Light at the end of the mancave...

analog addict

analog addict

Glory or Death!
Finally. After 2-3 years of looking, shopping, searching for a new house without success, we have bit the bullet and are going to build a house.

Here's what I've been waiting for....my Mancave...:banana::banana:

Mancave.jpg


About 60' x 35', total square footage will be about 2150 sq ft. Workshop/bathroom in the larger corner by the stairs, wine cellar/tornado shelter in the smaller, it would still leave me with a central room of say 48' by 35' with 10' ceilings, and 4 real corners.

Needless to say, I'm excited, but there's a lot of headaches to come before the first electron hits.....:sigh:

Wish me luck....:yes:
 
well.. kinda hard to tell exactly because of the size of the drawing, but kinda looks like you're screwed here Allan... I don't see a door into your "cave" section of the basement...
 
Actually...

There's a double door walk out on the top wall. Gotta be at least 36" wide to fit a couple of large boxes I want to move in there.....:D
 
OH.. I thought the part sticking out to the very top north of the drawing was your cave part..
 
New mancave (and a few other rooms as well)

We finally started our much-planned for new house about 3 years ago. I can tell you that due to proper planning and the right choice of a contractor, we have NEVER regretted it and have been very pleased!

It took close to a year to build and there were a few minor changes along the way, but nothing major and no unwelcome surprises. My house has a full basement and is what is called either a walk-out or daylight basement. I have my office and shop as well as my "Stereo Den' in the basement.

I have been in the house for almost 2 years now and I am still "getting things set-up".

If you are using a contractor to build the house, the right choice here will decide if this is a joyful experience or a trial by fire!

Choose carefull, look at several houses he has already built, talk to those homeowners and be sure you are 100% comfortable with him (or them)!

CONGRATULATIONS AND GOOD LUCK!

Keep us updated with pictures - we can all share the fun with you!
 
Well....

Mostly good news there....

My builder is my hungry for work brother-in-law. He has built Gold Medal parade homes and is known for his innovative quality work. Also, even including his fee, he says he can bring the house in for ~$100 a sq ft.

However, now I'm stuck between him and my wife, even though I was hoping she would take the complaints etc straight to him.

It's gonna get interesting....:scratch2:
 
Best of luck AA. :thmbsp: :D

The 'Dedicated Hi-Fi House' is one of my pipedreams.As a single guy,it'll be designed not for resale considerations.It'll be my 'here I stay until I die' dwelling.

One bedroom.As energy self-sufficient as I can afford,Tailored for Listening. :yes:.
 
Looks Great! What kind of construction are you going to use? Foam block and pour in concrete makes a great thick and safe wall system.
 
dokblues said:
Looks Great! What kind of construction are you going to use? Foam block and pour in concrete makes a great thick and safe wall system.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing poured concrete for the basement/foundation. Standard wood framing for the rest.....:scratch2:

theophile said:
Best of luck AA. :thmbsp: :D

The 'Dedicated Hi-Fi House' is one of my pipedreams.As a single guy,it'll be designed not for resale considerations.It'll be my 'here I stay until I die' dwelling.

One bedroom.As energy self-sufficient as I can afford,Tailored for Listening. :yes:.
Click to expand...

To tell you the truth, I've thought about that too, as this process has dragged on. I told my wife that I wasn't staying in this house if she couldn't make up her mind, and with or without her, I was getting out....:smoke:

Anyway, I've never really been much concerned with cosmetics over function, and if I had to build a place as a single man, I'd model it after a local brewery that resides in an airplane hanger in a small local airport.

Brewer/owner still keeps his plane in it too....

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BGi_BLvCgehbqS59JLHLgaS2Od_1.jpg


I'd buy an acre of land in the boondocks/outback for $100K, plop a 100' by 100' steel building down on it for $100K, make sure I had running water, heat, and air conditioning, and then turn it into a man's paradise. I'd love to be able to pull my car into my "living" room, and watch TV or listen to high quality audio while working on it.....:D Or have an indoor pistol range. or a permanent brewing system...

The possibilities would be endless....:thmbsp:
 
AA, maybe consider patio/french/double doors that give you almost 5' or 6' of opening using stock units. Maybe bring a car/cycle in there to fool with when weather outside sucks? My wife lets me use our small unused LR to store and light "work" on my 1969 Honda 750 Sandcast. Even though I have a 5 car garage, the heat and humidity here in Houston was "killing" it.
One can never have enough garages - just saying.
 
Here we go....

After a bunch of false starts and one complete back to the drawing board, the engineer has signed off on the plans, and we will be getting ready to start building....:banana:

Here are the final basement plans.


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Total size has shrunk a bit to about 42' by 42', at least if I read these plans right. On the right side of the plans is a cut out which I intend to use as the AV control center. This cut out is about 12' across, so the plan would be to install a 10'-12' drop down screen for movie viewing, effectively hiding the control center. The remaining wall would then be used for speaker placement. Unfortunately, I couldn't eliminate all the support columns, so I had the engineer spread the two middle ones as wide as possible - 14'.

My plan is to then put the listening/viewing station as far back toward the stairs as possible, centered in the middle of the cutout area. That should put me about 22' from the screen, and give me a clear line of sound pretty much into each corner. I think I could get the Simplex W's into the corners and toe them in a little to the listening position......:scratch2:

Thoughts? Comments?....:scratch2:
 
Glad to hear that things are moving for you, but I can't read anything on those plans. :scratch2:

Scott
 
Very nice space you'll enjoy when it's done. Nothing like new construction built to your specs.

Despite the stress and details of construction, the project management during construction is exciting too. In the end it'll increase your enjoyment when it's all done.

Very cool!
 
SPL db said:
Glad to hear that things are moving for you, but I can't read anything on those plans. :scratch2:

Scott
Click to expand...

That's because they're finalized building copies. Main thing to note is the location of the columns, and the dimensions. The left side of the stairs will have an integral wall as to help with load bearing.....
 
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