The Project Blog

Been a while since I’ve updated, but I’ve been busy while silent.   Shortly after getting the insulation mostly in, I obtained an estimate to have the subpanel and all circuits done.  What started out as a plan do do ONLY the theater room has now been transformed into finishing the theater and the two adjoining rooms which will become a bar/concessions room and a game room… grrr.  The reason this happened is beings I want this all done to code and to be inspected by the county (in case anything ever happens that an insurance company can weasel out of payment by pointing at wiring not done to code) it’s easier to get one permit done and do it all at once.. Fair enough.  What I wasn’t expecting though was a quote for nearly $3,000 for all three rooms!  So armed with a newfound basic understanding of the US electric code, I laid out the plan pictured below and submitted it to the county and obtained a permit to do the work myself!  I haven’t totaled the numbers yet, but after purchasing all of the needed materials I’m in it for well under $1,000 even though I used twice as much wire as I’d estimated

So I got down into the basement this weekend to sling some more fiberglass. Last time I vividly remember stating to all afterwards “next time I’m going to wear a mask”… This time I vividly remember stating to all afterwards “I really should have wore a mask!”. But I digress.

I ended up slinging insulation on all 4 walls of the theater room beings I was going to have extra… Not so much I ended up where I now need another roll or two to completly finish, grrr!

Though it did go much faster this time beings all the studs I put up were 16″ on center vs the seemingly random spaced studs the builder placed on the exterior walls of the rest of the basement. I slung 12 rolls worth in the same time it took me to get through 6 last time!

As they say: “Pics or it didn’t happen!”

So obviously I’ve spent the last year (and theater room budget) on a saltwater aquarium. Now that all the heavy lifting (and spending) is done on that hobby, it’s time to jump back down into the basement!

First things first, battling the hot summer in the south is a hard thing to do. So to help stabilize the temps down there, interior R-13 is going in. Picked up 18 rolls because loading a whole pallet onto a trailer was easier than wrangling the 13-15 I was going to need. Let the itchfest begin!

Unfortuatly I started on the complete opposite end of the basement, so the pics are uninteresting at this point The good news is that I should have enough of a surplus to do all 4 walls in the theater room instead of just the 2 exteriors which should help with sound deadening some.

I made it halfway around the basement so far and had to call it quits for the day.  Thankfully, cause I was getting ITCHY!

Well, it’s been a month since any work has gone on in the basement.  Between a family vacation, a house warming, and the last couple of weeks being obsessed with putting together a parts list for a 75 gallon saltwater aquarium,  I’ve not given the basement much thought since the waterproofing.  So this past week rolls by and with heavy remodeling going on at the office, I guess it rubbed off on me.  So we loaded up the fam for a sunday morning excursion to walmart and lowe’s for misc food,  and construction supplies!

I ended up getting 40 92.some-odd-inch 2×4′s, 6 treated 10ft 2x4s (what is that crap they put on it anyway other than easter egg dye?) for the floor, and 5 untreated 10ft 2x4s… Why I thought I needed 5 of one and 6 of the other I’ll chalk up to a brain fart..

I also bought a 5lb box of framing nails then realized “I must know someone that has an air nailer” and I tracked one down.  Tracking down the right nails to load into it was an adventure, but I got a 500 count, so I’m good to go.  Throw in a 10% off coupon, and all in all not a bad take for about $150.

… when you can work on two at once?

I finished up applying drylok to the theater room and went ahead and moved over to the 2nd room on my list: The Bar.  We intend for a small bar, sink, fridge, snack rack, and popcorn machine.  Naturally this room comes after the theater room, no reason to be putting the cart in front of the horse.

… keep that drylok rollin….

Got some more time for the basement over the long holiday weekend. I managed to get the theater room all sealed up and part of the room next to it beings I was on a roll… pardon the pun. More on that in the next post.

I spent a little time with a 5 gallon vat of dry-lok, a 3/4inch nap roller, and a stray bird that decided to fly into the open basement window this weekend. The end result is one wall has been waterproofed! I’m going to have to go grab a can of Killz or something for the metal braces that are left in the wall from construction because as you can see in the pic, dry-lok doesn’t get along with them all that well.

Here’s a few shots of what I’ve got as a starting point for our theater room. The room is approx 9 feet wide by 36 feet long. My intention is for roughly a 100-inch screen with 5-6 rows of recliner/loveseat/couch type seating. Click on a pick for a better view and detailed descriptions…

Step one: Dry-Lok the foundation!