[Ghat724@gmail.com]

There are two fulky equipped woodworking shops, clubs, coops in The Villages that can handle large projects.
Check them out!

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by NoMo50

While living in the Villages provides countless opportunities to stay active, some sacrifices do need to be made. Extra space is certainly one of them. Those who came from locales with basements know all about that. In our prior home, I had my dream workshop, which was primarily for woodworking. Fortunately, I was able to satisfy my addiction by joining the woodworking club (yes...the Villages Woodshop is certainly better than what I had). But, I have also been able to carve out sufficient space within our 3-car garage for a serviceable workshop space. You just have to be a little creative.

I have a neighbor who had his home built, and he has a six car garage (yeah...you read that right). His home has a "standard" four car garage, but one of the garages is double deep. That is his workshop, and gives him about 400 sq ft of work space. You would, however, have to find a lot that would accommodate such a plan.

With a little forethought and planning, I'm sure you can find or build something that will satisfy most, but maybe not all, of your needs/wants. Another thing to keep in mind: once you move here, you will likely find so many things to occupy your time that you won't be spending near as much "free time" doing things you used to do. I know that was certainly the case for me. Good Luck on your search, and welcome to The Villages in advance!

I can't help my weird humor. The story of Noah's arc, I think it says his neighbors thought he was a fool. Manure? You are going to pick up after those elephants The villages had not yet been built. Lumber surely cost far less.
Space? I miss my basement. Here it would quickly be an indoor swimming pool.

[Jim1mack]

Rent a space from a storage company.

[buzzy]

pdnesbitt,

I hope you come here. A three car garage would work for you. Maybe even a 2 car plus golf cart garage, if you only put one car and a cart in it. I have an oversize 2 car size, and the whole outside wall is workbenches. I have seen giant models hanging from ropes & pulleys, but height is an issue. I have twenty or so models of 4-5 foot span, some hanging and some on roll-about racks. Another ten race boats on wall shelves. I just put in a mini-split air conditioner, and it's wonderful.

The Villages has a beautiful flying site on the polo grounds, but only for electric powered models. For giant scale and IMAC stuff there is a small mixed power club just outside The Villages, and another very big club in Ocala.

[bobeaston]

Something else to consider while shopping for a home...

Assuming you hang your planes from ceilings, some homes are better suited for that. It seems a majority of homes here are built with 8 foot outer walls. This leaves indoor ceilings that often are arched or include vaulted details. However, there are some that are built with 10 foot high outer walls and have absolutely flat ceilings, both in interior rooms and the garages.

As you browse the homefinder site, pay attention to the model of the home and look for those that include a "-10." For example, ours is a Lantana-10, a 10 foot tall version of the Lantana design, and has a lot of extra air space for those planes.

[pdnesbitt]

Originally Posted by buzzy

pdnesbitt,

I hope you come here. A three car garage would work for you. Maybe even a 2 car plus golf cart garage, if you only put one car and a cart in it. I have an oversize 2 car size, and the whole outside wall is workbenches. I have seen giant models hanging from ropes & pulleys, but height is an issue. I have twenty or so models of 4-5 foot span, some hanging and some on roll-about racks. Another ten race boats on wall shelves. I just put in a mini-split air conditioner, and it's wonderful.

The Villages has a beautiful flying site on the polo grounds, but only for electric powered models. For giant scale and IMAC stuff there is a small mixed power club just outside The Villages, and another very big club in Ocala.

20 planes and 10 boats; awesome! Sounds like you are as addicted as I am. I probably have 20 planes, ranging from small electric to 35% scale and a seaplane and heli (I used to be really big into helis). I only have one boat; a fairly nice sailboat. Cars, check and of course a drone. The later two are just something I had to try, not really my passion.

[bobeaston]

Then, ...after you find a home with enough garage space for your workshop, here are 4 improvements I've found helpful for my shop:

1. The first improvement is a floor coating that makes it easier to keep clean than just bare concrete. I chose a polyaspartic coating that is tougher and more durable than epoxy. Find it by searching for Liquid Floors. There is a franchise near here that does a lot of floors in The Villages. Talk with Amy at (352) 518- 0855. Superb work!

2. My garage has dark chocolate colored doors that really soak up sunlight and radiate huge amounts of heat inward. I insulated the insides of the door with a high R-value insulation from "US Energy Products" that dramatically lessons heat radiation inside.

3. Keeping garage doors open allows good air flow most of the time, but also good insect flow, not to mention good visibility for anyone passing by. Screens solve all of those problems. My screens are electric roll-up roll-down screens that are white. During the day, someone outside doesn't see much of what is inside. Different story in darkness hours. Added bonus. Keeping the screens down even when the garage doors are down hides my dark chocolate doors from the sun, resulting in even less heat radiation. I got my screens from Rick at "RK Sunshades." (352) 430-4430

4. A ceiling fan from "The Solar Guys" is good for pulling air in from outside and pushing it through the attic (and the roof vents) offering a bit more heat relief. (866) 641-1963

BTW, I get no compensation from any of these vendors for mentioning their products, but am simply delighted with their products and their installation services.