Gear Storage

Hi guys,
we are currently trying to figure out where to store the rather considerable amount of gear nzLARPS owns.
Mike’s shed is so-to-be-no-longer-an-option.

So far the cheapest, most convenient option we have is renting an on-site container for storage at a cost of $2054/year and thats a hard ask for the nzLARPS budget.
We are still investigating other options so I’d like anybody with a good idea to post it here for discussion.
Specifically if theres someone with a large shed/garage they don’t mind letting us store the gear in, keeping in mind that it would be frequently accessed.

Contributors to this thread: also see this thread.

At the meeting we discussed the possibility of installing a garden shed at Nikki’s, but discounted it because of concerns relevant to building consents.

I just rang Auckland City and they said that if the shed has a floor space of less than 10 square metres and was less than 2m in height then NO CONSENT is required.

This makes this option the best one by far because it caps our spending to a single one-off cost (purchasing and installing the shed). If we’re astute, I think the cost could come in around $2000 (which is similar to one year of storage).

We’ll need a working be to put it in, though.

That’s great news, Mike, thanks for following that up with the council.

Would a shed of that size be sufficient for our gear needs?

And here’s one that would be perfect: 4.5m x 2.25m and it only costs $1225.

There are some options (windows, extra door) that could take the cost up to $1400-ish. With a concrete floor we’d be looking towards $2000 all up.

I’d be willing to put in a day’s effort to set the shed and lay the concrete floor. Anyone else keen ?

I’ll be there with bells on to do what I can.

We should go speak to Nikki and measure her backyard if we want to progress with this.

How tall is the shed in the auction?

I’ll use the trailer for comparison.

It’s dimensions are approx: 2.4m long x 1.4m wide x 2.4 high = approximately 8 cubic metres of storage space.

The shed is 4.5 x 2.25 and i’ll assume 2 m high. That’s 20 cubic metres. Even at only 1.8m high, it’s still 18 cubic metres.

So yes, it should be OK for the boxes, the weapons, the materials, generator, tools etc. As I’ve said before, if we need to store tricky objects (golem, columns etc) then I’m happy to store those kinds of things at my place.

:smiley:

I think the idea is good, if Nikki is willing. Nikki, bear in mind that the storage location might also be used for workshops, for convenience. I don’t suppose you’d like to store the trailer? The gear and trailer are going to be quite far apart otherwise.

Might 10 square meters be a little tight? That sounds not much bigger than the NZLARPS gear currently has at Mike’s, and it’s hard to access there.

What would be ideal is a space in which costumes can be hung on racks, so that the right costumes can easily be found for maintenance and events. Two meters of height could be enough to stack two rails vertically for hanging items up to 100cm height (i.e. trousers and shirts, but not dresses).

EDIT: posted this at same time as Mike’s post above. Twice the trailor size still sounds rather tight, not sure if boxes will be easy to access. Especially as a lot of that volume is up high, it assumes high stacking (or high hanging rails, which is less of an issue for access).

If this happens, I’ll be keen to come up for a weekend and help out. If we can tie it around a day when derek is looking at getting his armouring pants on, even better :laughing:

Just a note, I will be posting a catalogue of gear I hold for nzlarps on diatribe once I get it sorted.
I think we might have some need to build some shelving etc. in my garage too, as my garden shed is 1 - fill of lawn mower, ladders, paint etc and 2 - is quite damp, not a good thing for gear.

Give me a date and a post of any tools tools you need me to bring…We’ll check the Met-Serv and lay us some concrete.

Also the fears about the space…doesn’t mike’s shed contains not only the gear but also…mike’s shed stuff?

As I’m assuming the NZLARPS gear shed wont be storing that stuff they’ll be more space. And I think keeping it in boxes is the way to go 1) It keeps it more dry 2) Picking up gear for NPC’s is easier as you just go “I’ll take a noble box, a pesent box, and armour box and a box of fries”

Correct me if I’m wrong.

mike do you know how big your shed is? it sounds like if we’re reconsolidating all the gear it will have to be considerably larger than your place (since you’re overflowing under the house and all over the place!)

Mike’s whole shed is big, much bigger than 10m2 floor. But only about a third of is for NZLARPS gear. That’s the space I was comparing to.

I now have a strong urge to mark out 10m2 on the floor of my office and ponder it, but I would get funny looks.

I think it’s important to bear in mind that we want to grow the community and the larps available, and the gear will grow alongside. Don’t want it to be too limited by space.

If all the boxes are easy to access, then boxes are okay. But if they’re stacked six high, then it’s hard to get at the bottom one to get that one special item you might need for a smaller larp. Shelving rather than stacking the boxes would help. Hanging would be the ultimate in accessability, but take moer storage space. I don’t see that dampness would necessarily be an issue for hanging, and on the flipside any dampness left in a box = rot.

right, i didn’t know it was only 1/3 larps stuff. Mike’s shed is mega crowded and i assumed it was all game gear.

standard size boxes and shelving definitely a great idea, although not sure how much that will add to the cost. I assume wall brackets are out if its a metal shed, so need stand alone shelves.

lol re: marking gear space on floor, :slight_smile:

I’ll bring up that a concrete floored shed in someone’s back yard is… there to stay. I think it’s “sustainable” and perhaps the best choice, but only as long as the host is still down with it. I don’t want to move this valuable discussion away from the idea for a shed, but another option could be my place - in the room that is soon becoming available.

What’s in it for the society would be a fair bit of space, security, central location, ventilation/light and caretakers. It seems to meet all the criteria, except that people couldn’t drop in unsupervised (bad thing?).

What’s in it for me would be fewer people in the kitchen, and the ability to work loud and late in to the night without disturbing a flatmate on the other side of the wall. Update: Just measured, it’s 4.53.22.5h with exposed beams perfect for hanging stuff. That’s 36 cubic meters.

I offer it for $1300 per quarter, which would be a massive discount compared to normal renting of the room (over $3k/year). I can’t really get lower than this because I pay a lot of rent to the man. I’m ok with just doing it for one or two quarters, allowing Mike to focus on that election while we set up something on someone’s property.

I offer my shed for only $1000 per quarter ! Oh, wait… :wink:

Seriously, we would have issues servicing $2000 per year, let alone $5200. Nice try though :slight_smile:

Assuming my calculations are correct, purchasing and installing a shed for about the same price as 1 year of storage in a container (or 4.5 months in Craig’s flat) is simply a no-brainer. As long as the gear is there for more than a year, we’re winning. And since Nikki is such a stalwart of our community, the chances are we’ll be winning for much longer than one year.

I’ll measure up my shed tonight and get some actual values for the space used up by the boxes, materials, weapons and other gear. I agree with Ryan that it will be a tight fit, and in the long term we’ll need to invest in a more permanent arrangement. But for now, I expect this will handle our requirements.

lol :slight_smile: Yes, it does feel as if we empty the entire contents of the shed when we re-rationalise. Some of the larp gear belongs to Skirmish - mainly weapons and shields, as does some of the foam.

the biggest bonus for offsite storage (ie. the container not on someones site) is permanence. I assume that Nikki has considered whether she’s likely to move house at all in the next 1-5 years.

a storage facility also removes the hassle of bugging the house owner every time theres a larp :slight_smile: unless there’s a way that gm’s could just have a key for the shed and position it so that the people in the house aren’t bothered by people showing up and carting stuff away!

just thoughts, financially speaking, a shed on Nikki’s property is a hands down winner.

Mike’s whole shed is big, much bigger than 10m2 floor. But only about a third of is for NZLARPS gear. That’s the space I was comparing to.

I now have a strong urge to mark out 10m2 on the floor of my office and ponder it, but I would get funny looks.

I think it’s important to bear in mind that we want to grow the community and the larps available, and the gear will grow alongside. Don’t want it to be too limited by space.

If all the boxes are easy to access, then boxes are okay. But if they’re stacked six high, then it’s hard to get at the bottom one to get that one special item you might need for a smaller larp. Shelving rather than stacking the boxes would help. Hanging would be the ultimate in accessability, but take moer storage space. I don’t see that dampness would necessarily be an issue for hanging, and on the flipside any dampness left in a box = rot.[/quote]

aha, and my cunning solution to this problem is… two sheds side-by-side. Nikki, how big is your backyard? :wink:

Like Vulcan, I only armour mostly naked…

Dave, I haven’t forgotten the armour patterns, I just need my wife to PDF them on a non A4 page size for me.

Who would the shed belong to - Nikki or NZLARPS? If it was no longer possible to use it at Nikki’s property, could we relocate it? If so, we may want to consider the plywood floor option rather than concrete pad, for ease of removal (which would also reduce the effect on her land). If not, the society could be putting $2000 into an investment of unknown length.