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  • TennJeep1618

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    As some of you know, my wife and I bought a new house this summer, and I've been slowing working on converting the "office" in the basement into a gunsmithing/reloading/hobby room. This thread will show my progress (of which a lot has already taken place) with lots of photos along the way.

    The room started out some weird orange/red color when we moved in. This photo was after I replaced the really dim light fixture with an LED fixture. I planned on setting up my old workbench (pictured in the middle of the floor) for a while before I built a new one, but then I went in a different direction. I came to regret asking the movers to put that heavy SOB in the middle of the floor.

    gy3R9Jl.jpg



    First step was getting rid of the paint. A coat of Kilz primer went on first.

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    Then some sort of light gray paint. This room is in the basement with no windows, so I chose to go with a light color.

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    After painting, I had to get these boxes (of gun/reloading stuff) out of the big room in the basement. I moved them into this room with enough room to touch up a few spots on the walls, as well as being able to get into the boxes if needed.

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    Of course, a few projects popped up and required me to go digging in nearly every box to find the parts and tools I needed. This created a big mess.

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    TennJeep1618

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    I started playing around in SketchUp to try and figure out the most efficient use of space for what I needed. This is the 4th or 5th revision of my design drawing. A couple of the revisions came about after I priced the cabinets (tall/pantry cabinets are pretty expensive for what you get).

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    After a huge ordeal involving the cabinets (involving a partially canceled order without notification, delivery of damaged parts, new special orders, etc.), I finally received all the base cabinets and was able to start installing them.

    Corner cabinets in place.

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    The laser level was pretty neat and helped to a degree, but I ended up not using it as much as I figured I would.

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    Base cabinets leveled and mounted to walls.

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    Doors on and drawers in.

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    Cleaned up a little. Blankets and air mattress moved into the room in case the tropical storm (Gordon) got worse than expected overnight.

    tmrlwNf.jpg
     

    TennJeep1618

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    The next step was figuring out what I wanted for a countertop. My previous bench was two layers of 3/4" laminated together, but I found that it was a little soft at times. I always said if I were to do it again, I would put a layer of hardwood lauan on top of the pine plywood. The problem with going the plywood route in this was was that 1. I needed at least one 10ft length to minimize joints, and 2. By doubling the 3/4" pine plywood and adding lauan on top, the cost was comparable to other (better) options.

    I was tempted to buy this countertop, but it didn't come in the necessary 10ft section (plus I doubt it would be strong enough).

    oYXD0DK.jpg



    I decided to go with this Acacia butcher block. I needed both a 10ft and an 8ft piece.

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    Counter top loaded up.

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    Mounted.

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    Unfinished close-up.

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    (Mostly) full view of countertop. Wall cabinets hung, also.

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    TennJeep1618

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    Pretty tight seam. 17 linear feet of counter top.

    q1ZNOUR.jpg



    Holes drilled, desk grommets installed for surge protectors.

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    Under/over cabinet lights installed. TV mounted.

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    Another surge protector under the wall cabinets.

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    Another shot of the countertop underneath the wall cabinets, with the under cabinet lighting on.

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    Michael Scott approves.

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    TennJeep1618

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    Press mocked up, holes drilled.

    qj3BHZQ.jpg



    Wiping the dust off the counter top with a wet rag. The difference is amazing.

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    1st coat of oil/butcher block sealer.

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    Another shot after the 1st coat of oil.

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    TennJeep1618

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    Starting to unpack boxes.

    T9LOo1O.jpg



    Press mounted, working on unpacking all the boxes. Still need to trim the chair mat to fit between the cabinets. Going to hold off a little while on the shelves to the right of the press until I fill the drawers. After that, I can more easily see what's left to decide how to best make the shelves.

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    First decoration hung.

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    Leak from the A/C unit above almost caused big problems. Luckily we notice it before more than a few drops came through the ceiling.

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    Back corner of room cleared of boxes in preparation of shelving.

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    MauserLarry

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    Take no offense but I'm going to have to quit looking at your posts-they give me a great feeling of inadequacy about my gun room.:biggrin1:
     

    TennJeep1618

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    Shelving unit built. Extra shelves stacked on top, waiting on more shelf pins.

    W6b3EMO.jpg



    The bottom two shelves are mounted with "L" brackets, the rest can be adjusted easily with shelf pins and holes every 2".

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    Coat of primer on shelving unit. Adjustable shelves are being painted outside.

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    Another view of the primed shelves.

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    I built a lighting/camera track using unistrut and trolleys, instead of the super high priced Manfrotto Sky Track system. I'll get some more detailed photos soon. The magic arms can be moved side to side down the center piece of unistrut, and the entire center piece of unistrut can be moved down the length of the room.

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    Center unistrut section moved to the back of the room.


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    That's all for now. I'll get some more photos of the lighting/camera track system soon. Hope to finish painting the shelves either this afternoon or tomorrow, so I can start stocking the shelves on Sunday. For now, I'm going to hang a curtain in front of the shelves, but I may build doors later on.
     

    JWlineman

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    Awesome work Jeep! Wouldn't expect anything less!

    Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
     

    rtprthd

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    Looks good! Overall, y'all been liking the new house?
     

    TennJeep1618

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    Looks good! Overall, y'all been liking the new house?

    Yeah, for the most part. The (much) shorter drive and (much) more room in the house are both very nice. I love the trees in the backyard and the neighborhood is nice. There are still TONS of projects that need to be done, it's just going to take time to get through them all. Oh, and we're getting a new air handler in the next week or two because ours has a leak and has frozen up twice in the last week. Luckily the home warranty is covering the vast majority of that cost.
     

    RussSurfs

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    Awesome job Jeep. I thought I was getting a gun and surfboard room when my son left. Instead I got a granddaughter and she got a room. It was a good trade but I love checking the stuff you guys come up with.
     
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