Am I Crazy or What?

[Age]

I have to move because of a long story with my two neighbors getting in fights and cops and people getting arrested left and right. Since I have to move I have a cool idea that will save a lot of money to buy my sail boat as well as prepare me for living Aboard by having a compact environment.

I own a small business and just realized I have all this extra storage space that I keep equipment. I can move the equipment to this other room and so I am going to put up a temporary wall and build a small office next to the bathroom. There will be only 3 tricky parts.

1: Building the temporary wall.
2: Working the electrical component, legally. (because fire department does periodic check ups.
3: Putting in a temporary shower with drainage. Thinking about running water from the sink next door through plastic tubing, and then using a small pump and pushing out water to drain in the toilet.

My employees will think I am either crazy or wonder why I am always the first one there and the last one to leave (or not) and why I get so much more work done. No escape!

[rustypirate]

While I think your idea has merit, and I have thought of something similar myself, I still think a better idea is to invest in a small towable camping trailer. They already have most of these comforts built in, and if you use the toilet facilities at the office, you won't need to haul it to a pump-out facility too often.

Just an alternative.

[Age]

Originally Posted by rustypirate

While I think your idea has merit, and I have thought of something similar myself, I still think a better idea is to invest in a small towable camping trailer. They already have most of these comforts built in, and if you use the toilet facilities at the office, you won't need to haul it to a pump-out facility too often.

Just an alternative.

It is a good alternative, but 3 things.
1: I need to invest in one of those. (would rather invest in a boat)
2: I need a place to put them and that costs money. (Would rather invest in a boat)
3: This will force me to spend more hours working and making money, and is free! So the money I actually do make can be saved for investing in a boat. If I do this I will have almost zero transportation costs. At 2k a month I will have enough to learn how to sail, get out of debt, fix my credit, and buy a boat in a year to a year and a half. If business goes well, even sooner.

I'll still need to automate the business a little more so I can run it from a laptop.

[boatman61]

Why dont you invest in something like this... hang suits etc under bed.
Also.. is it not possible to make the sink/toilet area into a wet room.... simple drain in the floor... removable shower hose connecting to sink taps.. stow when finished.

[Ocean Girl]

Just a quick note to say, whatever floats your boat. I lived in a VW van to save up money for a boat (actually, I was between boats at the time). I park it in front of my work at night and went to sleep. Friends would pop by and peek in to say hi. It was actually a very fun and simple life (safe neighborhood). On a practical side, I drove to a friends marina to borrow the shower and laundry, and used a propane camper stove for ramen noodles.
Sorry can't give you any advice about electrical (I'd probably get you electrocuted ). Just keep marching towards your goals.
Erika

PS You could get a 5 gal solar shower from the camping store and take "spit bathes" in a bucket, that would save ya from making a shower pan, buying and wiring the pumps.

[tallyhorob]

Here is a sample of what you are looking for for your shower

Amazon.com: Bur Cam Pumps #300514W 1/3 HP Laundry Tub Pump: Home Improvement

Your idea sounds great, the wiring should be easy, and a little plumbing and you will be all set.

Just make sure you use a low flow shower head or you may need a bigger pump.

easy way for the shower is to build it up on a 2x6 box so you have a bit of room under it to run a drain line without breaking concrete.

Feel free to ask anything you need, I do this stuff for a living.

[rorider]

Be careful. Some areas have ordinances against living in office spaces. If so, you could end up with legal fees eating up your new boat dollars very quickly.

Better to have a small trailer (temporary) that you could use. It would allow you to stay without actually "living" in the office.

Check the codes first.

[Starbuck]

Let's all be clear about this:

You say you are building an office, but actually, you want to put up a wall at your business to create a tiny, tiny studio apartment. You plan to build a shower pan and plumb in water by tapping into the existing building's plumbing.

You then will live in this little box, sleeping in a hammock, bat-like, while you save money to buy a boat. The confining living conditions will serve as "training" for living on the boat at some later date.

What are the actual dimensions? If that is your actual shoulder width, and it's all to scale, it looks as if you could reach out and touch two walls at the same time. 6' x 12' ? Even a cot against that one free wall would make it seem a lot less strange. Maybe, maybe down to "eccentric." Maybe.

Yes, you are definitely crazy. And yes, considering how essentially crazy you are, you very possibly could make this work, only because if you were just an ounce more normal, you would see how insane it is, but you don't. And yes, your employees will think it is all very bizarre, and begin to avoid you as much as possible. You might need to give everyone a raise just to keep them around.

The first big warning sign (or in your case, the next big warning sign) that you should immediately find professional psychological help is when you begin to like living in your cozy little mini-tomb. The therapist may be able to get to the bottom of you're conflict with your two neighbors, which initiated this exile to living in the storage room.

P. S. — you will make a grand cruiser someday. You have both the temperament and the vision.

P. P. S. — buying things isn't "investing" in them. This word is often used to rationalize our spending on some unwise thing, making it look like a sage move. We love to fool ourselves, and we often use language to cast the spell.

Fair Winds, you window-less hermit,
Jeff

[slomotion]

You'll never be ready for cruising unless you install a gimballed floor, strategic handholds, and a leaky roof.

[tallyhorob]

don't worry about the codes, if it commerical its always against living there. So just make the room a " on Call " room for your supervisiors who have to work doubles sometimes. Fire dept about the only ones that will see it, Have been there done that for an owner who got divoriced. Live at the shop for 3 years until he got his ex paid off. Big give away is having all your stuff, make up hair stuff etc. in the bath laying out. Keep everything in baskets closed up and out of site, the fire dept does not go thur stuff. And a camper outside will more then likey get you a ticket within a week. Out of site out of mind is what you want to go for.