DIY/ / Self build dog grooming building vs prefab

ace33

If you are only doing 1 at a time and max 2/3 a day can you not just start with a basic setup in the garage or utility?

At least until you build up your customer base?

elsien

My dog groomer has an outhouse built on the outside of the house with a plastic roof thing. Even with the heater it's bloody freezing so I wouldn't recommend for the winter. 

MrBrindle

troffasky said:

Not sure about your 'noisy dogs turning up at our house' statement. 

I am playing devil's advocate here. I obviously have no idea what your actual customer base will be like [although you can hardly tell your prospective customers "We take non-barking dogs only", can you?], but if your neighbours weren't happy then you can assume they'll complain about noise, fouling, etc, true or not.

MrBrindle said:

On researching using outbuildings, there seems to be conflicting advice about whether planning/change of use is required.

Speak to your LA's planning department. They might tell you straight away on the phone yes you need to apply/no you don't, or they might tell you to fill in a pre-planning application enquiry form. Or you can wing it.....your call.

The last thing I would do is take advice from someone selling you a dog grooming shed that "no no no, it's fine, no silly paperwork needed", because it's not them who your LA will be pursuing if things aren't to the LA's liking.

We don't have an idea what our customer base will be either yet, but we live in a quiet cul de sac, and friends with all of our neighbours - 5 houses in total. Parking is pretty much ok, and we have space for three cars on our drive. Obviously if we do set up something at home I'll go around everyone asking if they'll be happy for us to go ahead and to raise any concerns.

And no, we wouldn't wing anything. Before we half converted our integral garage into an utility space my friend/builder who did all the work told us not to tell the council! I didn't follow that advice. It wasn't exactly a major job, and they were very good about the whole thing. The only gripe for me was paying the council to sign it off, as it was a lot of money for what was basically a stud wall and an insulated floating floor - £300 or thereabouts.

MrBrindle

ace33 said:

If you are only doing 1 at a time and max 2/3 a day can you not just start with a basic setup in the garage or utility?

At least until you build up your customer base?

We could I suppose, although we'd need some sort of plumbing and wiring into half of the garage to supply the bath/equipment. Also, the garage is windowless, and I don't think that's a great environment to work in. 

The other factor to consider for us is that there's two established groomers in the area, who both have excellent facilities. Obviously we wouldn't be able to match that, but it would be better to look reasonably professional. Even if we did undercut the competitors being a startup business, I can't imagine many people choosing someone who grooms from a dark cold garage over a fully professional set up. Image is everything these days.

greenface2

you have a garage . Do you have a drive way . have you thought of a caravan . doesn't need to be new . or decent just dry . It has the electrics / water supply . Hot water supplied by gas or plumbed from the house . Heating . Drainage is simple  fitted to your style and moving would not be an issue , 1500 ish for the caravan and same to fit out . Internal are around 12 x 8 . 

MrBrindle

greenface2 said:

you have a garage . Do you have a drive way . have you thought of a caravan . doesn't need to be new . or decent just dry . It has the electrics / water supply . Hot water supplied by gas or plumbed from the house . Heating . Drainage is simple  fitted to your style and moving would not be an issue , 1500 ish for the caravan and same to fit out . Internal are around 12 x 8 . 

Hiya, thats an interesting idea. We know someone that sells ice cream from a converted caravan - like an old retro style one which she gutted and converted. We do have quite a bit of front driveway space, enough for 3 cars so a little caravan shouldnt be an issue. 

It comes down to an image thing like I said above though, but if done well it may be ok. Thanks for the suggestion.

ace33

MrBrindle said:

ace33 said:

If you are only doing 1 at a time and max 2/3 a day can you not just start with a basic setup in the garage or utility?

At least until you build up your customer base?

We could I suppose, although we'd need some sort of plumbing and wiring into half of the garage to supply the bath/equipment. Also, the garage is windowless, and I don't think that's a great environment to work in. 

The other factor to consider for us is that there's two established groomers in the area, who both have excellent facilities. Obviously we wouldn't be able to match that, but it would be better to look reasonably professional. Even if we did undercut the competitors being a startup business, I can't imagine many people choosing someone who grooms from a dark cold garage over a fully professional set up. Image is everything these days.

I think your edge here could be for dogs that find it difficult in a busy salon enviroment. They get the one on one attention. I guess it all depends on how much you want to throw at the buisness to start off and what you expect your returns to be. Plenty of people have started to groom from home and made it work.

MrBrindle

ace33 said:

MrBrindle said:

ace33 said:

If you are only doing 1 at a time and max 2/3 a day can you not just start with a basic setup in the garage or utility?

At least until you build up your customer base?

We could I suppose, although we'd need some sort of plumbing and wiring into half of the garage to supply the bath/equipment. Also, the garage is windowless, and I don't think that's a great environment to work in. 

The other factor to consider for us is that there's two established groomers in the area, who both have excellent facilities. Obviously we wouldn't be able to match that, but it would be better to look reasonably professional. Even if we did undercut the competitors being a startup business, I can't imagine many people choosing someone who grooms from a dark cold garage over a fully professional set up. Image is everything these days.

I think your edge here could be for dogs that find it difficult in a busy salon enviroment. They get the one on one attention. I guess it all depends on how much you want to throw at the buisness to start off and what you expect your returns to be. Plenty of people have started to groom from home and made it work.

Yeah that's a good point, we'll obviously be starting off small to begin with. My partners' previous job before having children was working in a dog boarding / training complex where she also helped with dog rehabilitation, so she understands difficult or nervous dogs.

Our most recent discussion is to possibly use our conservatory. It's a 3x4 victorian style one. It doesn't get THAT much use, like all typically built conservatories, but it will be cheaper than converting half the garage or buying anything new. It's connected to the house by external grade doors, so can be separate from the house. The main problem is plumbing. You can buy dog baths where you can connect a water supply (hosepipe), and it self heats. Draining waste water will be another issue. Obviously in the summer it may be too hot, but maybe by that time we will be in a position to invest.