[hackerspaces] And now for something completely different...

[Vikkie Poole]

London Hackspace (LHS) has a yard with room enough for 5 car spaces and the policy is similar. Cars can be brought in and worked on during the day and leave with the member. Occasionally there's a broken down car that stays for a couple of days but communication for those have been good and cause no problems.
The only issue we've had is with two long term vehicle projects. Both were commercial ventures which couldn't be driven off the premises:
1) A double decker bus being converted into a restaurant. It overran multiple deadlines and time extensions. The issue here was a combination of poor project management, poor communication and too many incentives for the owner to keep the bus at LHS (good location, easy access to tools and no parking fees). In the end the member removed the bus after the community collectively applied a lot of pressure.
2) A morris minor refit. It overran multiple deadlines and time extensions. The problem here seemed to be poor project management. This got hairy as the owner of the car was paying the member for the job so the member wouldn't get paid until the job was done so it was staying at the space until it was done regardless of any deadlines. In the end the trustees got in touch with the owner and had it towed.
For such projects we generally ask for:- £250 deposit (or cost of removal)- All parts ordered and obtained before arriving- A brief overview of work to be done and tools required- Date of removal agreed to by the community- Contingency plan incase it cannot be removed
We generally assume good faith in terms of hazardous waste disposal.

From: sam.ley at gmail.com
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2015 08:29:40 -0700
To: discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
Subject: Re: [hackerspaces] And now for something completely different...

In the right kind of space with the right rules it works well. We have a relatively small membership, but a big bay door and work area for cars. Some of our members are in primarily for working on cars. Sometimes it is just regular stuff - oil changes, struts, exhausts, etc., and other times it has been pretty crazy stuff, like making full electric pickup trucks.
Our rule is that the car can only be in the bay while you are working on it - so one-day projects only, and cars parked outside the hackerspace can only be there for 3 days before they need to move. I won't say we've had NO issues with non-running cars hanging around longer than they should, but it hasn't been a huge problem. Just set the expectations clearly from the beginning.
-Sam
On Mon, Feb 23, 2015 at 8:01 AM, bownes <bownes at gmail.com> wrote:
As we were designing our new home, one of the things that we wanted was a space where we could work on automobiles.



However, the logistics of automobile service and gasoline in a 150 year old wooden structure prevented this from becoming a reality. We do, however have a 14 x 10' lift from the basement shop area to street level. We have also acknowledged that there maybe some fabrication of alternative fuel vehicles within our space.



We are eying the carriage house across the alley as possible home for a three bay automobile shop as a future option tho.







> On Feb 23, 2015, at 00:24, Arclight <arclight at gmail.com> wrote:

>

> Question: How many other space out there let people work on their

> cars/automotive stuff? We will open up the space for "car maintenance"

> day from time to time. This has been really popular, as people are

> trying to save money and be more self-sufficient. It's been a hit with

> the ladies as well.

>

> We do not let people leave vehicles on the premises, as experience has

> taught us that folks get difficult and unresponsive when you need them

> gone.

>

> Anyone else doing similar things?

>

>

> Cheers,

>

> Arclight

> 23b Shop

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