Finally going to get a man pit

billbillw

Since my daughter came along in 2008, I gave up my space in the house to have a separate 2-ch system. Hey, its a sacrifice any parent should/would make. In the last 4 years, I've gotten by with my HT system and/or my desktop system. A few times here or there, I set up my full analog 2-ch, but it was usually gone within a week (my wife usually started to complain after 3 days).

So, I haven't been around here much lately...

That has been due to me spending most of my free time searching for a deal/steal on a house. My wife and I wanted to get the kids into better elementary school anyway (son starts K in the fall) so we started searching. I made having a full basement as an absolute must have for any house we looked at.

So anyway, after 3 months of insane looking, we found a relative steal on a foreclosure. Contract officially accepted today. The basement is MINE!!!! It has approx 1400 sq ft of finished basement space. One big room (2ch system) and 3 smaller rooms (workout room, hobby room, and possible spare bed). So now after years of hoarding some fairly respectable 2ch gear, I'll finally be able to setup a proper system again. My vinyl collection has been collecting dust since mid-2008, but now I'll finally be able to get my VPI table in the mix along with my Pearl phono stage. I also have a tube preamp (BAT VK-30) that I've hardly used as well (picked up last fall).

Since I'm going from 2200 sq ft in 6 rooms (not counting bathrooms/foyers) to ~4800 sq ft in 13 rooms, I should also be able to set at least one additional secondary rigs as well. I was thinking of a nice simple library setup with a pair of LSi9 along with a few spare pieces like my Luxman R-117, Technics SL-1300 and my trusty SCD-C333ES, all of which has been boxed for some time. Should do well in a small room...

Won't close until the end of April and I estimate almost a month of DIY renovations, so I probably won't be moving until late May/early June. No hard deadline since we are just renting our old house after we move out.

So, I'll be busy over the next few months, but it will be all worth it when I settle into a listening chair and listen to one of my reference vinyl LPs.

Of course, this is all pending inspections tomorrow. Since it is REO, repairs wont' be covered.

Wish me luck.

maximillian

Wow. Huge house. Congrats. Hope you didn't have to sell for a "steal" as well. Pics when setup is done so we can drool and be envious.

apc

Good for you. I'm jealous. Our renovation is going to net me an office space that's about 10x13. That's where my 2 ch will have to fit.

chumlie

Congrats. Now lets hope the wife doesn't get jelous of your new friend.

billbillw

maximillian wrote: »

Wow. Huge house. Congrats. Hope you didn't have to sell for a "steal" as well. Pics when setup is done so we can drool and be envious.

We can't sell now (another victim of the housing bubble burst). We currently have about a $25k gap between what we could sell (net after commission, etc) and what we owe. We will be renting the old house for a few years until prices rise and/or we pay down the loan. Hopefully that doesn't turn into a nightmare.

decal

Hopefully that doesn't turn into a nightmare.

Good luck with that one. Don't rent to friends or family !!!!!

billbillw

decal wrote: »

Good luck with that one. Don't rent to friends or family !!!!!

Wouldn't think of it. Worst case, I stop paying on the old house and ask the bank for short sale. Don't want the hit on my credit though. 20+ years of building perfect credit... its worth trying to do it the right way.

Sherardp

Sounds like a great plan. Don't forget the Home Theater for the family, they will love you for it. Home sounds awesome, I may have to pick your brain since I'm looking to invest in a foreclosure myself. Congrats!!!

billbillw

Sherardp wrote: »

Sounds like a great plan. Don't forget the Home Theater for the family, they will love you for it. Home sounds awesome, I may have to pick your brain since I'm looking to invest in a foreclosure myself. Congrats!!!

Yeah, I'm torn about the home theater. The large basement space would be great for that, but I don't know that my SS-M9 would do well in any of the other rooms. I want to get them back on a pure 2-ch setup. I might have to setup twin systems in the basement. HT and 2-ch. Two stacks of gear, one on either side of a 120" screen

schwarcw

Congrats Bill!

Good luck in your new home and welcome back to the 2 channel world.

billbillw

Less than 2 weeks till closing on our new house.

I did decide to do a projector setup in the basement along with my existing HT sound system. The 2-ch system will be sharing space, but kept separate. Its my area, my wife can't complain about two sets of front speakers...
For the projector, I went with a refurb Epson 6500ub and a 100" Vapex screen. All is ready to go (I found some crazy deal couldn't pass up). I just hope the 100" screen is big enough...seriously!

BTW, here is a photo.

pdxfj

Congrats on the new house. I closed on mine just a week ago.

My projector will be here Friday, and I should be picking up seats tonight.

Being a homeowner again is a bit daunting since it's just me floating everything this go around....

Conradicles

Sweet crib...Congrats!!!

headrott

Your house looks very nice! I am happy you guys were able to get a deal on it. Also glad you are able to set up your 2 Channel rig and listen in your own space. Congratulations!

Greg

EndersShadow

Pics when it happens, or it didnt.....

steveinaz

That's an impressive man cave!

rromeo923

Exactly what I need!

jmwest1970

Here's a shot of my man pits...:eek:

Oldfatdogs

Enjoy your new place, Very nice setting.Dan

PreCd

Welcome back to manhood my friend.

I don't always reply to threads but when I do.... it is to a real man's thread.

That basement sound perfect-o my friend. What an opportunity to really get your system set up just as you wish. With that much room you should not have any trouble finding a spot that compliments your gear. Keep us updated on your progress as you move along.

billbillw

Just bought 1100 sq ft of red oak flooring today. Got my work cut out for me. This is for a few rooms on the main floor and the stairs/hallway on the top floor, not my man cave. The house currently has this awful pine flooring with deep v-grooves (like in paneling). Its all dented/scratched and ugly. That $hit is going! 350sq ft of porcelain tile for the kitchen/dinette as well. I've always been a DIY type. Hope I'm not getting in over my head.

Willow

Nice place and congrats on getting a room back. Can you access it from under the front steps?

decal

Mods PLEASE delete post #19 !!!!!!!!!!!!!

billbillw

Willow wrote: »

Nice place and congrats on getting a room back. Can you access it from under the front steps?

Yes, the basement has a separate front door, under the twin front steps. Short of having a kitchenette, the basement could stand as a separate apartment. Man, I really wish it did have a kitchenette or at least a wet bar in the basement. Don't think it would be easy to implement at this point though.

seeclear

billbillw wrote: »

Just bought 1100 sq ft of red oak flooring today. Got my work cut out for me. This is for a few rooms on the main floor and the stairs/hallway on the top floor, not my man cave. The house currently has this awful pine flooring with deep v-grooves (like in paneling). Its all dented/scratched and ugly. That $hit is going! 350sq ft of porcelain tile for the kitchen/dinette as well. I've always been a DIY type. Hope I'm not getting in over my head.

It would really help to have someone help you with the hardwood. You can stay down on the floor and the other guy can cut, or vice versa. Otherwise, it is a lot of up/down and you WILL feel it at the end of the day. I did about 2000 sq ft in 4 or 5 days, about 8 years ago ( I was 44 at the time) and I tell you what, I was SORE at the end of the day. It does matter, tho, what the layout is that you are doing, I was doing several smallish rooms, so very short runs and lots of cutting, so it made for sore legs and back at days end, and went slower than if you have larger rooms and longer runs. It doesn't take much skill tho, so almost any handy man can do it.

billbillw

seeclear wrote: »

It would really help to have someone help you with the hardwood. You can stay down on the floor and the other guy can cut, or vice versa. Otherwise, it is a lot of up/down and you WILL feel it at the end of the day. I did about 2000 sq ft in 4 or 5 days, about 8 years ago ( I was 44 at the time) and I tell you what, I was SORE at the end of the day. It does matter, tho, what the layout is that you are doing, I was doing several smallish rooms, so very short runs and lots of cutting, so it made for sore legs and back at days end, and went slower than if you have larger rooms and longer runs. It doesn't take much skill tho, so almost any handy man can do it.

Yes, I'd love to have a helping hand, but I doubt I will have one most of the time. I plan to break it into segments. Perhaps I'll try to tackle one room per weekend starting with a couple of smaller rooms which are each <200 sq ft and nicely separated from the other rooms by a tile foyer.

Did you use a pneumatic nailer/stapler, manual nailer, or glue? The wood I'm using recommends nailing only, so I was thinking of getting one of the refurb manual Bostich nailers that Amazon sells. I'd love pneumatic, but that would have to be a rental and I don't want to be held to a time limit for returning since this may span a month or longer.

txcoastal1

Congrats on the new home. I am sure the floor supplier told you this but make sure you acclimate the flooring for a week. Don't unbind or unbox the wood just lay out bundles, set your house at your normal living temps (this may take an additional 24 hrs). I DIY'd my oak prefinished "old world hand scraped" going on 3yrs ago, but was able to glue prefinished flooring, after floating and rolling on a moisture barrier to the concrete.

Good luck and enjoy

seeclear

billbillw wrote: »

Yes, I'd love to have a helping hand, but I doubt I will have one most of the time. I plan to break it into segments. Perhaps I'll try to tackle one room per weekend starting with a couple of smaller rooms which are each <200 sq ft and nicely separated from the other rooms by a tile foyer.

Did you use a pneumatic nailer/stapler, manual nailer, or glue? The wood I'm using recommends nailing only, so I was thinking of getting one of the refurb manual Bostich nailers that Amazon sells. I'd love pneumatic, but that would have to be a rental and I don't want to be held to a time limit for returning since this may span a month or longer.

Actually, mine was a laminate, so it clicked together and was just floating. No glue, no nails, no nuthin.

billbillw

Finally after several delays, we closed on the house this past Friday. I dove straight into renovation projects this weekend. Possibly in over my head. Just love the little issues that come up. Monday night, I started ripping out the ugly pine paneling that was used for flooring. No idea what possessed him to use it for flooring. Soft, ugly, and not hygenic (grooves collect dirt/food/etc). As I was taking off the shoe molding, I discovered that he had it beneath all the kitchen cabinets, the kitchen island, and even under some masonry work in the kitchen. Thought that might derail the whole kitchen tiling project, but then I learned about toe kick saws. Couldn't find one to rent, so I bought a cheap one at Harbor Freight. Luckily, the toe kick saw works as advertised and I'm back on track, but at least a week behind our anticipated schedule (due to delays in closing). I'll try and take some progress photos.

polkatese

Great deal Bill. I'll be looking forward to see pics of your craftsmanship! kudos.

billbillw

OK, here has been my week. Expected to get the kitchen floor ripped up in one or two nights. HAH! It took me from Monday night till Saturday afternoon. Granted, I had the delay due to discovering the problem with the cabinets covering the flooring. Then my toe-kick saw crapped out the 2nd night. Had to get a replacement (warranty) along with a multimaster tool to get into the corners all the way (those work great by the way). Then I had to wait for more than 36 hours to finally get a dumpster delivered so I could get the waste flooring out of the way.

Here are some photos (sorry for quality, I only had my phone)

Here is what the old floor typically looked like: Pine paneling with Minwax PolyShades slapped on. The kitchen area actually looked worse than this:



Here is the mess I had while waiting for a dumpster:





Yes, I had to cut around an L-shaped set of cabinets, around an island which included a cutout for a dishwasher, and around a desk type set of cabinets. I went through two toe kick saws and the 2nd one was shot when I was finished. Dangerous suckers too. They kickback like a mule, even when you are being careful. I hope I never have to use one again in my life.

Once the dumpster came on Saturday, I quickly got things cleaned up (still took 3 hours to haul all the wood down the hill to the dumpster)







All in all, about 320 sq feet I had to rip up so far (just for kitchen area). Notice all those stains on the floor? That is why I would never put wood floors in a kitchen. Tile, laminate, or vinyl.

Here is what is going into the kitchen this week:
Porcelain tile over hardi-backer.



That is about 2600 lbs of tile/backer/mortar (there is another 4 bags of mortar and the grout not shown) that I unloaded all by myself today.

If that wasn't enough for one day, after I finished with unloading the tile job supplies, I went to lumber liquidators to pick up the wood flooring that will replace the other 1000 sq ft in the house. (32 boxes~ about 2300lbs), but I had a friend help me unload that stuff. Needless to say, I'm sore right now. I'm actually surprised that I'm even able to walk after doing all that.

I still have to rip out the rest of the crap wood flooring in the house, but I'm hoping it goes much quicker since I won't have the issues I encountered in the kitchen and I won't have to wait for the dumpster. I'm using something called a Gutster to help me rip up the flooring. It is amazing and well worth the $75 I paid for it. The ultimate demolition tool is no joke.

In over my head for sure...