Project BASEMENT PLAYROOM DELETE has commenced - Finished...for now.

[mcseforsale]

Updated Pic:


We moved into the house about 8 years ago and the basement was already finished.  It was an excellent deal.  Only 2 problems:

1.) instead of a hung ceiling, it's drywall with popcorn on it.      So, I can't get to any of the mechanicals.
2.) it was chopped up into a sizable rec-room and 3 tiny other rooms. 

So, since my teen has been living in one of those tiny rooms (her room was 10x10), and my office was just a place where she chilled and LOLed and OMGed on facebook, we decided to combine the rooms by having the wall and closet removed and having an arch put in.  Since it was load bearing and I didn't want to pull a permit and don't have the equpment for a load bearing basement wall, we subbed it out.  It turned out really nice!





Here it is finished.  Pretty much in decorator mode now.  I'll let the chix handle that.


Reverse view back into the bedroom part:


So....during these discussions....I mean debates, the executive branch (wife) was up to entertaining taking out a worthless 9x9 room that we'd had our treadmill and gym in and including that extra 130 sq. feet (including hallway) into the rec-room and building and arcade/billiard basement with a little TV area for the kids.  Having it included in the other construction was carefully considered, but being DIY king of the neighborhood, I decided I'd save the extra $1000 in labor and just DIY.  So, first was demo days.  IN 2 days, I managed to get the walls out of the way (these were deemed non-load bearing by a certified dude, so...)

This orange wall was the easiest, since it only had one outlet facing out.  It was also the wall that you saw from the rec-room area:


This wall was a bit more tricky since it had a circuit that powered the fan/light/outlets in the room in a ring circuit.  I also found out that this circuit powered a small room under the stairs with a couple of small florescents and an outlet:


Looking out from the old office/bedroom, you can see all the drywall out:


End of demo-day 2:



The area that is exposed will be a TV room area with a 42" LCD on the wall, the Wii and the Gamecube.  There'll also be some shelving (I might do built-ins) for the kids crap.  The carpet will be ripped up and I'll be doing 12"x12" black and white tile just in that old room's footprint to optically break it up from the rest of the rec-room.  Then, we can move all the unused baby toys and broken crap to a dumpster and start working on saving for a pool table, pinball and move the arcade in there.  MINE!  MINE!MINE!MINE!MINE!MINE!MINE!MINE!

Now, I had to relocated the romex runs that fed power to the fan/light and the rest of the circuit.  So, I fished new romex over to the single gang box that had the 3 way switch in it for the hall's can-light, connected all of them in a metal dual gang box for code spec and placed it all up inside the newly exposed mechanical throughway in the ceiling:



The metal box is facing out with a cover on it.  When I re-drywall the mechanical throughway, I'm going to put a large return vent there so I can just pop it off and get to the box.  Also notice the closest switch on the wall no longer has 1 switch, it has 3. 

All circuits have been tested and everything is working perfectly.

This project will go slow, purely based on the scope of it, but I'm going to start the drywall tomorrow.

AJ

[darthpaul]

I know what you are going through, looking good so far. Judging from all the home improvement shows I have watched over the years, everyone seems to love demo, I must be the only one who hates it. It makes a big mess, it cost money to get rid of the rubbish and I get no satisfaction from destruction only from construction.

[mcseforsale]

Thanks!  Yeah, demo blows donuts.  I don't like the mess and I have to get a 10 yard dumpster now...probably around 200 bux.

So, here's what I'm moving.  Basically, all those wire shelves will be gone, the TV and credenza will be thrown out and a pool table will go in this space.  These leather couches (under the crap on the left and right wall) will be moved down to the demo'ed area and "frame" the TV room.  I'm going to put the arcade in the right corner.



Got out the C-L Smoothes (Coors Lights) and got to work on the drywall tonight after a 9 hour day finishing up the wiring and cleaning up.  First, I noticed that the bed of the mechanical through way was sagging where they had to start a new 2x4, so I pulled up the joint with some 1" metal strapping.  Then, I started working on drywall.  The 2 pieces that I'm using were in the dumpster from the wall delete that the sub did.  They were exactly right for the covering of the mechanical through way.  Luckily, I'm a dumpster diver and pulled them out of there a couple of weeks ago.  Perfect fit:





I'm going to put a 14" x 6" return vent cover over that hole so that I meet code and can get to some mechanical stuffl.

Here's a look down the wall:


I can't wait to get the floor in! 

AJ

[eds1275]

That's awesome. I had a similar situation around 6 years ago when I bought this place, except that it wasn't finished downstairs and I got to start with a clean slate. It's a great feeling to claim your own space in the house.

[mcseforsale]

Yeah, I complain about the ceilings, but the guy who had this done probably put $30 - 40 G into it.  There's a kitchenette down there as well as a full bath. 

AJ

[mcseforsale]

Next up?  Put the plastic edge on and the first coat of mud.  I'm a bit out of my element here, but when the sub did the arch, I kinda got the idea that you just scoop that crap on there and wait for it to dry.  Then, scoop some more on there and wait for it to dry.

Then, sand down the resulting blob to match the other walls.  If I'm off base here, LMK.    I also taped the joints with paper.  From what I read, put a nice line of mud up, put the tape on the mud, then use the scraper to put more mud over the tape. 

Even though I'm French-Canadian and grew up in the north east, I've still never done drywall.  Those from New England will appreciate that joke. 



AJ

[eds1275]

That's pretty much the gist. I run my paper through some water first, gets it to stick better/fight gravity. You have to make sure you get out all the air bubbles underneath. For sanding, I find it easiest to use the pole mount sander with the open holed drywall sandpaper. I don't use the pole though, I get nice and close and sand with little pressure. Remember that you aren't sanding it flat, you're sanding a bump down low and wide.

[mcseforsale]

Cool.  That's pretty much what I did.  I only had to tape 2 16" seams, so it shouldn't be too noticeable if I screw it up...

That's pretty much the gist. I run my paper through some water first, gets it to stick better/fight gravity. You have to make sure you get out all the air bubbles underneath. For sanding, I find it easiest to use the pole mount sander with the open holed drywall sandpaper. I don't use the pole though, I get nice and close and sand with little pressure. Remember that you aren't sanding it flat, you're sanding a bump down low and wide.

[SNAAKE]

chilled and LOLed and OMGed on facebook,

 

[mcseforsale]

No real major updates.  I had a whopper of a car repair last weekend, and that killed the budget til payday.   So, for the past week, we've been spending time cleaning up the dust and debris, throwing out old toys (donating where possible) and creating a mountain of yard sale fodder.

Managed to move the couches out of the way. 



Managed to get the exercise crap out of there and put against the wall in the old room.  I'm debating keeping the gym stuff, or just craigslisting it. 



Got the wire shelves down and plugged all the mounting holes.  Also, temporarily installed the 42" LCD on the credenza. 



Took a page from ChadTower's gameroom project and started poking around the carpet.  I brought it before committee and it was approved!  We will be investigating some GAMEROOM CARPETING!!!!!   

This will probably be much later, but the idea is to scrap the idea of the tilework and have the entire basement gameroom re-carpeted with some cool gameroom carpet with some black lighting...probably just mount some bulbs in the can lights.

Pretty psyched that she was into it.  I showed her the link from ChadTower's thread from astro carpet.  http://www.astrocarpetmills.com/Family_Fun_Center_Carpet.htm  and she's down with it.

AJ

[CoryBee]

Nice to hear things a moving along. Please tell me you got my package and it isn't a prison letter..?>.?

[mcseforsale]

Hahaha!  Yeah, I got the package and they are saweet!  I haven't had the time/energy/motivation to install them yet, but I think I'll get to it this weekend.  I want to put it on the front of the cab, or maybe on the side of the control panel box, so it can be seen.

AJ

Nice to hear things a moving along. Please tell me you got my package and it isn't a prison letter..?>.?

[CoryBee]

Would love to see my work displayed on your cabs. 

Yours turned out much better this time as well, best of the batch.

[mcseforsale]

I just realized that all of those online carpet places with the neon gameroom carpet ARE 1 HOUR FROM MY HOUSE!!!  WOOOT!!!  Dalton, Ga.  Carpet central of the US.  1 hour north on I-75.  No shipping, baby!!

AJ

[MD Draco]

sweeeeeeeeeeeet! Awesome project, and just love the carpet idea! Sadly; here in NZ no such luck with carpet like that, and our houses just aren't built as big on the whole, so no basement room... My arcade project is currently nestled discreetly (yeah, right) in the corner of the lounge, but thankfully she who must be obeyed also enjoys games, so it gets to stay as long as I make it look pretty, and as long as I let her play (*sigh* dare I say it) The Lion King from time to time to keep her happy!! lol

Good luck with your build, very cool, hope everything goes well for you, I'll be watching this thread with interest, and a pang of jealousy for getting a proper games room!! heh heh

[eds1275]

Is there a Lion King arcade game?

The SNES version sucks; if you can get to the middle of the sega genesis version you get a maul button.

[MD Draco]

Ah, sadly the only versions I've found are SNES and Genesis, I always try and get the native version, so at the moment I've got the Genesis version; can't say I've played that one in years so can't remember much about it other than my wife loves it, but it's very similar to Aladdin; which I have been playing on the Genesis!! ... Wow, total thread hijack! lol ... I would put my Mega Drive (euro Genesis) into my cab, but sadly it's in a whole other country... In my parents loft!! Same with all my consoles, which is why I've got the emu's on my cabinet

[mcseforsale]

Quick update...lots of work.  Hung the 42" LCD on the wall, spliced in a new direct TV line.  I'm planning on hanging a 21" tube TV on the opposite wall once we get the arcade down there and the pool table. 

So, here's how it will look laid out.  I found all the old paint for the walls, too.  We'll be extending the paint scheme down the walls.  It's Disney paint from HD and it's been down here for 5 or 6 years.  I have about a quart of each color.  Hopefully that's enough.

That book case won't stay.  It's temporary until a new solution can be found.  That's the gamecube that still gets a ton of play...



AJ

[PL1]

Be sure to get the carpet installed before you paint -- that's how the pros do it.

You're more likely to scratch up the walls unrolling and installing the carpet than you are to miss a drop cloth while painting.


Scott

[mcseforsale]

Yeah.  That's not gonna happen.  I wish I could.  I have to save, save, save for the carpet.  I also have to cut the carpet from under the small couch to fix the missing wall footprints in the office delete.  So, I'll be putting some tack strips down in the footprint of the old closet and moving some carpet into there.

AJ

[mcseforsale]

Major accomplishment tonight.  I actually put 5 cubic yards of drywall into some garbage bags and eliminated the trash pile on the back patio.  I couldn't see getting a $300 dumpster so I'm going to put it to the curb.  The drywall mess fit into 15 39 gallon bags that will be brought to the curb tomorrow night.  Hopefully they'll just take it and not ---smurfette---.

Also, while I was breaking drywall into small pieces and putting it in bags, the executive branch started coloring the walls.  We decided to keep the colors that we already had since we kept enough paint to get it done.  She did an awesome job and got it done.  The back wall was supposed to be green, but I failed to fix the hole that was there, so I got some crap for that, otherwise it would be done:



And, the patio is clean-ish!  5 yards of drywall and 2x put into bags and piles of stuff I can burn this weekend:



AJ

[mcseforsale]

I'm also going to build one of these:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Prepac-Altus-Black-Wall-Mounted-A-V-Console/16821712?findingMethod=rr

Thank you walmart for putting up the specs!

AJ

[mcseforsale]

Got some done over the weekend.  We're still not sure what we're doing about carpet.  The carpet mills that have the arcade carpet don't sell to the public and they recommend a industrial certified installer for their carpet, so I'd imagine $$.

Anyway, here's the room almost finished.  On payday, I'll be capping those exposed areas with 1 x clear pine and painting that white. 



From here (same view):



AJ

[Drnick]

 

Got some done over the weekend.  We're still not sure what we're doing about carpet.  The carpet mills that have the arcade carpet don't sell to the public and they recommend a industrial certified installer for their carpet, so I'd imagine $$.

Ask them for details of who they have supplied it to and then contact those guys directly, you never know they may have offcuts.  Can't really hurt to try asking about. Explain what you are doing, if you get a 40Yr old arcade lover on the other end of the phone you'll be golden.

[mcseforsale]

That's a great idea.  I was also thinking I would go talk to the 2 local skating rinks and see who does their carpet. 

I have about 390 sq. feet to cover, so it will require a seam down the side with about 2 feet.

AJ

Got some done over the weekend.  We're still not sure what we're doing about carpet.  The carpet mills that have the arcade carpet don't sell to the public and they recommend a industrial certified installer for their carpet, so I'd imagine $$.

Ask them for details of who they have supplied it to and then contact those guys directly, you never know they may have offcuts.  Can't really hurt to try asking about. Explain what you are doing, if you get a 40Yr old arcade lover on the other end of the phone you'll be golden.

[mcseforsale]

Some major accomplishments this weekend!  First...WE'VE BEEN ROBBED!!!



Oh, wait....the arcade has actually been moved into the house!  Let the arcade and billiard room begin!  I actually had to lay the cab on its side and rebuild the base so that the thing would stand proud of the carpet.  I really wanted to show the CCFLs under the cab.  So, I built a carriage for the front wheels and some spacers for the rear wheels.  It took about an hour after wrestling the damn cab down the hill to the back yard, but it was worth it.  I added about 3/4" to the under side so that the CCFLs would shine and make a glow around the cab.



Next up, we started hanging pictures and clearing some stuff on the floor.  She had to keep telling me to stop messing with the arcade/jukebox.  I was more interested in some Shinedown.



The General now sits in the garage ready for some bar top builds that I've commissioned.  Standing at attention:



I'll be selling a couple of bartops this spring to offset some bills that we've had, so I now have my "workshop" back.  Hope the new neighbors like the sound of routers in the morning. 

AJ

[Maximus]

Looks great, I've been lurking on this thread for a while, we're looking to buy a new house soon and a big part of the purchase for me will be getting a nice dedicated space, so basically I'm looking for ideas to shamelessly steal.

[mcseforsale]

Well, she grew up with a father that HAD to have at least one pinball machine and a pool table in the house.  He was also all about having the latest consoles back in the 80s.  She loves Ms. PacMan and Centi/Millipede.  So, it gets total executive branch approval.  And, since the kiddies have outgrown the toys down there, it should actually give her less to clean. (she's a stay at home mom)

Now with this room, I want to have another space to have guests hang out in, rather than the kitchen/family room.  This fall when money starts to free up (yeah, right), I want to waterproof the deck above the patio that this opens out to and maybe build a 3 season porch out of that.  Then I'll have space to keep the mower and stuff and some "outdoor" space to walk into from this room.  Hmmm...maybe french doors or a slider....

Unfortunately, a huge car repair bill has sapped the fundage away from this, otherwise, we'd be doing carpet.  That will definately happen before summer, though. 

AJ

Looks great, I've been lurking on this thread for a while, we're looking to buy a new house soon and a big part of the purchase for me will be getting a nice dedicated space, so basically I'm looking for ideas to shamelessly steal.

[mcseforsale]

Finally got around to working on the basement project again!  Sat, I was able to get down there and put up the finish trim.  My father always warned me about finish carpentry...he basically said "put it up quick, then spend the rest of the time covering someone else's errors".  Man was he right.  Nothing...I MEAN NOTHING, was plumb, square or otherwise straight.  But, I continued on and kept my patience and finally got it to a place where some spackle, caulk and paint will make it look like it was always there:





We also had an impromptu bonfire party that night too.  I was just going to burn the leftover 2x4s from the walls, when my next door neighbor firebug peaked his head over the fence.  Before I knew what was going on, he had a 4 foot bonfire in the backyard and other neighbors started filtering into the back yard. 



When the wood was all gone and the wife started feeding neighbors shots, the party moved into the basement.  We cranked up the arcade's SK Jukebox and a dart tourney ensued.  I had also put a new colored florescent bulb in the light can...I think it's a "daylight" and that really made the area stand out. 



Next up...I need to build/buy a proper dart board cabinet.  I'm thinking I'll just build a simple one and be done with it.

[Malenko]

Nice Dell Optiplexs. Im guessing GX280s?


Work looks really good. Your dart playing buddies must be better than mine, that or you dont mind dart holes in your stuffed animals and shelves.

[mcseforsale]

Heh.  Yeah....Optiplexes are my life.  I worked at AT&T when these came off lease and I probably took a dozen of them.  There's a GX260 in The Blue Pill, a GX150 in the gunslinger cab (my in-laws) and these are all I have left.  One's a GX270 with blown caps all over the MB, and the other one is a GX260.

As far as darts go, the wall looks like a moon, now.  I plan on building a dart cabinet that will be long on the bottom since most people miss low.  And, I have a can of spackle in that cabinet next to the dart board 

AJ

[ids]

Dart board cabinet build is must.  I've built one myself - lots of fun.

[mcseforsale]

Got any pics?  Looking for inspiration...I just don't want to build a normal cabinet..

AJ

Dart board cabinet build is must.  I've built one myself - lots of fun.

[ids]

Nothing inspiring about mine, unfortunately, but it gets the job done.

[darthpaul]

Here is mine, I didn't build the Dart Board itself, I had bought an inexpensive one years ago and,"wait for it", decoupaged part of a Star Wars poster on the front in keeping with my Star Wars themed Basement. I did however build the frame around it to help protect the walls from stray darts. I would also recommend some type of rubber matting on the floor beneath the Dart Board to help protect the floors from any Darts that don't stick in the Board, if you are going to have carpet then you probably won't need the Mat.

[mcseforsale]

I finally got to painting the new trimwork out.  It took a few coats since it was just clear pine, but it looks like it was always there.



Next up...Pool Table!  YEAH!!  We're saving for carpet, too.

AJ

[Maximus]

looks good man!

Now get those couches out of there, they are taking up valuable cab space. 

[mcseforsale]

Nope.  The kids get 130 square feet.  The other 390 square feet are MINE!!



I got that bit exercise thing out on the patio getting wet in the rain.  Trying to craigslist it.  It's actually a really nice machine...it's got 8 stations and it's pretty compact.  But, it has to go.

AJ

looks good man!

Now get those couches out of there, they are taking up valuable cab space. 

[darthpaul]

I finally got to painting the new trimwork out.  It took a few coats since it was just clear pine, but it looks like it was always there.



Next up...Pool Table!  YEAH!!  We're saving for carpet, too.

AJ

Is that room going to be wide enough for a Pool Table?

[mcseforsale]

I think so.  The pool table is actually going to go back over here behind the arcade:




The room is 13' 4" wide and the area where the pool table will go is over 17'.  I probably won't get a full regulation table (8'), maybe a 7.5 or 7.

AJ