Yey … am very excited – had my offer accepted on the house I want to buy … with my own (wo)man cave* (it’s the same as a man cave but with extra ‘wo’ 🙂 )

So, your tips and suggestions for cave design and layout please. It’s approx 5m by 3m, and will need to store 4/5 bikes, climbing and mountaineering kit. Plus ideally have a fettling zone. Any advice on storage / shelving / bike stands etc?

* it also has a rather fabulous oak and granite kitchen for when I have a Nigella-stye domestic goddess moment, so I might need more flapjack etc recipes soon too!

Throw cushions.

candles, and a jet wash

TSY – at anyone in particular? Or a new approach to a pillow fight 🙂

scented candles, and a jet wash

mmmmmhhh… me pillow fight cave woman…

fridge, flat screen tv, insulation, hot n cold running water

wine cooler for the little lady? Like a beer fridge but more civilised 😀

Oh… and when you’re in the kitchen, don’t forget to constantly have your head tilted at a certain angle, while toying seductively with something covered in cream

Hey… I don’t make the rules

You’ll definitely need a good bench vice.
You may never need it, but it’s not a proper man cave without one 😀

Paint the floor with floor paint (yes really) before you move into it, saves on dust and means you can find those pesky nuts & bolts when it drops on the floor.

Hang the bikes horizontally, the vertical (front wheel) hangers are a pain to use.

Solid bench, not too high – think dining table height, not breakfast bar. As GrahamS so correctly points out a vice is essential. Make sure it’s got its own overhead light, and powerpoints. And a radio.

Lots of shelves.

Big stick for paint stirring.

Rags. More rags.

Bike workstand.

Scented candles optional, a real man cave smells of oil and grease.

You need a few cats too.

Storage, storage, storage… did I say that already? When you’ve finished lobbing around soft furnishings and sipping wine 😉 you’ll be wanting lots of space to put stuff. Shelves, hooks, cupboards, those clever little boxes they sell in DiY stores with lots of compartments to put widgets in, you know the ones. Oh yeah and a vice, of course, and a proper work stand. Think upscaled trip to stationery store in terms of ‘I must have that functional and aesthetic object” and you’re there. Oh and congrats on the house!

Torque wrench it’s not a man cave unless you have a torque wrench!

a real man cave smells of oil and grease

You are behind the times grandad, the modern fragrance is GT85.

LOL! Boys, I come on here for burly, rugged manly advice … and what do I get? Suggestions for cushions and candles … mind you, the wine cooler looks good 🙂

Girl cave is part of the house and already comes with heating, but will be a ‘blank canvas’ (in best Kirsty / Phil / Kevin speak), so will need to fit it out from scratch.

have a look at vortex’s garage, far nice than my kitchen. 😀

it’s the same as a man cave but with extra ‘wo’

🙂

that is great line.

You are behind the times grandad, the modern fragrance is GT85.

That’s a given, but it’s only a short-lived smell. The oil-soaked rag is what gives a man-cave character, the underlying tannins and body to the floral bouquet and hint of chocolate that GT85 provides.

You need the following:

Perforated chipboard wall covering to hang your bike tools on. Bonus points if you sketch out a little outline around each tool so that it has it’s own home. A vice is vital too.

You must not forget to have a little corner of the cave devoted to the room temperature storage of beverages. In times of crisis one needs to reach over for a calming bottle of cider/beer etc when tackling a difficult engineering task.

Enjoy!

mogrim – I was wondering whether horizontal would be better than vertical – but with 4/5 bikes I am a bit concerned about how much wall space would be needed?

Thanks for the suitably manly advice guys and girls, keep the suggestions coming … and yes it will probably smell of GT85 🙂

The Southern Yeti – Member

Throw cushions.

lol

Sue_W – Member

LOL! Boys, I come on here for burly, rugged manly advice … and what do I get? Suggestions for cushions and candles … mind you, the wine cooler looks good

They are all a bit “metrosexual” these days

As TJ is now on the thread I should like to make clear my use of “man cave” is pure laziness and does not reflect any inherent sexism on my part, and should be taken to read as “wo/man cave” at all times. Thank you.

Insulation, hate working with cold tools!
Workstand & stool, tools on the wall for easy access, loads of shelves, decent lighting.
White floor, helps with lighting and find those washers/bolts you’ve dropped.

Hoping to get a man cave sorted this summer! Show us your pics of your man caves for some inspiration!

Is wo an abbreviation of woe?

I’d go for mid-grey floor paint myself, but my step-father prefers a lighter colour. He does like his garage to highlight dropped spanners and oil though.

Racking/shelves can be got from B&Q for cheap money. I got 4 lots of their four shelf plastic rack for my garage and they hold a lot of paint and random stuff. They can also be linked together and have brackets for attaching to walls.

Re a bench, see if you can blag some off-cut kitchen worktop from a DIY shop. it’s good and solid, you can attach it easily enough using angle brackets and batten and it’s strong enough to take a bench vise. Plus, you can sometimes get a nice pattern. Also, formica wipes clean.

You are going to need some shackles, straps a decent bench, hooks from the ceiling and a cradle.

And Extra virgin olive oil

storgae in the roof space for camping/climbing kit:

Work bench for fettling. With a view.

Racking for bits and pieces (try http://www.bigdug.co.uk )

And of course bike hooks on the wall

mogrim – I was wondering whether horizontal would be better than vertical – but with 4/5 bikes and a bit concerned about how much wall space would be needed?

Horizontal and high enough you can get two above / two below. Vertical you can probably fit more in, but they’re a real pain to get and down from the hooks and will stick out (a bit) more. Wall space for horizontal hanging is the length of the longest bike+a bit, obviously.

Actually, looking at Stoner’s photos I wonder whether the problem I had with vertical hanging could be because I stuck the hooks high up on the wall and too close together. (I didn’t have much choice, the kids’ bikes need to be on the floor, and to get enough space I had to tuck my bikes out the way.)

As its compulsory for every bloke who’s ever picked up a spanner to covet a big, shiny, red Snap-On tool box, would this be essential in a woman cave too? I don’t see any reason why not

You need one of these….

Whether there are any tools in it, or not, is irrelevant. As long as it looks the part 😉

They are all a bit “metrosexual” these days

Yup, anything more manly generally gets reported as ‘offensive’

You need a nice rack, just like Stoner’s.

Big stick for paint stirring.

Don’t ignore this advice.

Also bag/box of old clothes for use as rags.

A stack of jazz including at least 2 calenders.

Ignore the painting of floors and get a rubber floor.
Tools bounce, expensive bike bits bounce without breaking, it’ll keep your feet warmer than standing on a painted concrete floor and as a bonus use it’ll stop it being echo-y (Is that a real word?) so you can use a decent stereo in there.

Stoner – I take your storgae in the roof space for camping/climbing kit:, and up it with a staircase to get there:

If you’ve space just park the bikes in a rack – or alternatively hang some off rafters (with wheels out).

Some form of heating and a (beer) fridge helps, plus its not a ‘proper’ man-cave without a Drill Press 😉

When I got a garage I was all excited and wanted to hang tools all over the walls, then I realised I’d have to pack and unpack them every time I went away biking.

So instead I just keep them in a nice big toolbox on wheels and pop the tool tray out when I have fettling to do.

Stoner – what bike hooks are those?

I can’t see suitable calendars in those pictures.

Is there a “Readers Husbands” equivalent?

Edit: beaten to it I see

maycontainnuts – Member

A stack of jazz including at least 2 calenders.