We've been piddling around with the showroom, warehouse and storage areas of our new space for nearly two months but now it's time to get serious and build a workshop.

This is what we need and this is what we've got.

We don't need to build a building as we've got one. Well, the corner of one. This is the space we've allocated. Plus, we have to be able to get to it in a car so we have this indoor driveway/access road, and we have to be able to get through it to access the storage and inventory rooms, preferable with a pallet on a pallet jack. We'd also like to separate it from the showroom and Quattro build area somewhat so some sort of wall or barrier would be good. We are a little concerned about dirt and dust getting into the clean areas from the workshop but we are not sure if that is a legitimate concern nor how best to mitigate it. Oh, there's also the small issue of the floor. Right now the whole building is glued down carpet. Which is nice, except it is probably not ideal for changing oil over. So it will probably have to go, at least in the workshop itself and possibly the access road. It seems the only viable option is to pull up the carpet in this area. Once we do that we'll see what we are dealing with in terms of concrete.

What do we want to do in the workshop? Well, mostly maintenance and modification of the fleet and project vehicles. Engine building? Chassis assembly? Restoration? Bodywork? Maybe. Each of these require a different layout and equipment. Our last space was 1000 square feet and we put as much as we could on wheels so we could move it around. This space is about 600 square feet but all the storage shelves are elsewhere. We do have the addition of the tire machines which were previously housed separately.

For now the current project, the Quattro rally car, is in dry build phase so it will be worked on in the clean build area we have it it now. It will probably go away for paint and when it comes back it will go back in it's shiny build build room as everything will be just bolting on shiny bits. This is adjacent to the workshop but also an extension of the showroom. We will probably install a barrier with access between it and the workshop.

In the actual workshop we will want a lift, tool and chemical cabinets, benches, engine hoist, vice, saws, bench grinder. We may need to weld and clean parts so a parts washer and perhaps a sand blaster. We might do light bodywork and rattle can painting but we don't envisage painting whole cars here so we don't need a paint booth. And because this will be a workspace for project cars, we needed to be able to take good photos. This will need good lighting as well as enough space to walk around a car to take pictures from every angle, maybe even above it! Maybe much of this could be on wheels so we can pull it out when needed.

We don't see us storing cars in here, except the one residing on the hoist, and parts storage is currently satisfied by the shelves in the storage room in the back, so it's mostly just tools and equipment we need to accommodate. We can use the inside driveway for cars but that also means more car Tetris when we want to pull one out.

This is by far the biggest thing we have taken on in the new space. Check back soon to see how it develops.