How do I find space to do some metalworking?

July 12, 2012 12:12 PM

How do I find a small industrial/workshop/garage space available to rent/share in my city?

I'm planning on doing some simple metalworking and I'll need to rent a small space to work in as I don't have a workshop at home. I'm not sure how to go about finding such a space, what I should even be looking for or how much I should expect to spend.

My needs are modest, perhaps about 200 sq. ft. in total and I would be using the space approximately 20 hours a week. I have all my own tools though if I could share some that would be fine too.

I'm located in Victoria, BC if that makes a difference.

posted by talkingmuffin to work & money (4 answers total)

We sometimes call these "hackerspaces". If you can't find one, you might be able to help found one.
posted by cmiller at 12:20 PM on July 12, 2012

Yup, hackerspaces. Or look for a place renting spaces for artists, be sure it will be OK to use powertools if you are doing that, and check that you'll have enough on the electrical end for what you want to do.

What you can expect to spend will have a lot more to do with prices in your city than what I can find that for in mine.
posted by yohko at 12:26 PM on July 12, 2012

If all you need is the space (you have your own everything else), a basic rental storage unit might work. Some companies don't want people using the storage space for anything but storage (perhaps for zoning/permit reasons) but some people find storage space to be useful for band practice, project assembly, etc.
posted by -harlequin- at 12:50 PM on July 12, 2012

Even if Makerspace Victoria or VanHackSpace aren't what you're looking for, I bet you can find people there who know where to look. In my experience a lot of hackerspace folks have their own more-private spaces on the side.
posted by hattifattener at 12:58 PM on July 12, 2012