Guys, I've been wanting to post on here for months as this project commenced but the actual DOING it pretty much has taken all our time. We bought a 1700 sq ft ranch with a wide open basement back in Jan and started on the basement around the end of Feb. It's almost done now, but I will just dole out the pics a few at a time so its not overload - plus, we are still working on other projects.

Anyways, here's what we started with - // Error: Image 255071 not found //IMG_20140112_135305_011.jpgIMG_20140112_135326_623.jpgIMG_20140112_135345_501.jpgIMG_20140112_135319_860.jpg

IMG_20140112_135241_123.jpg
IMG_20140112_135236_236-186.jpg

Long story short, the last 6 or 7 games that I've bought over the last few years went straight into a storage unit, so this is the first time I'll see all 18 pins, 2 gun games, air hockey and foosball all together. I am as excited as you guys! The plan is for a workshop to the right of the stairs, a display area straight ahead for all the goofy collectibles, a small science fiction/mad scientist themed bar area, a tv area, half bath and storage area but basically leaving it as wide open as possible.

Framing under way/completed -IMG_20140321_124726_716.jpg

IMG_20140321_124800_923.jpg
Bathroom and storage way back there...

IMG_20140324_172502_096.jpg
display area for stupid stuff
IMG_20140324_172513_076.jpg
Some kind of feature wall on the right, first thing you see when you come down the stairs, room for 8 pins
IMG_20140324_172528_772.jpg

IMG_20140324_172537_026.jpg
Workshop - 36" door to get pins in easy...
IMG_20140324_172620_949.jpg
TV area on other side of half wall. 4 pins (back to back pairs) on this side.

I'll post more very soon guys! I'm really bummed i didnt do this as it was actually happening but at least you wont have to follow this thread for 6 months....lol.

You wouldn't have wanted to been here this winter, Terry - one of the worst we've ever had. I believe we either set a new snowfall record or missed it by less than an inch.

Yes, too late for those kinds of changes. We wanted to be able to market the house as a 4 bedroom if/ when we sell one day so we went with an actual door on the workshop. But at 36" will still be fine to get pins in. The closet will be cedar, havent gotten to that yet.
We will have some kind of countertop on the half wall so we can put a couple stools on the tv side and people can watch the pin action on the other side. We do have an idea for the poles though - at least one of them. Thats for a future post to this thread as its not implemented yet.
And unfortunately no walkout. I do have access to a 24' liftgate truck and an Escalera ( and several volunteers that want everything set up so they can play too) so the pain of getting everything down there should be eased a bit.

With the framing done, it was on to electrical. We were planning on 3 separate areas - the big space on one side of the half wall with 8 pins against some kind of feature wall and 2 pairs of pins back to back against the half wall. A tv area with couch, popcorn machine, etc on the other side of the half wall. And a wall of 6 pins on the long wall near the bathroom. I wanted them all on dimmers to customize the feel. And I wanted to be able to turn all the pins on from one spot. So we planned 3 20 amp circuits for the pins. I bought a couple books on electricity/wiring and started reading. I did all the wiring myself. I ended up pulling over 1000 feet of wire.

The plan - the only thing we ended up changing was the location of the wall switches to turn on the games.
IMG_20140404_112528_313.jpg
Can lights up - I can finally see. Spacing out the outlets...
IMG_20140330_160809_781.jpg
Pulling wire....lots of wire.....
IMG_20140402_204337_618.jpg
IMG_20140402_204351_005.jpg
We lost about 5 inches due to that PVC pipe - I wanted a flat wall there to hang posters or whatever so we had to build it out. I would do the same thing again. In fact I did on another wall.
IMG_20140405_195328_487.jpg
The switch box for the 3 20 amp circuits to control the pins.
IMG_20140419_171557_198.jpg
Believe it or not, running the wire to the half wall gave me more problems than almost anything...
IMG_20140421_160304_133.jpg

The basement wasn't plumbed for a half bath (i mean, seriously? so we had to bust up the floor.IMG_20140422_121749_254.jpg
IMG_20140422_172604_357.jpg
IMG_20140422_172618_327.jpg
IMG_20140422_172633_712.jpg
IMG_20140425_192840_037.jpg

Next installment - insulation and drywall.......

IMG_20140402_204429_787.jpg

We still have to install the fixtures in the bathroom and finish up a couple odds and ends. The carpet and trim went in 2 or 3 weeks ago..... And yes, we definitely wanted a bathroom downstairs. Thanks -

We had to get an egress window installed as the basement was now considered "living space" ( in February in Michigan. Those guys earned their money.)

IMG_20140215_100215_999.jpgIMG_20140215_100230_887.jpgIMG_20140215_101242_988.jpg

We (meaning my wife) decided to go with blow in insulation.
IMG_20140508_122857_609(1).jpg
IMG_20140508_122906_446.jpg
Drywall getting ready to go up.
IMG_20140509_122946_611.jpg

Drywall. We thought about doing it ourselves. For about 5 minutes.

IMG_20140515_212119_325.jpg
IMG_20140515_212129_585.jpgIMG_20140513_212716_375.jpgIMG_20140513_212737_419.jpgIMG_20140513_212744_771.jpgIMG_20140513_212810_969.jpgIMG_20140514_220151_243.jpgIMG_20140514_220156_934.jpgIMG_20140514_220208_651.jpgIMG_20140514_220242_243.jpgIMG_20140514_220248_708.jpgIMG_20140515_212110_920.jpg

18 pins, 2 gun games, air hockey, foosball, a sci fi/mad scientist themed bar, and a tv area.

We did the ceiling flat black too. Due to scheduling restraints we had to do the ceiling after the drywall which required a little extra work, but not much. We used DryFall flat black, which dries to dust when it falls 8' or more and can be swept up. Unfortunately our ceiling was a few inches shy, but we were sealing the floor anyways so it wasn't a concern. Sprayer rental $99, 2 5-gal buckets of DryFall $198.00.

The equipment.
IMG_20140528_095231_646.jpg
IMG_20140528_192426_224.jpg
Before
IMG_20140528_132111_545.jpg
IMG_20140528_112611_831.jpg
After - notice the floor too....Pictures kinda suck but there are better shots coming.
IMG_20140528_140812_708.jpg
IMG_20140531_132836_186.jpg
IMG_20140528_185158_689.jpg
IMG_20140528_160920_377.jpg
And floor sealed.......
IMG_20140601_191405_515.jpgIMG_20140601_191439_652.jpg

While shopping for the floor sealer we got an idea for the feature wall. Next will be those, and pics of paint, trim and carpet, and that will pretty much bring it up to where we are right now.

Carpet for both reasons....j would lean more towards comfort though.

Yeah, I love playing with lighting. I have hidden outlets all over the place in the ceiling to add random neon or track lights to accent certain things. Drives the wife nuts when we r settling down to.watch a movie and I'll turn off this lamp, turn on that one, then do the opposite. Gotta create the mood, you know?, lol

Ann Arbor, you're like 20 min from me! I smell a little pinball party brewing.....