust...and whatever. And members
paying full rent will be all "wtf, man! why do I have to pay?").
- We charge $20/hr or $100/weekend. That fee includes "reasonable" usage of
consumables, like the abrasive in the blast cabinet.
- Friends must be accompanied by a member at all times.
- Whatever permissions for borrowing the host member has with other
members of the shop does not transfer to the friend unless
explicitly granted (meaning, "don't borrow shit")
Amenities
- Get lots of shelves.
- Get internet + WiFi. We charge people +$20/mo to use it. For us
that basically covers it perfectly. Any extra money you can invest
in the shop's infrastructure (e.g. wifi cables).
- Get a stereo(s) with an apple airport express so people can stream
to it (if they pay for WiFi).
- Get a fridge off Craigslist. Get a washing mashine off Craigslist.
- Get a couch (great for eating lunch/dinner. Worst case, it's a
mediocre bed.). Don't pay for the couch, it's going to be ruined in
the first 10 minutes you own it. Freecycle/Free Stuff on CL.
- You need more shelves.
- Have a lost-and-found section (people will leave tools in the common area)
- Have a lot of garbage bins (don't forget to set up garbage service)
- Have a first aid kit handy and several well-located fire extinguishers.
- If there's not a utility sink, you'll need to put at least one in.
- Think you have enough shelves? You don't.
- Fast Orange or similar hand scrubbing goop, finger nail brushes
(THEY ARE NOT PARTS CLEANER BRUSHES GODDAMMIT!), and old towels
- Make a little general store that sells common consumables (paper
towels, Oil Dri (or kitty litter), nitrile gloves, etc) at cost (round up to the next dollar) and is restocked
frequently. Because people with the convenient/foot-trafficy spots will find
their consumables being "borrowed" an unreasonable amount. Here's a
list of things in our store:
- Costco nitrile gloves in sizes M and L ($12 a box), heavy-duty
nitrile gloves ($20 a box)
- Jugs of kitty litter / sacks of Oil-Dri for oil spills ($10 for 40
lbs)
- Shop towels ($2 a roll)
- Foil turkey pans (bulk from Costco sold for $1 apiece. Great for
drippy things)
- Littler foil pans (also bulk from Costco, $0.50 apiece)
- Clear plastic bins + lids ($2 apiece, I think)
- Cheap (but functional) 12V battery chargers
- $1 bin: AA batteries, sharpies, crappy flashlights, electrical tape
- $5 dollar bin: safety glasses, little cans of wd-40, little
bottles of loctite
Cleanliness
- Collect as many plastic 1 gal jugs as you can -- used oil needs to be put
in something -- at year 3 of Rat Hack, we actually signed up with an oil recycling service, who comes and swaps 50 gallon drums when we fill ours..
- Be very strict about not leaving common areas and common tools in a
messy state, leaving trash and used consumables (oil) in common
areas, etc.
- Insist that people regularly sweep the common areas around their
spot to keep the shop generally clean and free from spikey metal
objects that puncture tires, such as bolts and nails. See also:
magnetic roller.
See also:
Rat Hack Rules