Apartment dwellers: Where do you mod?

[cybertron]

I'm just curious if there's anyone else here trying to mod without either a basement or a garage. I live in an apartment complex with a very nice underground parking area, but unfortunately it's a common area which means I can't use it as a workshop or anything. I do have some relatives in the area who might let me use their garage, but I'd rather not make a mess there and that would mean every time I want to work on something I have to pack it up and take it there and then get it all back home.

I was thinking that one of those self-storage garage type things might work, but I don't know whether those have outlets in them that I could plug tools in to or whether you'd be allowed to use them for that. So far I've just done a little spraypainting outside on the lawn (with newspaper so we didn't end up with colored grass:)), but I can't really do any cutting right now.

Any suggestions?

[dgrmkrp]

I'm just curious if there's anyone else here trying to mod without either a basement or a garage
me... :( i live in an apartment with a very small balcony.. and can't do real work when my parents are home..
suggestion: move out ;) i can't wait for the university year to start again! better make some stock piles now.. long modding winter to come :)

[Silenced_Coyote]

I'm having a problem too... I live in an apartment (like a condo type) and I got a balcony type place at the front door. But I wouldn't have anywhere to store tools and I am sure the neighbors will complain.

Why don't you leave your stuff at your relatives so you don't have to move it back and forth. Just ask if you can use a small corner or something. Or maybe see if you could live there. Rent out a room maybe?

[cybertron]

Hmm, so far two votes for moving out.:)

Unfortunately that's not really an option, which is why I'm asking. I have no intention of leaving this apartment for at least a few years. I've considered just doing stuff in my apartment, maybe with some sort of box thing to contain most of the mess, but like you said I don't think the neighbors would appreciate it (although heaven help them if they piss me off...;)).

I'm pretty sure my relatives wouldn't mind (or at least would be too nice to tell me if they did) if I kept some stuff in their garage, but I'd still feel like I was imposing. I guess I'm not really planning on doing all that much - just a couple of fan holes and the like probably - so I could probably even get it done in one night. That's not really a long term solution though.

[jreffy]

I live in downtown Chicago, so there's definitely no room for me here. Fortunately I have some relatives out in the suburbs not too far away, and it's on my way between home and work.

They use their garage as a workshop already so it was ideal for me. I asked if I could use their garage for what I was doing, they set me up with 2 folding tables and that's all the room I need. I also get to use all the nice tools they have as well, but so far all I've needed to use was their jigsaw. It's worked out great, I just go over there after work every couple days and keep working.

[d_stilgar]

I live in an appartment at school. I just move my stuff into the living room and start modding. When I'm done working for the day, it all goes back in my room. It isn't as nice as being able to leave it where I can just come back to it, but I can still work.

[EPYK]

i live in a 2 bedroom apt.. i just use the 2nd bedroom

[Airbozo]

Yeah having a house with the room I need to do computer work is nice, but... Now I have all kinds of other "house" related projects that cut into my computer modding time.

[justblair]

I live in a Glasgow tenement flat. No Balconies.

I mod in just about every room of the house... Hard flooring is a wonderfull thing.

Living room, for the boring stuff, cause I can have the TV or hi fi on while I file for hours at a time.

Hallway. Its 2.5m by 4m with no furniture. Ideal for cutting sheet materials, without being hampered by obstuctions.

Kitchen. Usefull for wet work. SO far have used it for applying vinyls. Soon I will be developing PCBs in there. Good ventilation and hot and cold running water. I dare say I will use the dishwasher when it comes to preping my current project for painting. The hob/oven area can be utilised for bending pespex.

Box room... Not done any modding in there. Its about 2.5m by 2m. Recently fited a workshop in there (My mum and dad gifted me their old fitted kitchen units. Just installed a drill press in there. Its got no windows so ventilation is no good, But on the otherhand it will make a good darkroom for photodeveloping PCBs.

Bedroom... Research and development. Its where my internet pc is housed, here is a picture of it neat...

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h219/justblair/32a0.jpg

It doesn't look like that just now... Covered in manuals, coffee mugs and circuit drawings. All seeing I became single a month or two ago.

The back court might come in handy when I get round to painting. Though a weekend visit to the parents to visit the double garage... Sorry catch up with them may be better.

[cybertron]

I have a second bedroom too, but that's where my computer stuff is.:)

I generally do my modding in my kitchen because it has a crappy linoleum floor that wasn't in that great a shape when I moved in so if I put a little stain on it nobody will know. I have used power tools there, but they made a huge mess and probably annoyed the heck out of my neighbors. Pretty much I just need a place to dremel, the rest I can manage in my apartment.

Oh, and I do have a balcony as well, but that has the same noise problem as dremeling inside.

[CanaBalistic]

I live in an apartment also. I have nice neighbors. One is almost allways out and the other smokes dope and plays loud music. The other apt is unoccupied atm. A friend of mine used to live there but recently moved out.

I have some stores underneath me so i wait untill night to make noise which really isnt any inconvience because the stores close at about the same time i get home.

Summary: I make all the noise i want and no one in my building complains.

The building across the ally called the poilce once because both me and my neighbor threw a party with our sterio's cranked (and i mean CRANKED!!!). They listened to 8hrs of it before the city officials shut us down.

Man i love my appartment.

Oh sorry, im rambbling again...

Noise laws dont kick in untill dusk. Go crazy untill then.

[DaveW]

Justblair, where in Glasgow are you? I'm in the Rutherglen Area, on the way to East Kilbride.

Watch this space-i have plans to move out of the dingy cellar and into a pimp-liscious workshop by Christmas.

-Dave

[AKA_RA]

im currently living in a 4 bedroom townhouse on the college kid side of town. (should be one myself by now, but hey, what can ya do) all of my modding that requires more than a layer of paint i do at my fathers shop that he built behind my parents house. its basically a 2 car garage with 2 rooms which are being used as "offices." so hes got stuff like a grinder attached to a workbench, drill press next to that, every sort of random power tool id ever need, and this isnt counting my own collection of tools (dremel, soldering kit, etc.). this place is so nice, i almost wish i could just move into one of the offices and have my mod shop in the next room to where i sleep.

[Razors Edge]

Buy a shed, Stick it where no one cares, work in there. Thats what I do, A big enough shed can be around 500-1000$ but its a small price to pay for the mods you make. If not simply build you're own shed, Buy an assload of wood and buy a hammer and you're set.

[DaveW]

an assload of wood

ROFL!

-Dave

[justblair]

@DaveW

I live in Dennistoun, or "Merchant City East" as it is now titled ;)

Just at the Duke st side.

Have done so for a good few years.

[Malatory]

before I bought my house ...

I use the balcony for painting - really was worried about losing my deposit because I left it a techno color of red / black / blue / green ..

I cut aluminun and acrylic in the bathroom.

plus I dropped empty milk jugs with water down the trash shoot (lived on the 13th floor in a 14th floor apart complex). Plus a lot of other things got dropped down the trash shoot (bb's , box of rocks.. anything that would make noise at 2am).

have you though about getting a 4x8' storage unit with power?? (No a Pod work not work).

[cybertron]

have you though about getting a 4x8' storage unit with power?? (No a Pod work not work).
Yeah, I was wondering if anyone had done that. I'm having a little trouble finding anything out about them in my area so far because they don't seem to have web sites so I guess I'll have to make some calls. It wouldn't take much, a closet with an outlet would be enough for me.:)

And painting my balcony would be an improvement. The floor is covered with this nasty green stuff that gets all over anything it touches. I actually got an outdoor rug to put down just so that my feet don't always end up green. In any case I think I can do my spraypainting in the lawn nearby for the most part. I did have a random bit of grass that ended up on the piece I did the other night, but I think that's only because it was getting dark and I couldn't see very well, which I don't plan on doing again.

[Cannibal23]

i live in a 2 bedroom appartment. i do my cutting on the balcony. wich dosent require really much room. i do the painting on the balcony too but i bring it inside to dry. i leave it near a window so that the fumes can get out. and as spray paint dosent take that long its not a huge issue. once the panels are dry enough i just lean them up agains the wall so they dont take up much space. i keep all my spray paint stuff in a card board box in the front hall closet on the top shelf. i keep the plex i will be useing in my closet in my room. and the power tools i keep in their boxes on a shelf in my room. smaller items like files deburing tools screws bolts and such are kept in containers inside my tool box. electronic parts (wires leds solder / irons) are all kept next to the spray paint in the front hall closet with smaller componant parts being inside of an old diskette holder so they dont scatter. the only item i find kind of awkward to store is the acctual pc frame. once you have all the rivots drilled out so you can paint the inside it breaks down into smaller parts that are more easly stored.

[Cannibal23]

[QUOTE=Malatory]before I bought my house ...

I use the balcony for painting - really was worried about losing my deposit because I left it a techno color of red / black / blue / green ..
QUOTE]

i was super worried about that too, but i found some textured spray paint so if you just spray that over the colored overspray you can blend it into the concrete pretty good. and its not like it has to last for ever, just till they say my place is fine and i get the deposit back ;-)

[DaveW]

I live in Dennistoun, or "Merchant City East" as it is now titled

Friend of mine got mugged there 3 weeks ago and had his bike stolen...well, it's nice to know there's another local modder!

-Dave

[justblair]

Friend of mine got mugged there 3 weeks ago and had his bike stolen...well, it's nice to know there's another local modder!


Wanna buy a bike?
;)

Bad joke...

Yep I saw that one of the maplin guys recognised you, I was in the other day buying pcbs... I'm going to make a bet we'll bump into one another.

[jefe_de_estado]

Just make do with what you have! I live in an apartment with a small patio, and it doubles as my paint booth and metal working area. Since there is no table, my lap works good, I just have to make sure I don't cut off extremites while using my angle grinder! :eek: The kitchen table works great for everything else. Just make sure when you are married like myself, you need to let you wife know that your computer will not work at all until it's been modded! :)

http://www.mrt.usu.edu/downloads/jeff/Pictures_015-1.jpg
http://www.mrt.usu.edu/downloads/jeff/Pictures_016-1.jpg
http://www.mrt.usu.edu/downloads/jeff/Pictures_017-1.jpg

I'm up on the 3rd floor and I found out today that my neighbors on the 1st floor though the noise from the compressor and grinder was comming from across the street. Good thing they are cool about it1. Just whatever you do, don't jack up the apartment so much that you don't loose your deposit.