Apologies if this topic has been discussed previously or elsewhere. I'm starting out in brickvesting and I'm a bit unsure how one should store lego sets to best preserve the box? I live in a mediterannean climate so most of the year is quite dry, but it can be quite damp in June-August. So far I've wrapped sets in a thin plastic with a few sachets of silica in each. Those are then stored in larger boxes, which again have some silica inside. I'm not aiming at building a massive inventory as I'm based in South Africa and our AFOL base is still growing. At the moment I'm just acquiring 2-3 each of the big sets as they go EOL and I'll start selling in two years or so. Due to this I don't really need to have regular access to the sets, so I'm looking for the best medium-term storage solution. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

26 minutes ago, lazuli16 said:

So I'm finally getting evicted.  My wife wants to reclaim our basement.  I'm going to need to rent out a climate controlled storage space.  Are there any tips you guys can offer, or anything to avoid?  I'm thinking of going with Public Storage. 

You could try mentioning to her:

"While I certainly do understand your wanting to reclaim the basement, you do realize that the bedroom is going to crowded with an awful lot of LEGO." 

Edited February 12, 20187 yr by KShine

1 hour ago, cladner said:

...maybe sprinkle a few fake spiders and snakes and a can of musty odor.  forego any controlling of the television /video streaming remote?  ...

wait, what?? there is an option for control of the television remote! it this really a thing?... pretty sure it's not in the manual...

1 hour ago, lazuli16 said:

So I'm finally getting evicted.  My wife wants to reclaim our basement.  I'm going to need to rent out a climate controlled storage space.  Are there any tips you guys can offer, or anything to avoid?  I'm thinking of going with Public Storage. 

Sorry to hear this.

Each storage company has their own 'game' where they squeeze profits.  Some require insurance, others don't.  Which it is seems to depend on the site manager, or who happens to checks you in. Know that rents will typically go up after 6 months, typically by 10-20%---the initial rate is a teaser.  Usually, the only way to avoid the rate change is to move to a new unit.  With Public Storage, I've found that as long as the new unit is in a new name / email address, the new unit can be in the same building.

If your volume is high enough that Cladner's advice will sway your wife, that may be a much cheaper and more preferable option.

best of luck as you proceed.

Thanks guys.  Unfortunately, my wife has a point.  We need the space.  We had our third child last year, which impacted my turnover rate.  The selling stopped, but the buying didn't.  My hope is that after six months, i'll be able to get it managable again and bring my precious's back home.  If i'm totally honest, i'm kind of looking forward to it.  My inventory is currently squirreled away in so many corners, that I'm looking forward to taking a complete inventory and making sure my spreadsheets are accurate. 

7 minutes ago, SpaceFan9 said:

Know that rents will typically go up after 6 months, typically by 10-20%---the initial rate is a teaser. 

Do they let you pay ahead of time?

8 minutes ago, SpaceFan9 said:

If your volume is high enough that Cladner's advice will sway your wife, that may be a much cheaper and more preferable option.

My wife works full time, I can't compete with her current employer and their pension & 401K contributions. 

6 minutes ago, lazuli16 said:

Thanks guys.  Unfortunately, my wife has a point.  We need the space.  We had our third child last year, which impacted my turnover rate.  The selling stopped, but the buying didn't.  My hope is that after six months, i'll be able to get it managable again and bring my precious's back home.  If i'm totally honest, i'm kind of looking forward to it.  My inventory is currently squirreled away in so many corners, that I'm looking forward to taking a complete inventory and making sure my spreadsheets are accurate. 

This is a good summary of why I keep an off-site unit.  If you can spend the time to be super organized about it, it can be much more efficient.  I use only 3-4 common  box sizes to ease stacking and maximize the space usage.  I also use a virtual 3D grid, to assign each box with a location ID within the unit. My spreadsheet then stores what each box has inside, and where it's located.  It takes time on the front end, but it makes it very easy to pull stock when an item meets my price target.

14 minutes ago, lazuli16 said:

Do they let you pay ahead of time?

Extra Space does.  I think they allow one to pay up to 1 year in advance at the current rental rate.  This needs to be done in month 3 or 4 though.  I've never tried with PS.

I also use only 5 standard box sizes that cater for all my inventory (including bike parts) with minimal internal packaging, yet keep the items safe. Only my custom 600x500x130mm (Modular/Technic) and 500x400x130mm (Volcano/Saturn V) boxes are double-walled for the larger/heavier sets, the rest are heavy-duty single-wall - nothing but compliments so far! My minimum order size for boxes is 500x (about a pallet) so that I can take advantage of the big discounts and I can also mix & match sizes. I'm lucky to have space in a friend's warehouse (I buy him lunch every week!) where I currently have about 20x 1x1x1m pallets (mostly 21309 Saturn V and 70618 Destinys Bounty) to stay for the long haul. Each one has a manifest so that I know exactly where it is and what it contains. Since the place is secure and has on-site security, it is also the collection point for buyers close by. The deeds to our house DO NOT allow storage of items that are sold for profit so I only have about 20 small sets kept at home at any one time. I also don't want to pay business rates either for my "packing area" ;-)

You have to be careful with a business run from home as the laws and costs are well stacked up against you. Extortionate storage units costs with insurance in the UK are a killer.

Does anyone store Lego in a garage thats fully insulated but not A/C?

I am building a new house and was hoping to turn the one car garage into the lego storage room - i had it fully insulated (all walls and the door) but there is no central air.
Maybe i just keep a de-humidifier in there?

I live in a very hot state.

I'm going to be re-doing the Lego Shop.  But before I do so, if you could build the ultimate shop, what would you do?

Here is my current imagination...

10 foot walls to start

Bottom 2 feet would be a long shelf where I can store boxes just off the floor.  The middle 4ish feet would be stocked with AkroMill storage units and other variety storage units for parts and pieces, etc...  The top 2-3 feet would be another long shelf hanging from the ceiling where I can store another row of Lego Boxes.  

I feel this creates space at the top and bottom for large sets and space in the middle for me to grab items for parts orders, etc...

Also, two tables, one for parting out and one for pulling orders. Both on wheels to move them around the room.  Size, approximately 20 x 12.

Thoughts, what would you do?  Thanks

Zombie thread...

I just ordered two separate shipments of the Muscle Rack from Walmart (we all know the deal)

It was interesting that the first shipment were painted black and were missing the connector/hinges that goes between the two halves (top and bottom). Also both boxes each had a support beam that had a bent end (super annoying)...I made it work but it was a process. Also not 100% sure missing the hinges will be OK longterm...I figure LEGO sets are near maxing out the capacity.

The 2nd shipment, the racks were painted speckled grey powder coat. These  even felt sturdier.  Also came w hinges and no bent pieces. Set up was a breeze.

 Wondering if this type of inconsistent quality was seen by others.

thanks

The bent support beam would be my concern. Most of these cabinet muscle racks are built to hold 500+ and most will support quite a bit more than that, so you’d really have to max them out with LEGO exclusives.

Link to item?

I build my own when possible. As wood worker, I always have scrap on hand and wood is lighter than steel or MDF and finding cull plywood is cheap.

Does anyone have any recommendations for utilizing storage spaces with 20ft ceilings (without buying a forklift). 

I usually pre box all the Lego's in extra large boxes and stack them about 10ft tall (5 boxes on top of each other), however that leaves 10ft of un-used space. I was thinking of building a platform at about 6'6. Then I could have a stack of three boxes on the bottom and then stack boxes 5 high on the platform. However to get anything down would be a bit of a pain.

I know the right answer is probably to just get a larger space and buy a forklift butttttttt were not there yet.

You can buy used pallet racking 16’ tall and a warehouse ladder...the ones you see at Home Depot,  that way you could push it around and access the “2nd level”. But really you should buy a forklift. Life changing. 

I think my ceilings are around 16' and I use 12' boltless shelving.  Although if you are tall you can reach with an 8' ladder, a 10' (platform height) works really well.  Each of my shelves are 4'x8'x12' places in rows accessible from each side.  You can't put Lego boxes directly on pallet shelving and setting up an area to operate a forklift in would require more spacing.

Edited December 4, 20205 yr by gmpirate

Does anyone have any recommendations for utilizing storage spaces with 20ft ceilings (without buying a forklift). 

I usually pre box all the Lego's in extra large boxes and stack them about 10ft tall (5 boxes on top of each other), however that leaves 10ft of un-used space. I was thinking of building a platform at about 6'6. Then I could have a stack of three boxes on the bottom and then stack boxes 5 high on the platform. However to get anything down would be a bit of a pain.

I know the right answer is probably to just get a larger space and buy a forklift butttttttt were not there yet.

You can invest in a mobile scaffold that is adjustable to about 6’. Some even stack to 12’. Anything that you build above 6-8’ needs to be properly anchored to the wall every 2 to 3’ feet vertically. Also, forget ladders . . .

7 minutes ago, Mark Twain said:

Also, forget ladders . . .

warehouse ladders, different story.

 

 

5 minutes ago, Mark Twain said:

You can invest in a mobile scaffold that is adjustable to about 6’. Some even stack to 12’. Anything that you build above 6-8’ needs to be properly anchored to the wall every 2 to 3’ feet vertically. Also, forget ladders . . .

You may be speaking to code, but I find 4'x8'x12' shelving is plenty wide/deep enough for good stability.   My shelves against the wall are only 3' deep (since they are only accessible from one side) and feel pretty stable at that depth as well.  I'm good with ladders (one normal & one on wheels) but you could always get a stair ladder if it made you feel more comfortable.  But like a forklift, a stair ladder will require better spacing between shelves.

You may be speaking to code, but I find 4'x8'x12' shelving is plenty wide/deep enough for good stability.   My shelves against the wall are only 3' deep (since they are only accessible from one side) and feel pretty stable at that depth as well.  I'm good with ladders (one normal & one on wheels) but you could always get a stair ladder if it made you feel more comfortable.  But like a forklift, a stair ladder will require better spacing between shelves.

Pipe strapping is cheap and easy to install and provides a lot of piece of mind, especially if you live anywhere near a seismic zone.

6 minutes ago, Mark Twain said:

Pipe strapping is cheap and easy to install and provides a lot of piece of mind, especially if you live anywhere near a seismic zone.

Shoot, earthquakes don't scare me none.

1 minute ago, gmpirate said:

Shoot, earthquakes don't scare me none.

I bet earthquakes aren't scared of you either!

Was trying to remember where I got that quote/saying from.  Just remembered  "That old Prince John don't scare me none!"