Moving - Need Help & Suggestions please

[Kyle Tucker]

Any suggestions would help me, so thank you in advanced...

I live in Iowa and am moving to, well, Iowa, about 60 miles down the road. We are building a house and it will not be completed until late August/September, and we are closing on our current home in June, therefore I have to rent a storage unit for all of my woodworking equipment, tools, wood, etc. Climate controlled storage for a period of time is not an option (too much $), so I am forced with the run of the mill storage unit with a concrete floor. Summers in Iowa are very humid, so I am worried about rust buildup on my tools and machine tops, as well as the lumber I will have leftover (cupping/twisting, etc.). The concrete sweats a lot during the summers. None of the units seem to have electricity, so I cant plug in a dehumidifier and check on it periodically. Is there something I can treat the tops with to inhibit rust?

Thanks for the help...

[Russell Sansom]

Every single piece of lumber I've bought / tried to buy out of a storage unit has been trashed...cupped, warped, checked, split. I always thought it was the oven-like heat resulting in severe dryness.

It might work to bag and tape the tools up in plastic. The bag would slow down air exchange.
There's also rust inhibitor available ... like impregnated pads of paper that are shipped with some fine tools. I think Ron Hock talks about it in "the Perfect Edge," but not positive that my memory is correct on that one.

[Dave MacArthur]

Easier solution maybe...
Talk to new owner and see if you can rent it back from him for a couple months. Depending on why he's moving, he may do that. This is a pretty common thing, I've done it a few times (I'm also a realtor and run a small real estate biz on the side). This would be my first thing to attempt.

[Craig Ryder]

Hi:
I am unfamiliar with Iowa, but in my neck of the woods the typical commercial storage space is not the only option. Places with a little better ventilation and electricity can be found. Farmers, guys with barns, and out buildings, etc .. Perhaps you can find a better alternative. Post an inquiry on the local CL or some such place.

Cheers,

[Jim Matthews]

Do you have access to the PODS service?
Their storage units are built on a raised platform.

Cosmoline will be very effective, even at high temperatures and elevated humidity levels.http://www.schafco.com/cosmoline.asp
LV sells corrosion inhibiting bags that emit a low dose of VOC to slow the process...http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=58755&cat=1,43326

I have seen some of the larger cabinet shops wrap tooled parts in shrink wrap to prevent wood movement between steps, I wonder if the 6 mil shrink wrap used for boat storage would work.
For that matter, is there a large boat storage facility anywhere nearby? http://www.saylorvillemarina.com/

It may be worth a call, the worst they would say is "No".

Best of luck,
I hate moving.

[Matt Meiser]

I had to do something similar, but in the winter. Everything went into a nearby storage place. I coated all the bare steel/cast iron surfaces with Boeshield and didn't wipe it off--just let it dry in place. I've since done that with freshly turned brake rotors stored in my garage for a couple years that were perfect when cleaned off. Lumber got stacked in the storage unit on sleepers so it wasn't on the concrete. If you are really worried you could sticker it. Small stuff packed in boxes I wasn't too worried about. I bought Plane Socks for hand tools. You could also spray hand tools down with an appropriate oil and bag them, maybe with silica jel packets.

PODS/Mobile Attic/any other name are great. I used a Mobile Attic when I did a kitchen last year for extra storage, then transport to my parents' house for installation.

My experience (based on my old garage) has generally been that sweat forms when its cool and dry inside and you open the door on a hot humid day. With reasonable protection, doing that occasionally isn't going to cause problems. If you are in and out every day, that would be another story.

[Dave Gaul]

I was gonna suggest PODS as well like Matt did, or asking the new owner if you can rent like someone else did too! When I bought my first house the owner rented the house for two weeks while they move to their new place, paying us 1/2 month's worth of the mortgage, worked out well for both parties!

[Anthony Whitesell]

Having been through the same but different, I will throw out a few thoughts.

With the PODs service, will they move a loaded POD? You may be able to get a two for one if they do. Load it at the old house and store it at the new one. If that doesn't fly, then you can have the POD dropped at the new house and just move everything into it there.

Instead of trying to store everything in a single climate controlled unit, can you split up the stuff between a regular unit and a climate controlled one. That would get you two smaller units with (probably) a low cost that one large climate controlled unit. They may also provide a discount for paying in full ahead of time, they may not do it for only 3 months but it can't hurt to ask. I paid in 6 month increments and got 15% off (almost buy five get one free).

I was also going to suggest looking for an inexpensive retail or commercial space that you could lease for a few months. I have noticed around me a few that are in the 150-300/month. But then again, the climate controlled storage my be about the same cost.

Where are you staying in between houses?

[Anthony Whitesell]

I was just thinking the PODS service would be nice to store some stuff while we recarpeted this house later this year. I just checked out there prices. :eek: The 7'x8'x8' POD was 114.95/month plus $189 delivery and $79 retrieval charges. :eek: I can't believe that climate controlled storage could be much more.

[Kyle Tucker]

Anthony - My wife is staying with her parents about an hour a half away from where I will be staying in the summer for work, not looking forward to only seeing the kids in the weekend. I am doing a POD for some of the household items, but 1 of these things is more than enough to stomach for me regarding the price!

Thanks to all for the suggestions.

[sunny nic]

I was just thinking the PODS service would be nice to store some stuff while we recarpeted this house later this year. I just checked out there prices. :eek: The 7'x8'x8' POD was 114.95/month plus $189 delivery and $79 retrieval charges. :eek: I can't believe that climate controlled storage could be much more.

I can't believe that neither.

[Whit AndersonIL]

Kyle--

I recently kept some things in non-climate controlled storage in Illinois. The place had a concrete floor. I put a plastic tarp down over the whole floor. The storage area got very humid. I kept my big tools elsewhere, but I put a couple of old tools in the storage area. I told myself I didn't care much about them. One was a table top drill press. The column was completely rusted after about a year. The other tool also suffered rust damage.

If I had to do it over again I would find another place to keep my stuff. Not just the tools--everything. I would pay more, discard more, take advantage of family and friends, but I wouldn't leave my stuff in non-climate controlled storage.

--Whit

[Anthony Whitesell]

and I didn't even list what they want if to move it like it was a moving van (ie., loaded from point A to point B)

[Scott T Smith]

When I was faced with a similar situation several years back, I opted to purchase a used shipping container and locate it on the new property. A dehumidifier was installed inside, and everything fared well.

Several months down the road, I sold the container for the original purchase price.

[kevin loftus]

Iv'e heard that kitty litter works like silica gel
in capturing moisture. :)

[Charles McKinley]

You can buy the 20 and 40 foot shipping cotainers for about $2500-3000 load it and have it moved to your home. Keep it locked up then sell it when you can move in or if you are in an area where you can you have a ready made storage building.

[keith ouellette]

When I first put up the building that is my shop I didn't have it insulated or the interior siding up and it got super humid in there and rusted stuff up fast. We're pretty sticky in florida. When I was a child we lived in a mobile home and left it for most of the summer.

My mother bought these small containers of stuff that absorbed a great amount of moisture but I don't remember what it was called. I remember we used something like 8 -12 oz containers in a double wide and it kept the place from getting all musty while we were gone.

I am pretty sure it was about like this stuff is http://www.allergystore.com/moisture-absorber.htm I'd get 2- 3 packs and use 2 at a time and replace them once a month to make certain. At the very least it might get you on the right track.