Jeff 'n Stuff

Yes, the Project Continues

2009-03-17T07:11:00.000-07:00

Yes, the project continues. Amazingly, the posters finally came in the mail! It took weeks, and I had given up on them, but they did come. I'm glad. The pictures here are pretty bad, but, well, you get what you pay for, right? Anyway, the two giant posters are Conan the Barbarian and Star Wars. The two smaller ones are Flash Gordon (the original 1950s picture) and The Blues Brothers.

Also notice the stage below the TV. It looks much nicer now with the curtain in front. What you cannot see is that the stage is completely hollow and underneath it are video games, a subwoofer, and DVD players, etc. That makes for a nice neat place to store all that stuff. Also notice, looking back a few posts, the lack of wires. Sure, there's some in the corner by the computer, but I'm working on that. But there's none on the wall. THAT was a pain. The wall has insulation in it, so running wires through that was was insane. Sure, it looks nice, but just running those wires took literally hours!

It's almost done (finally). I'm still working on curtains around the edges of the TV and the counter still needs a bit of finishing. I finally just installed it because I couldn't come up with any way to attach it except by screwing down through the counter-top. Now I have to try and hide those screws, repaint it, and finish it so it will survive when drinks get spilled on it. Hopefully not more than a week left, then I'll have to start a new project!

Another Few Days

2009-03-04T08:48:00.001-08:00

A little more got done, but I'm still slow. You can see the desk in place and a few more things on the ground. I'm again slowed by the cold. There's two major pieces left: the stage and the walls.

With the walls, it has now been three weeks since the people who sold me the posters were sent the wrong ones back. They STILL claim they haven't received them back. I'm starting to not believe them. I wonder how long I should wait before I realize they just screwed me out of some cash.

The stage (which will go under the TV) needs to be painted. Actually, the wood has to be primed twice, then painted twice. Once it's painted, I can assemble it, as it's already cut and ready to go. But it's been in the 20s in the garage, so no painting. This Friday should be painting day. Then perhaps Saturday afternoon will find the stage assembled and in place. I also hope to seal the counter on painting day, and that might get installed first so we can use it. The counter scares me--I'm completely making this up as I go along. I'm going to attempt to screw the counter top down to the counter from the bottom (without sending screws through the counter) and I'm supporting it with just two bookshelf supports. And I'm not using an actual counter, I'm using a sheet of MDF. So I have NO idea if this counter is going to work at all, or if it's going to fall off as soon as someone touches it. Check back after Saturday, and maybe we'll find out together!

Day Next

2009-02-24T23:24:00.000-08:00

FINALLY! After a week of putzing around, the carpet guys FINALLY came. I guess you get what you pay for. Anyway, the carpet guys were nice and professional, and did a great job. As soon as they left, I quickly assembled the platform and used the spare carpet on it. Then I moved a bit of the furniture to see how it would look. Not too bad, eh? The curtains were a quick fix, and then I put the TV on the wall, too. I hope to hide all those wires in a day or three. Also, the space between the couches looks large, but it has to be that big so they can both recline at the same time.

It's still sort of odd, but I think that's because you don't expect to see a platform in the middle of a family room. I think it will look even better when all the accessories are in place. I'm waiting for it to warm up above 50 degrees so I can paint the stage that's ready to be assembled and put in place. The posters are quite delayed, as I just heard from the poster people that they haven't received my return yet, and it's been a week. Ah well, slow progress beats no progress.

I think tomorrow I shall attempt to move the computers. There's only 276 miles of wires that have to be moved, too...

Day Nine

2009-02-16T22:38:00.000-08:00

Still moving slowly, waiting for carpet guy. Did a few more touch-ups here and there. Bought two 8-foot rods for the curtains. We think we've found curtains-- they're not actually light-blocking, but they are a nice maroon color-- and they were only $10 a panel, so that's nice. I painted the two shelves with a clear coat to seal them and started painting stools. We realized the counter top is more difficult to paint than we thought -- since it's going to be so visible, we really have to make it perfect with the painting. So another coat on that and some wet sandpapering.

The last two movie posters arrived today that I bought on eBay. They're not what I ordered. One was supposed to be Conan the Barbarian, but it was a Superman comic. The other was supposed to be a movie poster, and the picture on eBay shows it as a movie poster, but it's not. The poster is the same picture, but it's missing the "Walt Disney and Walden Media present" words. Kind of disappointing, but I'm not sure if I want to send it back. Of course, I already have to send the other one back because it's not Conan...

Day Eight

2009-02-15T06:25:00.000-08:00

Things have slowed down a bit as we wait for the carpet estimate. They're in no hurry for business, apparently, as we requested an estimate on Wednesday and the earliest he could come give us one is Tuesday. I guess Lowe's is doing better than they look by the empty parking lots at 10am Saturday mornings.

Today I cut and placed the baseboard around the new wall and the quarter round. It's not perfect, but that's also the first time I've done that. We also got the rest of the paint up-- touching up the brown and putting up a second coat of the "Bermuda Sand." The painting is almost done. The baseboards still need paint, and the outside of the new half-wall needs paint, then that's all done. There's not a lot more I can do until after the carpet is installed, so things will continue to be slow for the next few days, I think.

Day Seven

2009-02-13T15:50:00.000-08:00

Today was really a scheduled off day. Other things going on. But I still managed to find a little while to cut the last of the trim for the hidden bookcase and install that.

Day Six

2009-02-12T18:54:00.000-08:00

Not much visible progress today. We did finish the second coats on all the brown stuff, finished trimming up the painted frame on the wall, and got one coat of the other color on (some sand color, but it looks pink) on the other walls before we ran out of paint. So late tonight got more paint, and I found some frames on-line for the movie posters (two arrived today: The Blues Brothers and Flash Gordon).

Day Five

2009-02-11T18:27:00.000-08:00

Did I mention I hate painting? Good thing I had helpers today. We got the hidden bookshelf painted with two coats of paint -- one more and I think it will be done. We coated the outside of the half-wall with another coat of primer.

We almost finished with the darker color paint. The far wall is done (with two coats) and all the trim work for the shelves, the shelves, and the counter top are almost done with two coats. We thought we'd be done with the dark stuff (it's oil-based and nasty) today, but we remembered that the other side of the shelves and the counter top have to get painted, too. The counter top also needs a clear sealant on it.

As you can see, we also got one coat of edging done. The previous paint is a semi-glass, so one coat isn't going to do it. I guess I should have sanded it all down before we tried to paint it, but it's too late for that now!

Still progressing nicely and we put out a call for another estimate on the carpet, which may delay the installation a day or three -- but the first guy was just way too high. I'm also having trouble finding the curtain I want for the windows. Well, I can find it, but since I want something like real theater curtains (heavy and light blocking), they're very expensive to ship. I guess I'll keep searching nearby to see if I can find something that I don't have to pay $35-$50 just in shipping charges.

As always, thanks for stopping by to watch the transformation!

Day Four

2009-02-10T15:57:00.000-08:00

Another day, a bit more progress. After many attempts, I finally got the new light fixture up. Sure, it's dark, but it definitely looks movie-theater-ish. It was just quite old, so nothing fit the house without a few modifications.

I sanded the joint compound, then put another layer on, then sanded that one, and also managed to get all the primer up on the new wall and on the bookshelves. Have I mentioned I hate painting? I also learned that while it is possible to put too much joint compound up, the extra easily sands away. However, if you put too little on, well, that's another few hours to wait for the new stuff to dry again.

I also moved two entire bookcases (the one in the room and one to make room for the one in the room in another room) and did final preparations for the walls. Tomorrow should be the big painting day! I also found out that the discount paint we bought is actually Rustoleum primer for outdoor metal things. I think it will look nice.

The carpet may be a bit delayed, however. When I was at the store, we were quoted one price. When the guy came today and measured everything, he came up with another price -- 150% of the initial offer. Part of tomorrow will be spent checking other places for prices again.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look! It's fun to watch the progress, isn't it? I like it because I can look back and see I actually accomplished something each day! Oh, and if you like it so much that you want me to do some stuff at your house, I don't take cash, only stuff in barter (like food).

Day Three

2009-02-09T18:19:00.000-08:00

I didn't have too much time to work on Day three. I did get some things done. Whatever I'm stirring up is making my head blow up like a balloon. Thank goodness for Benadryl (or the generic version thereof).

I got the rest of the drywall put up. I moved the furniture around to give access to the walls for painting. I removed all the other things on the wall and put joint compound on all the holes. I also put up the tape and mud on the drywall on the half-wall. Keep in mind, this is my first try. I'm sure those who are good at it will point and laugh at my pictures, but we'll see how it looks. It didn't dry today (maybe because it's 1/2-inch thick), but I plan to sand it and put on another coat tomorrow.

I also set the shelves in place for the hidden library. I want to thank my brother who gave me a nail gun and air compressor a few years ago -- otherwise that would have taken days. That's a lot of shelves! The shelves aren't nailed in yet because I'm planning on painting the inside and the shelves before I fix them in place permanently.

So today wasn't bad. Tomorrow the guy comes to measure for the carpet. Hopefully some painting will happen tomorrow, too.

Day Two

2009-02-08T18:20:00.001-08:00

Night one had met not sleeping because of massive allergy attacks, apparently from something I uncovered on Day One. Therefore, it was a slow start to day two. I went back to Lowe's because we decided to make a counter top from MDF, as that would fit in the budget. I ended up making two trips to Lowe's because I can't fit a 4x8 sheet in the van (the doors only open to about 3'8") and the employee there said they weren't allowed to cut drywall for me. So I went home, grabbed my knife and tools, then went back and cut the drywall, and it fit nicely.

After getting home, I spent most of the evening cutting wood. There are a total of 12 shelves that are going to be in the hidden library, on the back side of the half wall. I cut all the shelves, including ripping some wood to reuse some old wood I half, cut the shelf supports, and cut trim covers for the bookshelf. I also cut all the rest of the dry wall for the side and back of the shelf. The only wood left to cut for the wall should be various cuts for the baseboards.

I started moving some furniture out, hoping to finish building the wall tomorrow and prepare the back wall for painting. The back wall will be one color, while the two side walls will be a different color.

Day One

2009-02-07T18:11:00.000-08:00

Now don't expect this to be one of those professional do-it-yourself shows where the people finish the project in 1-2 days. I'm thinking two weeks before this room will be done, and that might not even include final touches. But I'm working with a budget of just $200, so I'll be reusing lots of things when I can. The carpet is going to be replaced, but that's outside the room budget.

Most of day 1 was spent driving around to various carpet places and buying lumber for a few special projects at Lowes.

After we got home, I started work on the half-wall/counter top. I found out that apparently I didn't have the right nails for assembling this stuff, as my nail gun's nails just fell right out. Instead, I ended up using giant screws to hold the wall together. It worked, but it took quite a bit longer because one drill's battery died and Lowe's doesn't carry the 24V charger I needed. I just used one drill.

Pulling up the carpet and the threshold between the carpet and the tile was easy. Once I had all the lumber cut and assembled, I cut and put the dry wall in place. Finally, I stood the wall up and attached it to the wall and the floor. It seems pretty solid. I'm still not sure what to use for a counter top, but something will come up, I'm sure.

Beginning

2009-02-06T17:55:00.000-08:00

Here is the room as it was when I started, after making plans for day:

The room is 20 feet long, going away from you in the pictures, and 14 feet 8 inches wide. The plan is to turn it into a place to watch movies, and we're going to attempt to do something with an old-time movie theater theme. If it turns out half as nice as it currently looks in my head, this will be really neat.