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Cool Pop-up Garage

Cool Pop-up Garage

Cool Pop-up Garage

(OP)
The future of auto storage  smile

Pop Up Garages

 

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

Man...  This looks like a great place to grow weed!  To heck with the car!

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

I am trying to remember which hotel is was in which European city where I stayed (Kiel? Somewhere in Germany I think) and where they had their entire (cramped) car park given over to multiple deck "pop-up" parking.
That would be about 10-12 years ago.

JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
 

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

According to news people in the US, you don't need a car anywhere in Europe (Some how I suspect they are lieing).

So you have a car park, but with mass transportation, you don't need a car. I'd go for the weed thing, as it's probally a money maker.

Besides they probally aren't made big enough for my car, and two trucks.

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

No thanks. I have had enough trouble when my garage door broke (Once it was the motor, which was easy enough to lift by hand. When one of the springs failed, it was a little tougher to get the door open.).

I don't want to have a more complex system (thus more parts to break, lines to leak, etc), which if/when it fails it leaves my car in a 6ft pit.

Seems like a cool idea that could have practical issues. Maybe they've addressed the issues and it's just a cool idea. Time will tell...

-- MechEng2005

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

KENAT, thanks I don't feel so bad about driving the maybe 3 miles to work.

I suspect this idea would be more useful to those with small lots, which isen't an issue here yet.
But I do agree with MechEng2005, with the problems it could cause.
Probally a better solution for a dead car in a 6 ft hole.

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

These have been around for a while, I have seen them in New yor, I have seen them in Australia. I always found it surprising that there were not more of them in the UK.

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

That's why I suggest the Pot growing scenario - you may as well make good use of the humidity.  What better way to green up the environment...

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

Correcting common misconceptions regarding precepitation;
London <700 mm/yr
New York ~1000 mm/yr
Sydney ~1200 mm/yr
 

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

What's that; more cricket being played will attract more rain?
And where does NY figure in that?

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

London is dry.  Other parts of the UK are much wetter.  My childhood home has more like 1200mm/yr (spread thinly).

- Steve

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

Kenat,

The other guaranteed ways of making it rain in the UK:

- Wash and polish the car. Rain commences just before the final buffing finishes
- Have a barbeque for friends. The more friends you invite, the heavier the rain.
- Go to Scotland for a holiday. If you want really heavy rain, stay in a tent.
  

----------------------------------
  
If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!
 

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

Quote (ScottyUK):

Go to Scotland for a holiday. If you want really heavy rain, stay in a tent.

I can vouch for that.  Last time I went camping in Ullapool, it rained so heavily the ground became saturated and could no longer absorb the rain.  We came back from the pub to find the tent in standing water, with most stuff inside soaked. Lovely.

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

Talking about tents and pubs, I am reminded of the days of my youth when pub crawls were the thing.

This was at a time before breathalysers and before the advent of the police state in the UK. A time when, at The Stephen Langton at Friday Street, a rabbit would be exchanged for a pint. (Sunday morning out with Old George and his dogs and ferrets meant a lunchtime of "free" beer)
Our favorite area was thus around Leith Hill and its environs in Surrey.

If we had had a particularly intense evening we would  find a suitable spot near by to park up, erect the tent and sleep it off till opening time the next day.

Long practice with this tent meant that despite the darkness of the night, rain or snow, and despite the amount of alcohol, we could be sure to get it up OK and ourselves inside to sleep.

One time we did this we woke up to discover we had chosen for our campsite, not some secluded woodland spot, but the centre of a roundabout.
Fortunately we woke early enough to absent ourselves before the arrival of PC Plod.
 

JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
 

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

Awesome JMW!  Respect!

- Steve

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

That garage looks like from the French movie "My Uncle"...
Does somebodyhere still remembers the high-tech house in that movie?

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

Can't see the point of a pop-up garage unless you were able to use the ground above the garage, and hence be able to park a car on top too.

Besides that, as far as I'm aware nobody uses a garage for storing a car but for keeping your fridge/kids bikes/freezer/washing machine or other kitchen utilities in. Now if they called it a pop-up toaster I could see the point.   

corus

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

You can also use a basement for storing those things. But a popup basement dosen't sound reasonable.

Maybe if you put a storage shed on the popup garage, you might be able to put your motorcycle in the garage.

No on second thought it just means your garage sales will be half as often and you will have twice as much to sell.

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

The point of the pop-up is that you park one car in the garage and the other on top. The one I saw was a three decker i.e. two underground levels and a third parked on top.
Notice that the headroom is just enough for a saloon car... you get out onto the ground next to it so are in the open air and no headroom problems.

JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
 

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

Yeah, just went back to the original link and the photo shows just enough clearance for the Porche (you get out at ground level) and "roof" that is not grass or flowerbeds or even a garden shed by more road surface for another car to park... I'd suggest they should have shown the second car to get the idea across properly.

JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
 

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

Park the cars on the street, I'l take a smimming pool.

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

Street parking, ah yes.

We once had a deputy prime minister in the UK (the post somewhat of a novelty in itself as much as in its appointee; incidentally, his nom de guerre was "Two Jags") who decided that the way to tackle excess car ownership in the UK was to legally prevent local government planning departments insisting on more than one off road car parking space per property.

Of course, the developers were quite sanguine about this as they could put more of the land into apartments than into car parking.

As a policy it has proven a remarkable instrument.
Now, when putting up a block of 2 & 3 bedroom flats (apartments, for our colonial cousins) each one has only a single allocated parking place.
Of course few families moving into two or three bedroom flats will only have one car. More importantly, when considering the more expensive 1 and 2 bed luxury properties even a married couple usually has more than a single car.

So naturally enough, the limited off road parking provided did not, as Two Jags expected, result in abandonment of second cars but in an increase in street parking. In fact, it made worse the very problem it was intended to address... but nothing new in that, the law of unintended consequences as never been familiar to politicians.

Now that the law has been relaxed a little, we might expect some return to planning offices requiring more reasonable (and realistic) provisions.
For those properties with only one allocated parking space and no available land, the pop-up garage might well be a solution.
Of course, given the rainfall in this country, it may require some considerable investment in drainage or in automatic sump pumps.

Off course, since the current Prime Minister, in his effort to garner laurels from Mr President and Al Gore NL, has now decided that the UK shall become the worlds premier country for electric car ownership ... (possibly he hopes his "green" credentials will allow him to be able to trade his collection of US playable CDs for something more practicable on his next jolly to the US).
Quite how all those street parked cars will replenish their batteries has yet to be determined.

JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
 

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

What happens if you want the "bottom" car?  Sounds like Butterflies to me.  Back in those days it was quite rare for a single family to have multiple cars, so the show got many laughs from the car rearranging antics.

- Steve

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

Sompting, I'd assumed the 'top' car merrily sat on top and got lifted up.

Not sure what happens if you leave the hand brake off or something or you're parked just over the edge etc.

Guess you'd have to have 'features' to prevent that.

KENAT,

Have you reminded yourself of FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies recently, or taken a look at posting policies: http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

What, hand rails, or speed bumps?

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

Aghhhh! Speed Bumps!
Do I need to say anything?

 

JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
 

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

Yep, or Sonoras Policia as they say in Spain.

JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
 

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

What about the safety issues?  In increasing litigious societies someone's going to end up getting hurt and suing.  

Or as someone points out in the comments, what about a power failure or mechanical difficulties?  

KENAT,

Have you reminded yourself of FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies recently, or taken a look at posting policies: http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

You mean like a car half way in or on while rasing or lowering.
This should be common since, but because so few people have that, there will be a litigation problem.

So hand rails, to prevent people problems, and speed bumps to keep the car from rolling, and sensors for all kinds of other things.

Would renting a parking stall be cheeper?

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

Cheaper? I doubt it.
Even a beach hut can cost £20,000 and parking in town can be damned expensive.
Some one explained to me it was cheaper to buy a £50 MOT failure, drive it to London, park where you like and not bother with the congestion charge either.
If you're lucky the car will be there to take you back home where you dump it or sell it on (don't hang around for the fines to roll in). Of course, disposal is cheap because without an MOT they will impound it and scrap it for you.
All in all much cheaper than parking fees.
You know, it could work.
But not for me.

JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
 

RE: Cool Pop-up Garage

I had to ask. Here parking lots go out of business, unless they are city owned, because there are other options.

 

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