Re: OT : Book Storage in Garage

["Mark Harrison (Groups)" <mph@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, 2005-09-27 at 18:38 +0100, Ben McCormack wrote:
>
> So is there any way that I can store them in the garage? The only
> idea I had was one of those de-humidified car storage bubbles.

Ben,

I can empathise with the problem. I once had to store about 2,500 books
in the garage for a week after a problem on the house move. (The only
way to stop the chain collapsing was to move out of our old house a week
before we moved into the new one - we lived with the mother-in-law, and
we cut a deal with the people moving into the old house that we could
use the garage for a week as storage.) Fortunately, it was for one week
only, and in the summer.

One immediate question is whether the books need "quick access"
or not.

If you are turning the garage into a "library extension", with
shelving,
and the other stuff you need to get at them regularly / quickly, then
the only real option is to do some major work in blocking up the void
under the garage door, airbricks, and ceiling circulation (assuming it's
a garage with a roof immediately above, rather than a room above.)
Non-trivial.

If you are turning the garage into a "store room", where you
won't need
access to the books, then I'd recommend a pile of crates sitting on
something _raised_ and waterproof, with a jury-rigged set of plastic
sheets around it, and a domestic dehumidifier in the middle. However,
remember that your problems are not just water-based, they are insect
based and rodent based. A cat may be a wise investment!

Mark