Storing bikes in an old out-house

[Black Sheep]

At some point the old out-house / coal store of our victorian terrace has been connected to the back of the kitchen allowing you to walk through a connecting ''scullery'' (it has a sink in it, so that is what it shall be called) into a reasonable sized storage area, through which you can exit into the back garden or, if you wish, there is a broken toilet sulking in the corner.

now, the plan is to box the toilet in, making it a less social experience but a slightly more welcoming and hygienic one and use the 6ft or so between your average toilet cubicle that I have created and the end wall of the room in which to store two road bikes, two mountain bikes and any bikes our (potential) children may acquire during their lives.

so, any ideas how to best use this space?

I was thinking of hanging them by a wheel leaving space below for a small rack for smaller bikes?

would a picture help to show the area concerned?

thanks

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Or you could make a very small games room?

 

[Black Sheep]

I don't have anywhere else to store bikes, so bike store it shall be.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Sorry I was being silly. What are the rough dimensions? In modern measurements if possible as that olde worldy feet and cubits means nowt to me. It sounds like you have a similar house to me (being a Victorian terrace), we hang our bikes in the little covered walkway that exists between our house and next door. The bit of the house that you've converted used to be my study, now it's a sort of laundry room.

 

[Black Sheep]

laundry room is the scullery (it has a washing machine, don't worry i'm not making my wife use the sink old style!) there is no walkway between houses as they've been built in short runs with backs access between each runs wide enough to get the bin lorry through.

I think it's 2.6 / 2.5 M

doorway to rest of house in bottom right corner, doorway to outside top right corner on right hand wall,
toilet in bottom left corner, attached to left hand wall - if that makes sense.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

It sounds pretty much perfect for storing a bunch of bikes in, have you seen those double rack dealies?

 

[Black Sheep]

nope

also, wanting to keep costs down as we've the rest of the house to sort including re-wire, re-plumb and re-roof

 

[Andrew_Culture]

The cheapest way to do it would be to buy some ladder racks like these http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/533794 - just make sure they stick out further than the distance from the stem to the end of the handlebars on the bike you want to hang.

 

[Theseus]

How much headroom do you have?

Could you have a set of bikes hanging by the rafters and another set below them on the floor?

 

[fossyant]

Make use of the wall space and hang from the wheels - stagger them if you can to allow handlebar room. Down side of this is they need lifting down, but you will save space.

If you eventually have kids, their bikes will need to be accessible - i.e. if you are out and the missus doesn't want to lift them down - speaking from experience.

 

[Black Sheep]

Make use of the wall space and hang from the wheels - stagger them if you can to allow handlebar room. Down side of this is they need lifting down, but you will save space.

If you eventually have kids, their bikes will need to be accessible - i.e. if you are out and the missus doesn't want to lift them down - speaking from experience.

thats what I was thinking, teenagers, even young ones, will be able to lift their own bikes off a lower hook, although I was hoping someone might have an example of what you describe.

 

[albion]

With top quality bikes people follow you home and if it then goes in an out building ....................

£20,000 worth of such bikes were reportedly stolen in Darlington in the last few days.

 

[fossyant]

Something like this

http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDetails.asp?productID=6623

 

[Black Sheep]

With top quality bikes people follow you home and if it then goes in an out building ....................

£20,000 worth of such bikes were reportedly stolen in Darlington in the last few days.

I wouldn't really call our bikes top quality!

more annoying to replace than anything else.

the outbuilding is now part of the house and as such is as secure as the front door and window

 

[Brains]

Be aware that Victorian sculleries have a chimney for the laundry boiler somewhere. It can come as a bit of a surprise if you are drilling and you hit the void.
Also the sloping floor is a design feature not subsidence !