EEVblog LAB Upgrade - Question

[Ronald1962]

I am shocked!  What a huge place, shown on the pictures...

Do you really need that much space?

Your garage was full, your actual office is almost full. I guess that the new room
will gettin' full also.

Many people have this problem (me too). More space means more room for storing things
you not really need...

Your video cutting / rendering / upload  work should be done at home. Pretty close to your family.
 
Your Family will be more happy when you are doing this at home.

And when your family is happy, you will be happy.

And when Dave is happy, we will be happy...

[free_electron]

BTW, this is a view in through the open roller door at a place we looked at today which we (SWMBO) really liked.
It's carpeted, but that could be ripped up and the floor coated to make a good mechanical type workshop.
There is another 3 office type rooms behind that + entry foyer + kitchen area.

you got a winner.

one room for video editing,  kitchen (which you must paint google style, beanbags, fully stocked fridge ). rip out a wall between two offices to create the 'lab'

that one has potential

stay away from the other huge cavernous one... sound recording will be a nightmare.. echoes echoes echoes... and whenever a butterfly flaps its wings nextdoor it'll pick up.

the low ceiling one is better. convert the carpeted garage area back to cement floor (epoxy coated) for machinery workshop and c5 rework.
convert office spaces to lab. And make a google-style kitchen.  most likely the interior walls are loose frame and can be knocked out very easily.

[calexanian]

Photos!!! Need Photos!!

[jebcom]

Well, how about a simple answer to the inquiry that you originally posed.

My opinion - go for #2 with the warehouse type space, as long as you can live with the workflow of uploading your videos from home.

I love my detached double-depth garage that lets me do almost anything I want. Plus my American style basement with its own workable if small shop/lab area. I can't imagine trying to do all the stuff I like to do if I was limited to a pure office space.

John

[Bored@Work]

Don't forget to also buy one of those

[BennyBoy]

What ever you do, make sure you buy it, as rent is for losers! If we all could toss in $20. a piece, that would most likely get you a large down payment.

[Dr. Frank]

.. Plus my American style basement with its own workable if small shop/lab area. I can't imagine trying to do all the stuff I like to do if I was limited to a pure office space.

John

Hello John,

also love my basement mechanical & analogue labs.. quite comfortable..

Would you mind explaining what is an American style basement?

Frank

[madshaman]

Damn, that video blogging lark must be paying well.  I'm obviously in the wrong business!

Anyway, I would make it an absolute necessity for a mechanical workspace.  If you can't run at least a drill press, and a power saw then you are limiting your hackymakeyness immensly.  Compressor too is very handy and they are bloody loud.

So on that basis, warehouse space with office.  No question.

+infinity

NEVER underestimate the full power of unrestrained hackymakeyness and the room and tools to do it in.

[Bored@Work]

NEVER underestimate the full power of unrestrained hackymakeyness and the room and tools to do it in.

Well, well ... Seeing that Dave has the same problem many of us have, keeping the lab from degrading into a pigsty, I have serious doubts that a larger lab or workshop will be beneficial. I don't think he is going to introduce the strict routine used in well run workshops to keep the place in order. Or to hire a cleaning hand. But it is his money (or the bank's), if he wants to spend it ...

[Towger]

You could rebuild your house for 400k. I am not sure eatching your own boards is a good excuse. How often are you going to do it? One episode?
You could shoot it in the bedroom, where we all did it 30+ Years ago :-)

[jpb]

.. Plus my American style basement with its own workable if small shop/lab area. I can't imagine trying to do all the stuff I like to do if I was limited to a pure office space.

John

Hello John,

also love my basement mechanical & analogue labs.. quite comfortable..

Would you mind explaining what is an American style basement?

Frank

I'm not American so probably have this wrong, but a lot of American houses on the East Coast at least are heated with hot air furnaces which are in the basement so basements tend to be large and warm and good for hobbies etc. Basements in the UK tend to be dark and damp except in London where they have all been converted into flats.

[electronics man]

You could shoot it in the bedroom, where we all did it 30+ Years ago :-)

what do you meen we did some of us still do

[Rasz]

At this point you might as well sell current lab, sell the house and move out of that Internet shithole.
Taiwan is beautiful, cheap, has decent internet, infrastructure, and is just a rock throw from China\electronics mecca.

Is there anything that holds you in AU?

[sacherjj]

One other thing to factor in here, Dave.  Having a work shop will be very handy for teaching your son in a few years.  It is sad how few people know how to use tools to do anything. 

Why is it that this poll makes me think someone is flipping me off?

[TheAmmoniacal]

Go for the bigger space, for the internet issue - just leave the upload on before going to bed. You plan on doing this for a long time, exploring newer and larger things seems like a natural progression.

[jancumps]

You could shoot it in the bedroom, where we all did it 30+ Years ago :-)

what do you meen we did some of us still do

I used the parent's bedroom because that's where the solarium with all the UV TL tubes was.

[electronics man]

You could shoot it in the bedroom, where we all did it 30+ Years ago :-)

what do you meen we did some of us still do

I used the parent's bedroom because that's where the solarium with all the UV TL tubes was.

I sometimes do it in my lab (my bedroom)

[lemmegraphdat]

The internet connection is key so option 1.

[codeboy2k]

My Internet connection at home really sucks...



Dave, go for the space over the Internet.  You are not limited to ADSL at your business, you should be able to get something better over copper. It's just that you might have to pay to have the line(s) properly equalized and or install repeaters as needed.  This should be a one time cost to get you a decent upload speed over copper.   ADSL is only good for home use; damn the telecoms that want to try to sell ADSL for business and make it expensive, but useless.

Furthermore, if the telco is unwilling to give you dry lines and condition them for you, then you should still be able to order (as an example only)  10 x 20M/1M ADSL2+ connections, if that's all they are selling.   Bonding these 10 connections into 1 connection is really, really easy with a Linux server at your office;  You need an approx. outlay of 10 x $50 for some decent DSL modems (modems only! no routers are needed) and then the linux server needs 10 ethernet ports (so 3 x 4-port cards) maybe $50 each.. so you have a NR cost of $650 + $1000 for the linux server. $1650 to $2000 max initial costs.  Then you have monthly fees of 10x the telco lines for the ADSL which might be $800/month total.  That gives you 200M down and 10M up. You even might be able to get a DSL server on ebay for less than $500

However, if the telco can condition the lines and can give you 10M up for less cost than this (i.e. a few hundred a month), it's a good deal.

Cheers!

[calexanian]

Here in the US broadband is cheap and fast so its not really a concern, in most business parks anyways. Here in fresno an office/warehouse condo in our decent neighborhood is about $2000 a month plus utilities for a place thats about lets say has an office, a bathroom, receptionist area, a  lab area, and a roll up door warehouse. about 1800 square feet.. We used to be in one years ago. Just to give you a comparison, however the place you put up a picture up of is way nicer. I have a feeling Baulkham Hills is a much better place than Fresno. I only say a half dozen homeless people on our street today (No lie)

[SgtRock]

Dear Dave:

--As gamblers are wont to say "Go big, or don't go at all". Have you considered buying a property with multiple garage/shop/storage/retail units. We have a lot of this sort of thing very near me, here in East Orlando and they stay rented. A very good play is retail workshop (automotive, plumbing, AC etc.) in the front with rental shop units in the back. In the midst of the great recession, business rental units rent better than ever. I am sure you must have that sort of thing in Sydney. You are a going concern, and you have some capital. I see no reason why the banks would not at least give you a look. Between you and the Mrs. you should be able to manage the thing if it is not too large, say 3 to 10 units, and be well rewarded for your time.

--I have several friends who have shops in a industrial rental shop complex, and they build a small office room inside and HVAC it only to save energy. A couple of these friends even (don't tell) even live in the office to save money while they are building the business. I am going to be out of my residence for several months, while a complete rehab is done, and I may well just rent and (don't tell) live in one of these, being a bachelor.

"I do believe it is the first time in history that fire has ever melted steel."
Rosie O'Donnell
1962  -
 
Best Regards
Clear Ether

[jhalar]

And then you can get stupid siutations like my building which techncially has fibre into it, but Telstra own it and want to charge $8000/month (yes $8K for 10M/10M ethernet)

Optus are similar in pricing unfortunately. Its time to ditch the main carriers for other providers.
You can get multi copper pair SHDSL internet services at 20M/20M 750GB/month for $1000/month or less for 10M/10M.

[EEVblog]

than again, if your house sits on ground level. have you considered renovating it to include a lab space?

Not possible unless we moved.

[EEVblog]

the low ceiling one is better. convert the carpeted garage area back to cement floor (epoxy coated) for machinery workshop and c5 rework.
convert office spaces to lab. And make a google-style kitchen.  most likely the interior walls are loose frame and can be knocked out very easily.

Yes, they can be.
But could likely use it all as-is apart from the carpet in the garage.

[EEVblog]

Well, well ... Seeing that Dave has the same problem many of us have, keeping the lab from degrading into a pigsty, I have serious doubts that a larger lab or workshop will be beneficial. I don't think he is going to introduce the strict routine used in well run workshops to keep the place in order. Or to hire a cleaning hand. But it is his money (or the bank's), if he wants to spend it ...

Yeah, but now I'd have a pigsty with a workshop area.