Transformers Room Construction - any tips?

[BigTransformerTrev]

We are finally starting our house extension and the architect came by the other day to take photo's and measurements. This is what we have initially thought for the Transformers Room (named Rumpus room on the plans).

http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/y342/sare111/photo_zpsrnxqyfsu.png (http://s1028.photobucket.com/user/sare111/media/photo_zpsrnxqyfsu.png.html)

As you can see from the plans, the room will be 8m by 4.5m. Putting a full length BIR on the south side (Sliding doors with shelves and a clothes rack for extra display space and for my 60+ TF tops) and built in shelves along the west and north walls. There will be three small high windows (two on the west side, one on the north) - the minimum required to let in enough natural light. Double doors will open into the room from the east side.

We are still at the drawing board stage and the architect is awaiting our revisions before he starts to do all the computer planning and simulation of what it would look like.

Do people have any suggestions or ideas in regards to the rooms set up? None of it is set in stone yet and haven't even thought about the lighting. Probably the only thing not to change would be the double doors. My collection is near 1800 figures which will continue to expand so the shelving needs to hold at least that many. I've made the room wide enough that if we sell the house in ten or twenty years we could stick a pool table in the middle of it and sell it as a rumpus room/man cave.

Thinking of DVD & Book shelves up against the east walls for all that TF stuff and a glass cabinet in the centre for all my Primes. Maybe even if I can swing it moving my big AOE Grimlock cinema display in there too. But thats all to be decided down the road, it's more the construction set up side I'm looking for suggestions for if anyone has any (I know a few of you have dedicated rooms for your collections) before we go ahead :)

[Starscream77]

I have recently been redoing my man cave and my biggest tip is don't put fixed shelving in, used adjustable. As you know TFs come in all shapes and sizes and you want to maximise your display and not have wasted area on shelves

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

High ceiling/ventilation for the heat.
For those TFS near the cieling, where the heat will collect. I was a friends place after not being there for a while and his G1 Grimlock's gun had melted due to the accumulated hot days/nights and the gun had been pointing up the air.

Twas funny, Grimbo with a droopy gun


and a bit sad

But mostly funny!:D

[Paulbot]

This is pretty cool and look forward to seeing how it take shape.

Maybe have a think about light and where sunlight would fall on your shelves/toys/misc. look into UV coating - I know others have posted about this on other collection room threads.

[TAAUBlaster]

What are your outside walls going to be? Brick veneer or fibro (or similar)?

If it's fibro, I'd be a bit hesitant to put my Transformers shelving on the outside walls. Don't know how it is in Vic, but here in QLD the external walls can get pretty hot in the summer sun - even with insulation. If I was doing this, I would be putting the long shelving along the internal wall. You will lose a bit of space due to the double doors, but your figures won't cop the extra heat from the walls.
Of course, if you're going brick veneer, you can pretty much disregard what I said :p

[Demonac]

Is it possible to have a south facing window instead of north & west? (If those windows won't be letting in any sunlight, then you can disregard this)

[BigTransformerTrev]

Thanks for the tips guys! :D You all rock! In regards to the suggestions so far:

*The window on the north side will be under a verandah so no direct sunlight. However the west ones will get some direct sunlight in the arvos so may have to look into getting that UV stuff on them. I could put the windows on the south side but for the look of the house from the outside it wouldn't really work.

*We looked into having a higher roof but it was going to be too costly. Hopefully the TF's will be alright. Considering the limited space of the room I'm not going to really have a choice but to put the shelving along the outer walls (Which will be fibro) so I'm just gonna hope for the best - the rest of the house seems to do ok wall-hear wise.

*Adjustable shelving - great idea!


Please keep the suggestions coming! They are all appreciated and give me ideas to consider before we email the architect as the end of the week :)

[Ralph Wiggum]

From a lighting perspective, and from personal experience, down lights have a modern showroom feel but do have a limited focus from a top-down perspective, which means if you want your TF to be well illuminated at night, you'll need at a minimum four downlights AND use wide angle globes. It's a decent size room so a single globe in the middle of the room isn't going to cut it. My home theatre room seems similar in size so I'll post a pic later of what happens when you have downlights in a large room.

In terms of shelving, I'm a convert now for all enclosed glass shelving. Keeps the dust out (a winner for me) and gives that showroom/museum feel about the room. It's probably expensive as well, but get a quote from a store that does shop fitouts.

[kup]

High ceiling/ventilation for the heat.
For those TFS near the cieling, where the heat will collect. I was a friends place after not being there for a while and his G1 Grimlock's gun had melted due to the accumulated hot days/nights and the gun had been pointing up the air.

Twas funny, Grimbo with a droopy gun


and a bit sad

But mostly funny!:D

This is something that worries me as I am setting up my huge garage too as a collection room. It appears to be rain proof but during a hot/sunny day, it can get very warm in there. I probably won't have my G1s there but I worry about my CHUGs/others.

Edit:

This is an idea to keep things cool:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HPM-Digital-Electrical-Powerpoint-Power-Point-7-Day-Timer-with-Battery-Back-up-/151269359307?hash=item23385b3ecb:g:39gAAOxy0zhTO-EB

I have a portable aircon unit, what I can do so it doesn't cost me a fortune is plug it in to a programmable power point like the one linked so it only turns on for a limited time a couple of times per day, enough to keep things cool during summer.

[Deonasis]

I am guessing you are avoiding carpet.

[BigTransformerTrev]

I am guessing you are avoiding carpet.

Thinking I want thin carpet in case an expensive toy takes a nosedive off a top shelf, depends what the wife wants for the rest of the extension

[Demonac]

A nice thick rug would do the trick.
You should also do a google image search for 'built in display cabinets', as there are quite a few good ideas that you can borrow.

[UltraMarginal]

Have you considered a floor to ceiling window at the end of the shelving next to the wardrobe? would allow more light into the room, a good or bad thing.

I'd definitely get a UV coating on the glass and also consider double glazing the windows.

Also making sure you have good insulation in the walls and the ceiling to keep temperatures as constant as possible.

consider some sort of block out curtains for the windows as this will greatly assist with heat management on hot days.

I personally don't have much experience but I think cool white lights are better than warm white, the latter is more yellow and while less harsh to look at directly I think it makes toy colours look funny.

glass shelving is great for allowing light to travel between shelves and not create too many shadows but if you're posing stuff in various stances it is slippery and harder to pose on.

I think adjustable shelving is a must.

would you put shelves on the other walls as well? I might.

make sure you have several available power points, for lighting or music or tv or all of the above.


@ Kup, you might find that even running continuously, a portable air con might not be able to cool air in a shed (if you have metal walls, and or no insulation) the thermal ballast of the walls/roof under direct sun would be too high.

[kup]

@ Kup, you might find that even running continuously, a portable air con might not be able to cool air in a shed (if you have metal walls, and or no insulation) the thermal ballast of the walls/roof under direct sun would be too high.

Yeah, I am carefully testing the environment before I put any toys or fragile valuables in there. Yesterday was really warm and sunny so I went in to see how the room temperature was. Despite the heat and no aircon, it wasn't too bad but that was late afternoon. I have to test on a hot weekend midday or early afternoon. Anyhow, so far so good. The biggest challenge seems to be fixing the place up a bit so it looks presentable and a bit of cleaning. I also have to keep bugs out specially ants.

[BigTransformerTrev]

A nice thick rug would do the trick.
You should also do a google image search for 'built in display cabinets', as there are quite a few good ideas that you can borrow.

Good idea :)


Have you considered a floor to ceiling window at the end of the shelving next to the wardrobe? would allow more light into the room, a good or bad thing.

I'd definitely get a UV coating on the glass and also consider double glazing the windows.

Also making sure you have good insulation in the walls and the ceiling to keep temperatures as constant as possible.

consider some sort of block out curtains for the windows as this will greatly assist with heat management on hot days.

I personally don't have much experience but I think cool white lights are better than warm white, the latter is more yellow and while less harsh to look at directly I think it makes toy colours look funny.

glass shelving is great for allowing light to travel between shelves and not create too many shadows but if you're posing stuff in various stances it is slippery and harder to pose on.

I think adjustable shelving is a must.

would you put shelves on the other walls as well? I might.

make sure you have several available power points, for lighting or music or tv or all of the above.

Cheers for the suggestions mate - good stuff :D

[BigTransformerTrev]

Latest blueprints. Now looking for building quotes. Still time to make changes if needed.


http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/y342/sare111/photo%204_zpsrej1fgav.jpg (http://s1028.photobucket.com/user/sare111/media/photo%204_zpsrej1fgav.jpg.html)

http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/y342/sare111/photo%203_zpsvtd9zrr7.jpg (http://s1028.photobucket.com/user/sare111/media/photo%203_zpsvtd9zrr7.jpg.html)

[DaptoDog]

Going to be brilliant once it is all set up Trev.

[Jetfire in the sky]

........ and for my 60+ TF tops

There is a good solution for this.

Therapy :p

[5FDP]

When we planned our extension / Transformers room the main thing for me was limiting the amount of direct sunlight coming into the room. That would have been my only suggestion but you've already got it covered.

[tron07]

If the room is hot due to the hot celling/roof, you can always add a roof ventilation system, (either solar or wind) later on to remove the hot air from the roof space to prevent Grimlock guns from melting. :D

[BigTransformerTrev]

Well we finally managed to get a builder out to look at our place and over the plans, apparently he will provide us with a quote in a couple of weeks and could start construction early in the new year. Every other builder I have rung has never rung back, and the one I managed to talk to kept giving me different emails to send my plans to and then never emailed me back - builders suck up here! :(

When looking at the TF (rumpus) room he didn't think he'd be able to position ceiling ligts to illuminate all the shelves correctly (I want them at 50cm intervals above each other) so suggested I put led strips on the undersides of them to illuminate the shelf below - how do people think that would go? He also asked what I would like the shelving made out of and I must admit when it comes to inside construction I have no idea (I mainly build chook pens and cubby houses) so does anyone have any tips there?

[Deonasis]

I think led strips inside the cabinets would look good. I would buy 1 or 2 and muck around with positioning them until you know what looks good and how many you'll need.


Edit: I see you dont have the shelving yet. I would worry about the lights after the shelving but consider the power (mains or outlets or battery leds?) options, flexibility of installation (can the lighting be changed to suit as the display may change), and how to hide them during shelf construction.

[UltraMarginal]

There are a lot of factors to consider with LED lighting.

the colour, Warm white or cold white, or multi coloured?
the size of the LED's, the density of the LED's on the strip, both of these factors will effect the size of the power supply you will need. ie: Voltage, currant and as a result Wattage/power.

For a whole room I'd suggest, multiple strips and multiple power supplies. Strips can be purchased fairly cheaply off eBay, as can connectors and other elements to make the installation neater.

the packs that can be bought at retail, bunnings, Aldi, Ikea etc are very expensive. LED's are very cheap to manufacture.

Make sure you get a power supply that meets Australian standards.

I'm still putting mine together but I want to angle the LED's so they are facing into the cabinet from the front, hopefully reducing some light bleed.

I'll post some more thoughts and details later if you are interested.

[BigTransformerTrev]

I think led strips inside the cabinets would look good. I would buy 1 or 2 and muck around with positioning them until you know what looks good and how many you'll need.


Edit: I see you dont have the shelving yet. I would worry about the lights after the shelving but consider the power (mains or outlets or battery leds?) options, flexibility of installation (can the lighting be changed to suit as the display may change), and how to hide them during shelf construction.


There are a lot of factors to consider with LED lighting.

the colour, Warm white or cold white, or multi coloured?
the size of the LED's, the density of the LED's on the strip, both of these factors will effect the size of the power supply you will need. ie: Voltage, currant and as a result Wattage/power.

For a whole room I'd suggest, multiple strips and multiple power supplies. Strips can be purchased fairly cheaply off eBay, as can connectors and other elements to make the installation neater.

the packs that can be bought at retail, bunnings, Aldi, Ikea etc are very expensive. LED's are very cheap to manufacture.

Make sure you get a power supply that meets Australian standards.

I'm still putting mine together but I want to angle the LED's so they are facing into the cabinet from the front, hopefully reducing some light bleed.

I'll post some more thoughts and details later if you are interested.

Cheers for the tips guys! Construction is still a long way off but sounds like LEDs might be the way to go. Will hit you up for more tips down the line :)

[BigTransformerTrev]

Trying to sell my wife on this layout: :D

http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/y342/sare111/13501744_10208281021522327_1448139170709786156_n_z pshtvcuctr.jpg (http://s1028.photobucket.com/user/sare111/media/13501744_10208281021522327_1448139170709786156_n_z pshtvcuctr.jpg.html)



Still haven't heard back from the builder we actually managed to get out here. He said we'd have a quote in two weeks - been nearly 4. :(

[Deonasis]

I dont think you will have to sell her with that layout, she will leave. And don't forget your room.. the doghouse. :D

[Batfan007]

Just my opinion, I don't know how much of a movie buff you are, but I'd lose the DVD display area, or least minimise it. DVDs or BD on a shelf take up HEAPS of space that could be better used for something else either functional or purely aesthetic, I mean what is more attractive, a big pile of movies in plastic cases, or a really cool framed mounted picture of your fav movie, or transformers art or whatever.

With the rise of digital media, I find myself only buying the odd BD these days, and even then it usually site on a shelf or box to be forgotten, and its quicker just to grab something from online for convenient watch.

If you are a BD home cinema enthusiast, you could look into buying those big movie wallets which can hold over 100 discs in each, and be tucked away anywhere in the house out of the way, which means freeing up more room for cooler displays or whatever in your mancave.

Just looking at the crap on my shelf, the toys and books look okay -it is a bookcase FYI - and the movies are just the ugliest part, I try to keep one small section for stuff I want to rewatch this year or whatever, anything else goes in the sleepout for storage.

Box set can look okay if they have cool covers or art, but vanilla movie covers are pretty ugly.

http://i.imgur.com/LyfBQNJ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/JUtOyNz.jpg

I used to have a really nice hard wood bookshelf that was nearly 8 feet all and quite deep, but after I moved all I could afford was crappy IKEA sawdust shelves that strain with the weight of books on them. Only thing I do like about them is that with two sets of kit shelves next to each other, gives me heaps of space, and the shelves are easily removed to give bigger or smaller areas.

so yeah, swappable shelving is a must, the peg system is okay, but for higher quality stuff you would want a stronger type of peg that can take the weight, or whatever you use, plastic, metal, glass whatever make sure it is not going to bend or break as the shelf gets heavier with stuff.

My mancave is actually a dedicated space for me to write my blogs and stuff, and all around is pictures, posters, couple of framed things of Spider-Man and just stuff that inspires me, and while I read books for fun, most are for reference in my writing.

It's surprising how much use you can get out a shelf, if you use the back portion of it, as well as the front, if you are going for a nice display don't be like me and just cram everything you can on there, give things room to breathe, and maybe think about having some sections that are more long term displays, or even permanent, and some areas that are easy to swap stuff around (like you most recent acquisitions etc). :cool:

Those same boring shelves are crammed with transformers now instead of hero stuff. Well still some hero stuff. ;)

http://i.imgur.com/pvxLK87.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/9PmzVsp.jpg

Another thing you might want to think about is levels

"The bets off... I'm not doing the levels..."

"But that WAS the bet, that you wouldn't do the levels!"

Now, this is just a crappy old wooden closet thing, and is not actually mine, it has old clothes in it (again not mine, my partners stuff) but seeing as it's in this room, I stacked toys on top of it, and the ones at the back are just on top of toy boxes so you can see them raised up.

to do this properly, you could have some staggered platforms / shelves / whatever, so that you can see a whole bunch of stuff in a SMALL area, making good use of space. Again, I overcrowd things, also the wallpaper here is like from the 70's and pretty ugly, so excuse that if you will.

http://i.imgur.com/7HvrJfy.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/UnQxQlQ.jpg

Anyhow again this is just my writing room, so toys are not the priority, but I believe that large or small, you can dedicate a portion of space to any type of collection and have it brighten your room up a bit, or be a more professional looking display area. But you have got to have FUN with it too. :)

I tend to just chuck stuff *wherever*, so yeah I get as a "display" my stuff looks like shit, and I don't really care - but with a bit of planning and thought, you can do a much better job, but I hope you get the basic ideas I wished to communicate.

Also, those glass display cases are awesome for upscale stuff, if you take a look at the Kool Kollectibles site - awesome photos of collections, you can see some great display options for glass case stuff.

https://www.instagram.com/koolkollectibles/

http://i.imgur.com/5rWlpc9.jpg

[Bladestorm]

When (if) I ever get the chance to do my display room back in Oz I am leaning towards glass and under-shelf diffused lighting. There are some amazing examples of that here in HK which make the figures and boxes - beit Gundam, Transformers, breasty anime, die cast cars - they all look stunning as long as the shelf isn't too dusty or cluttered.. but even the cluttered shelves draw you in.
As always though it is the $$ that is going to restrict how awesome any display can be.

[BigTransformerTrev]

Just my opinion, I don't know how much of a movie buff you are, but I'd lose the DVD display area, or least minimise it. DVDs or BD on a shelf take up HEAPS of space that could be better used for something else either functional or purely aesthetic, I mean what is more attractive, a big pile of movies in plastic cases, or a really cool framed mounted picture of your fav movie, or transformers art or whatever.

With the rise of digital media, I find myself only buying the odd BD these days, and even then it usually site on a shelf or box to be forgotten, and its quicker just to grab something from online for convenient watch.

If you are a BD home cinema enthusiast, you could look into buying those big movie wallets which can hold over 100 discs in each, and be tucked away anywhere in the house out of the way, which means freeing up more room for cooler displays or whatever in your mancave.

Just looking at the crap on my shelf, the toys and books look okay -it is a bookcase FYI - and the movies are just the ugliest part, I try to keep one small section for stuff I want to rewatch this year or whatever, anything else goes in the sleepout for storage.

Box set can look okay if they have cool covers or art, but vanilla movie covers are pretty ugly.

I used to have a really nice hard wood bookshelf that was nearly 8 feet all and quite deep, but after I moved all I could afford was crappy IKEA sawdust shelves that strain with the weight of books on them. Only thing I do like about them is that with two sets of kit shelves next to each other, gives me heaps of space, and the shelves are easily removed to give bigger or smaller areas.

so yeah, swappable shelving is a must, the peg system is okay, but for higher quality stuff you would want a stronger type of peg that can take the weight, or whatever you use, plastic, metal, glass whatever make sure it is not going to bend or break as the shelf gets heavier with stuff.

My mancave is actually a dedicated space for me to write my blogs and stuff, and all around is pictures, posters, couple of framed things of Spider-Man and just stuff that inspires me, and while I read books for fun, most are for reference in my writing.

It's surprising how much use you can get out a shelf, if you use the back portion of it, as well as the front, if you are going for a nice display don't be like me and just cram everything you can on there, give things room to breathe, and maybe think about having some sections that are more long term displays, or even permanent, and some areas that are easy to swap stuff around (like you most recent acquisitions etc). :cool:

Those same boring shelves are crammed with transformers now instead of hero stuff. Well still some hero stuff. ;)


Another thing you might want to think about is levels

"The bets off... I'm not doing the levels..."

"But that WAS the bet, that you wouldn't do the levels!"

Now, this is just a crappy old wooden closet thing, and is not actually mine, it has old clothes in it (again not mine, my partners stuff) but seeing as it's in this room, I stacked toys on top of it, and the ones at the back are just on top of toy boxes so you can see them raised up.

to do this properly, you could have some staggered platforms / shelves / whatever, so that you can see a whole bunch of stuff in a SMALL area, making good use of space. Again, I overcrowd things, also the wallpaper here is like from the 70's and pretty ugly, so excuse that if you will.

Anyhow again this is just my writing room, so toys are not the priority, but I believe that large or small, you can dedicate a portion of space to any type of collection and have it brighten your room up a bit, or be a more professional looking display area. But you have got to have FUN with it too. :)

I tend to just chuck stuff *wherever*, so yeah I get as a "display" my stuff looks like shit, and I don't really care - but with a bit of planning and thought, you can do a much better job, but I hope you get the basic ideas I wished to communicate.

Also, those glass display cases are awesome for upscale stuff, if you take a look at the Kool Kollectibles site - awesome photos of collections, you can see some great display options for glass case stuff.



Cheers for that - great pics by the way!


When (if) I ever get the chance to do my display room back in Oz I am leaning towards glass and under-shelf diffused lighting. There are some amazing examples of that here in HK which make the figures and boxes - beit Gundam, Transformers, breasty anime, die cast cars - they all look stunning as long as the shelf isn't too dusty or cluttered.. but even the cluttered shelves draw you in.
As always though it is the $$ that is going to restrict how awesome any display can be.

Yeah I'd love glass display cabinets but too expensive to outfit an entire room with. Thinking of one for the centre of the room though :)

[Bladestorm]

Yeah I'd love glass display cabinets but too expensive to outfit an entire room with. Thinking of one for the centre of the room though :)

I think as long as the figures are protected behind glass doors they can still look pretty good in regular cabinets if the design doesn't overshadow the display. I love your idea of a central glass display. That would draw people to the centre of the room.

If I had the $$ and didn't think movers would smash them to bits I would have glass cabinets made here in HK and shipped to Oz because custom cabinets are reasonably priced which is why I think so many stores and collectors in HK can afford them.

I dread to think how much custom glass cabinets would cost to have made back in Sydney... although when we move back and do have some $$ I will probably be crazy and price it. ;)

[BigTransformerTrev]

Well it's a full 3 years later and at a completely different address (and in a different State) but the Transformatorium is finally happening!

At our old place it was going to be an extension of the main house, but we could never get builders who were available, but its a good thing it didn't get built since we moved anyway. Now instead of being attached to the main house its going to be its own separate building. Signed with the shed designers and builders yesterday. Here is a rough mock-up I've done of what we are building (the real plans have our address all over them so obviously not posting them in a public forum):


http://i68.tinypic.com/2557w45.png
EDIT: I drew that wrong. It is actually 11.5m long, not 8.5m. So those car spaces are 3m wide and 5m long, not 3x3. So the building is longer than wider, as opposed to how I drew it :o

So yeah, the shed will comprise a 3-vehicle sealed & covered carport with a rollerdoor leading into a storage room. The main room will be for my collection with a glass sliding door but no other entries or windows, and will be putting a curtain over the glass door. Between that and the insulation it should provide enough protection from varying temperatures for my collection to be safe.

Hopefully within 4 months this will be built. Of course then will have to get electricity hooked up and start to build shelving, as well as a big table in the centre to play on.

So yay - after near a decade I will finally get to get my entire collection out of storage :)

So now I no longer require any tips on the construction, but if anyone has any on how to build cheap yet strong shelving yell out as there is no way I can afford to do all glass cabinets. Also I'll have to think about lighting, since all natural light will be blocked out.

[Seraphim Prime]

But if anyone has any on how to build cheap yet strong shelving yell out as there is no way I can afford to do all glass cabinets.

I hear cinder blocks and pine wood boards are pretty cheap...

But in all honesty - congratulations! Very exciting news to hear that the dream hobby room is finally taking shape.

If you're looking at flatpacks, I think more than a few of us have at least of few of the Billy bookcases that Ikea produce. They're a pretty sturdy and reasonable storage shelf.

[DaptoDog]

Wow congrats Trev, that is very exciting that it is finally coming together. Once the concrete gets poured it should progress pretty quickly. Look forward to seeing the photos with your collection once it's all set up!

[BigTransformerTrev]

I hear cinder blocks and pine wood boards are pretty cheap...

Heh - the shelves I had for all my VHS tapes in my loungeroom at Uni were constructed from those exact same materials. And in true Simpsons fashion I had swiped them from a construction site :p


Wow congrats Trev, that is very exciting that it is finally coming together. Once the concrete gets poured it should progress pretty quickly. Look forward to seeing the photos with your collection once it's all set up!

Cheers mate, I'm really looking forward to getting this underway :)

[KELPIE]

That's awesome mate, hope it all goes well and according to plan.

Being external like that will you have proper insulation?

The stuff I have stored in the garage, I'm always worried about the extreme heat in summer and the cold in winter :(

[Jetfire in the sky]

Looks great BTT, excellent size too. My personal preference for shelves is DIY custom, it allows more flexibility with varying sizes and styles of bots, using pine for frames, rails that are easily adjusted with the movable brackets, glass shelving and glass sliding doors. The main expense comes with the shelves, which on average for me have cost around $35 each, then the sliding doors which get into the $1000's. You can stage it too, so do one wall well planned that will take a lot of toys then have temporary shelves which don't cost too much (K-mart ones maybe) so that later down the track its not a big deal to change them over with the cabinet style.
I have been lucky with two of my main shelves in that one was from gumtree and fitted one wall perfectly, I think I got it for $120 and they even helped me get it to my house, that easily would have been $3000 brand new, the other cabinet was from a store closing down for $100. With the rails I connect them directly to my wall, the cabinet does not have a back piece, this allows for the rails to take a lot more weight.

[BigTransformerTrev]

Just found out we are probably going to be up for an extra couple of grand to get the ground levelled out and concrete braces put in around the side, since the land where the back of the shed will be is almost a full meter lower than where the front of the carport will be :rolleyes:


That's awesome mate, hope it all goes well and according to plan.

Being external like that will you have proper insulation?

The stuff I have stored in the garage, I'm always worried about the extreme heat in summer and the cold in winter :(

Yeah the shed will be insulated. The shed at our old farm where the TF's were stored was not insulated and it often reached the mid 40's in Summer, but since the figures were in boxes within boxes they were OK. At our new place the problem is cold, in the winter it sometimes reaches -7 here :eek: So insulation is essential.


Looks great BTT, excellent size too. My personal preference for shelves is DIY custom, it allows more flexibility with varying sizes and styles of bots, using pine for frames, rails that are easily adjusted with the movable brackets, glass shelving and glass sliding doors. The main expense comes with the shelves, which on average for me have cost around $35 each, then the sliding doors which get into the $1000's. You can stage it too, so do one wall well planned that will take a lot of toys then have temporary shelves which don't cost too much (K-mart ones maybe) so that later down the track its not a big deal to change them over with the cabinet style.
I have been lucky with two of my main shelves in that one was from gumtree and fitted one wall perfectly, I think I got it for $120 and they even helped me get it to my house, that easily would have been $3000 brand new, the other cabinet was from a store closing down for $100. With the rails I connect them directly to my wall, the cabinet does not have a back piece, this allows for the rails to take a lot more weight.

The idea is that I build fairly cheap shelving to begin with, then as the years progress replace them peacemeal with better glass ones as and when I can afford it.

I'm intrigued by the idea of adjustable shelves with rails though - that's a really good idea I hadn't thought of! Got any pics or links to the kind of shelving you describe?

[Demonac]

I'm intrigued by the idea of adjustable shelves with rails though - that's a really good idea I hadn't thought of! Got any pics or links to the kind of shelving you describe?

I don't know how close to a Bunnings you live, but these are what I have:
Rails (https://www.bunnings.com.au/flexi-storage-500mm-white-single-slot-wall-strip_p2580180) & Brackets (https://www.bunnings.com.au/flexi-storage-500mm-white-s-track-shelving-single-bracket_p2580167).
If the room is closed off most of the time, then you shouldn't need glass fronts.

[KELPIE]

Just found out we are probably going to be up for an extra couple of grand to get the ground levelled out and concrete braces put in around the side, since the land where the back of the shed will be is almost a full meter lower than where the front of the carport will be :rolleyes:
Ouch.

Could you do like a split level or something? Or would that make it even more expensive


Yeah the shed will be insulated. The shed at our old farm where the TF's were stored was not insulated and it often reached the mid 40's in Summer, but since the figures were in boxes within boxes they were OK. At our new place the problem is cold, in the winter it sometimes reaches -7 here :eek: So insulation is essential.

Thumbs up!

[BigTransformerTrev]

Couple of little updates:

*The High School library is replacing all their shelving and said all their old shelving was 'free to a good home'. Sadly when I contacted them they told me curtly it was for other classrooms only. Don't know why they worded their email the way they did then as I reread it and it was very misleading.

*The lot that were going to do the earthworks for us have fallen through which is frustrating as we need it done sooner rather than later and there are not that many companies out here. So desperately ringing round to see if we can get someone else ASAP.

*We can get away with just getting the drop on once side concreted, so it should be an extra $1500 rather than $4500

*Shed is looking like being constructed and ready to be delivered by July 8.

*Have an electrician ready to go, just need to figure out what kind of lighting the room will need and if I will want any power points.


So it's happening, despite the odd hitch here and there

[GoktimusPrime]

In my experience old school library shelves aren't very good for TFs anyway. I know that it would've saved you money but yeah... they're not deep enough for rows of toys.

[BigTransformerTrev]

In my experience old school library shelves aren't very good for TFs anyway. I know that it would've saved you money but yeah... they're not deep enough for rows of toys.

Yeah that slight leanback too means that the figures would have had to lean against the back as they wouldn't have been able to stand upright.

It was more they would have been useful as placeholders as it's going to take me months to actually build the amount of shelving I require.

[BigTransformerTrev]

Well today it all kicked off. Had blokes here digging a giant hole in my back paddock in order to use the soil to even out the spot in the driveway the shed is going. Cost $500 more than expected but was a bigger job than expected.

Also had the shed itself (in kit form) showed up on a VERY long truck!

So now just waiting for the slab to be concreted and then they start putting the shed together :)


http://i64.tinypic.com/2wmdsns.jpg


http://i67.tinypic.com/lgoki.jpg




Ah frag! I think Tinypic has gone the way of Photobucket and isn't letting me put free pics up anymore. Anyone got any other suggestions?

[KELPIE]

Ah frag! I think Tinypic has gone the way of Photobucket and isn't letting me put free pics up anymore. Anyone got any other suggestions?

Always Imgur (https://imgur.com/).

Stop using tinypic or Photobucket for whatever you're using them for.

[BigTransformerTrev]

There - got it working now :)


Site of shed (took 10 truckloads to even it out)

http://i67.tinypic.com/1zi6pz.jpg



Shed kit getting delivered

http://i65.tinypic.com/2ildgmg.jpg

[KELPIE]

There - got it working now :)

I still say you should move to Imgur ;)

Looking good mate, it must be exciting to finally see the project get started.

[BigTransformerTrev]

The Slab is down. I repeat - The Slab Is Down. :D


http://i64.tinypic.com/2psgj10.jpg



Looks pretty big I know, but remember only 3/8ths of that surface will be the Transformatorium. The rest is storage and carport.

[KELPIE]

Looks pretty big I know, but remember only 3/8ths of that surface will be the Transformatorium. The rest is storage and carport.

For now, that's the "plan" anyway ;)

[BigTransformerTrev]

Next stage of the Transformatorium is complete - the frame us up! :D

http://i66.tinypic.com/kcxatd.jpg


To give you an idea of the dimensions the Transformatorim will take up (6x5.5m), here's my kids standing at opposite corners :)

http://i66.tinypic.com/zuqtmf.png

[Thurmus]

I hope you will be able to fit both of them on your shelves.

[BigTransformerTrev]

Day 2 of Construction - on go the outer walls and roof :)


http://i68.tinypic.com/2nlwh9g.jpg

[BigTransformerTrev]

And it's done! (the building itself anyway - a lot of inner construction of shelving to go yet)


http://i67.tinypic.com/2cfqddx.jpg

[Unicran]

Damn you photo hosting sites!

How is the Transformatorium?

[KELPIE]

Bump - Pics please :)