To cram or not to cram?! What to do with tight spaces?!

Vabeachrunner3

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To cram or not to cram?! What to do with tight spaces?!

Hey all, I've got a major space problem as it seems a lot of us have and I'm at the point where I need to get the games out the house and into a "dedicated space". My wife has been more than patient and she wants them out of the house (which I kind of get😎) so something's gotta give. I have a two car garage that'd work fine but she parks there (she's offered to park in the driveway) and there's tons of bikes and scooters and all that fun stuff so ideally not a great place. Then there's a detached garage out back that has great potential but is too small IMO. It's 15x9. It has electric, is insulated, etc. I'd need to gut it, finish the inside, put down a new subfloor, and finish it off cosmetically but it shouldn't be a major project. I currently have 17 games in my collection and honestly don't want to get rid of any of them. Doing all kind of calculations, the most I can seem to fit is 13 games but that only allows about 2 feet or so if
that of space between some of the games to play. So I guess my question is to anyone out there in
a similar situation, did it work better for you to cram as much as possible into your given space or try and pick the best lineup of what you have and have more room?

Any and all opinions and or comments would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!


Here's a list of my current lineup (all working--knock on wood 😬)

Golden Tee Live
Mortal Kombat I/UMK3
NBA Jam TE
Killer Instinct
Cruis'N World
Centipede cabaret 60-1 iCade
Scramble multi
Jurassic Park III
Centipede cabaret
Galaga
Donkey Kong
Popeye
Cue Ball Wizard
MsPac
PC-10
NeoGeo Goldie
Rolling Thunder
 

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The omg I have run out of space issue..
Some people sell them.
Some people store them.
Some people build bigger places.
Some people move to bigger places..
This is what I do. I have long term friends 30 plus years..
I let them borrow games 6 at a time for 6 months at a time.
This way my friends benefit from my collecting and restoration habits.
The games get played by thier family and friends..
I get space back to collect more games.
The games are not covered in plastic in some warehouse..

I hope this helps
 
Considered that as well but don't know if the other half wants them "everywhere"?! Out of sight out of mind for her. If it was up to me that's exactly what I'd do, finish up out back, cram more in the attached, and rotate as needed! I could probably double the lineup that way!
 
Does the 2 car have a one large door? If so, this is my suggestion:

Move all of the scooters, bikes, etc to the detached garage. In the attached garage, build a riser/sub floor around the outer edges of the garage where possible, large enough for the games and space to stand and play. Leave enough space in the center for your wife to park her car in. Now you have a space that holds the games and allows her to park. When you have people over to play games/hang out, or you need to work on a game, youcan just move her car out and you have a space for a table to eat on/ play beer pong/ setup chairs/etc.
 
please be kind, and think about the well being of your cabinets. bear in mind to live a healthy and fulfilling life that they need plenty of space.

send them to me and I will make sure they live happy and safe lives :)
 
start collecting cabarets/minis.. much easier to find space for.
 
I'm glad my wife is so awesome. The house we're looking to buy has an ok sized garage but she's already given me permission to take over the dining room too if need be
 
+1 for the big garage-cade. You seem to favor your detached, but that looks like hassle to organize into a gameroom. It would take alot of effort and I think the end result would be a small organized detached gameroom that would still be a pain to load games in and out. Once its full, games get burried, and you probably would have to take half the games out just to swap one. Your big garage would become the cluster-mess for everyone's crap... and thats what your wife and neighbors would see everytime the door opens. The detached is set up great for storage as it is.

So my opinion,... adding a shed for the mower, yard tools, and seasonal stuff; bikes, soccer goals, etc.
Then your detached would still be storage/shop with a couple arcade projects. Your main garage that everyone will see... will be a clean organized gameroom with a spot for the wifes car. The clutter will remain out of site, and out of mind.
 
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This is what I do. I have long term friends 30 plus years..
I let them borrow games 6 at a time for 6 months at a time.

I did this for a while and then I got old and tired of moving all that weight every X months. More people and easier access to those locations has a big impact on how this plays out but where I live all the access seems to be narrow hallway/stairs and basements.

Do be aware of how your (or their) homeowners/renters insurance handles them in case of a fire or other claim situation.
 
Build another larger storage shed out back or increase the size of the existing one (it would likely be easier/cheaper to build new over adding).
 
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