Man In Cave's Man Cave Journey Has Begun

[Man in Cave]

I've enjoyed this forum for quite some time. So much information, so little time to learn it all. But it is time to build my man cave. There are so many wonderful spaces here to look at and I enjoy them all but I've always hesitated showing my space in the basement because it's fairly crude. Last August I bought 30 2 by 4 studs with the intention of beginning this winter. The studs laid there on the basement floor for months. I saw them there everyday. So did my wife. Fortunately she said nothing, although I know her mind. Those boards will never make a wall. Grrrrr... Well, the 'fun vacuum' is not on board with my hobby, but I love her so there's that. Anyway, I built the first section of the north wall on 1/25/2015. 2nd section 2/8 and the 3rd and final section of the north wall yesterday and I wanted to share. Most likely I'll be building during the weekends. Pictures coming.

S.J.

 

[Man in Cave]

The north wall was actually the toughest for me, by mental design. I'm not a carpenter so it's somewhat unorthodox to look at but there is a neat reason for it. Pay no attention to the stacks of boxes and mess all around.

I needed one longer 2 by 4 by 10 because I wanted to connect the two end sections of the north wall with a single board. I figured the wall would be a little beefier this way. I told you I'm not a carpenter. I'm building around duct work here because my ceiling is low but the longer board is set at this height for a good reason.

Here I built the frame in the middle for my TV. It's a big, bulky Mitsubishi 65" HD DLP. I very much wanted the TV built 'into the wall' so to speak. It will have the much cleaner look I'm striving for and gives me more space in front to play with speaker placement. I also added another stud above the longer board to get as close to the duct work as possible. Quit laughing any of you carpenters out there.

Next I made the 'built in' stand for the TV. My power miter saw only cuts to 8" so I'll have to probably build most everything with studs. That's okay. The stand is very strong and easily supported my 200 lb frame. Biggest tool buying mistake I ever made was to not buy a power compound miter saw when I had the chance. Can you spot my homemade Plumb Bob?

Well, the north wall is built, mostly. When I drywall I will add some studs where I need to, probably around the TV stand and frame. The TV frame is awesome and I can't wait to slide TV in there. That alone will make the north wall something special. The wall length is 11' 8".


So that's it for now. Thanks for looking.

S.J.

 

[getter365]

Ur man cave is coming to be...nothing can stop it now. Good luck. Keep it going...you have momentum now. I can relate to the "fun vacuum" thing. My wife has zero interest in my audio endeavors either. And no matter how low I have the music, it is always too loud.
I have become an expert at slowly and quietly infiltrating various rooms of the house with some sort of audio equipment like our den, our living room, our basement, and, wait for it........even the sacred bedroom, some modern....some vintage....some tube based....some solid state. I used the same approach when sneaking in compact fluorescent bulbs..then sit back and see how long it takes her to realize that I installed them. She hates those bulbs. But now I use LED ones..still have to sneak them in too though, but they are harder to detect.
We'll you have me rambling. And don't ever be embarrassed by your man cave. As long as it brings you happiness, that is all that matters.

 

[GuyK]

Progress! Yes, a little unorthodox in execution, but you know what? It's not load bearing, and once it's rocked it won't be seen. Framing around all the stuff hanging below the joists is a pain no matter what.

 

[motorstereo]

Looking good so far:thmbsp:. If I could make a couple of suggestions. Stop torturing yourself and get a power miter saw. If you can't afford new most every pawn shop has shelves full of used ones from contractors that've gone under during the last recession. Don't mess around with an 8'' get at least a 10'' and a 12'' is better still. Also being that you're in the basement always keep in mind of your wall's doing double duty as structural reinforcement. Turn those 2x4's on edge and nail them together or better yet for the span for your tv use 2x6's on edge nailed together. Same thing goes for your door frame. Don't be afraid to double up those 2x's. You don't want things to wobble every time you close the door or crank the music.

 

[DrumminDaddy]

You made me smile with the "fun vacuum" line. Although mine would definitely say something. Over and over and over and......you get the idea. Good luck with your project. Thanks for sharing 'man building cave' :thmbsp:

 

[Man in Cave]

Thanks for the input Ak'ers. It'll be fun. I knew it was just a matter of raising the first studs and seeing progress. The additional motivation is sharing with you all. It'll keep me headed down the path to the finish.

Looking good so far:thmbsp:. If I could make a couple of suggestions. Stop torturing yourself and get a power miter saw. If you can't afford new most every pawn shop has shelves full of used ones from contractors that've gone under during the last recession. Don't mess around with an 8'' get at least a 10'' and a 12'' is better still. Also being that you're in the basement always keep in mind of your wall's doing double duty as structural reinforcement. Turn those 2x4's on edge and nail them together or better yet for the span for your tv use 2x6's on edge nailed together. Same thing goes for your door frame. Don't be afraid to double up those 2x's. You don't want things to wobble every time you close the door or crank the music.

Thanks for the tips, Motorstereo. I do have a power miter saw, it's just not a power compound miter saw. I've edited my post to include 'power'. And now that you mentioned it, I have a manual miter saw that I could use 'in an emergency' capacitance only. I actually forgot I had it.

S.J.

 

[similost]

Looking good, but I see one thing I would have done different... You are using untreated wood on concrete. Although you may have a dry basement, you can still get moisture wicking from the concrete. Any time you have wood and stone together, you want either a moisture barrier between them, or treated lumber.

 

[nstereo]

Subscribed...Keep it going..Keep the pics coming:thmbsp:

 

[Man in Cave]

Looking good, but I see one thing I would have done different... You are using untreated wood on concrete. Although you may have a dry basement, you can still get moisture wicking from the concrete. Any time you have wood and stone together, you want either a moisture barrier between them, or treated lumber.

This is a good point. I did think about it but why I didn't act is anybody's guess. I should be able to slide some plastic underneath as the framing has not yet been shot into the floor. Moving forward I'll make the adjustments.

S.J.

 

[similost]

:thmbsp:

 

[rave0035]

Looking good! I just finished my basement last year (also not a carpenter) and I'll give you a few "lessons learned":
1) Expect it to take 3x as long as you think it will.
2) Hang the drywall yourself. It's a forgiving art.
3) PAY SOMEONE TO TAPE AND MUD THE DRYWALL. This was the best money I've ever spent, and made up for my half-arsed drywall job, especially because I had a lot of vents and "weird spots" to build around.
4) Spend plenty of time on the lighting layout and low-voltage stuff you're going to run. You only get one shot. Give yourself plenty of room in the low voltage conduit to run additional stuff down the road.
5) Try to have fun!

Good luck, and keep the photos coming.
-Mike

 

[Ths364]

^ #3 !!! Yes, emphatically. And keep audio gear well away from the dust when sanding- it will get pretty much everywhere.

 

[Man in Cave]

Just a quick update to "man building cave." (I love this, Dummindaddy.) I've reached my picture data limit so I need to make some adjustments, probably a new subscription. I built the second smaller east wall that connects to the north wall (posted pictures). I've secured the walls to the basement floor with 3 1/4 tapcon screws (very simple process). I've also hung the drywall on both the north and east walls, cutting out the space for my TV in the north wall. That's where I'm at at this time. This weekend I'm running some electricity into the two walls to two junction boxes. I am having a blast. More pictures coming soon.

S.J.

 

[Thocom]

Hate to point this out now, but you really should use pressure treated plates where it comes in contact with the concrete. Mr inspector will fail you for that if they ever inspect.

 

[32995]

Hate to point this out now, but you really should use pressure treated plates where it comes in contact with the concrete. Mr inspector will fail you for that if they ever inspect.

Since i am not from USA i do not know the local building code, but at home we would never use pressure treated wood indoors. Between concrete and wood you should use proper insulation (or air if possible). Or did i misunderstand you Tcominsky?

 

[GuyK]

Since i am not from USA i do not know the local building code, but at home we would never use pressure treated wood indoors. Between concrete and wood you should use proper insulation (or air if possible). Or did i misunderstand you Tcominsky?

You understood correctly. Here in the States, many local building codes require the use of pressure treated lumber anywhere there is contact between wood and concrete, regardless of interior or exterior application.

 

[32995]

You understood correctly. Here in the States, many local building codes require the use of pressure treated lumber anywhere there is contact between wood and concrete, regardless of interior or exterior application.

Thanks for the education! :thmbsp:

 

[Yamaki]

Put yer pics on Photobucket and link to them vs. using attachments. That way you can post full size pics and not run into an attachment limit here on AK!

Keep up the good work on the "Cave", Cave.

 

[hunter00]

An essencial part of this hobby.Over the yrs the last 3 houses were all ranchers/no basement.After selling the last one we decided to rent a big basement home on acreage as it was cheap/2 floors.
Well as head of the family I got choose on what floor,took over the basement and its been heaven.4 1/2x9 pooltable,lots of antiques,2 complete vintage tube amp systems...im in heaven every day when I walk in from work/weekends.
Goodluck with your project..you WILL enjoy it!

hunter