(Topic ID: 81235)
Here is what we have done so far:
1. painted the ceiling flat black, cleaned up wiring the in the cieling
2. removed support beams. they were not supporting anything
2. buried the sump pump
3. Removed old boiler and relocated the newer boiler to create space
4. sanded and finished the stairs
5. knocked down wall opening up stairs
5. added track lighting, wall sconces
6. painted the walls, (we are leaving one side natural)
7. removed shower
What we are going to do:
1. stain/seal the concrete
2. build bar with distressed look and copper top, sink etc..
3. lights with exposed edison bulbs over the bar
3. mount tv in corner
4. wine rack under stairs
5. black curtain around boiler, ac units
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Vero Beach, FL
That is going to be super cool. Did you spray your ceiling? NJGeko sprayed his and I am going to do the same.
Quoted from Rockytop:The house was built in 1907 and the basement has a coal chute where they would load the coal.
So you're going to get your pins down there by just sliding them down the chute?
Quoted from burningman:That is going to be super cool. Did you spray your ceiling? NJGeko sprayed his and I am going to do the same.
Yep, we sprayed it. It turned out great.
Quoted from littlecammi:So you're going to get your pins down there by just sliding them down the chute?
Absolutely, that would be the most efficient thing to do 
Jyväskylä
Quoted from Rockytop:Yep, we sprayed it. It turned out great.
What sprayer did you use?
I am about 2 weeks away from doing my ceiling. All the games are out of the room and just finishing up the electrical
Quoted from RoadRunner:Whatever u do, leave the walls as they are. Just a fresh coat of paint (maybe sandy color?) and ceiling mounted spotlights as close to the walls as u can get. The texture is just awesome and will pop out nicely.
Uninsulated, it would keep the room cooler in the summer I'll bet as well.
Quoted from chadderack:Uninsulated, it would keep the room cooler in the summer I'll bet as well.
Plus you prevent mold if you don't block the walls with anything. Win-win-win situation 
Quoted from RoadRunner:Whatever u do, leave the walls as they are. Just a fresh coat of paint (maybe sandy color?) and ceiling mounted spotlights as close to the walls as u can get. The texture is just awesome and will pop out nicely.
We love the walls. We don't plan on doing anything other than use an acid wash on the untainted walls and then putting a clear coat sealer. It's completely underground, so the temperature stays pretty regulated. In the winter, the pipes from the boiler heat up the room nicely. I may have a fan running in the summer, but it's pretty nice down there even when it's 100 outside.
1 week later
1 month later
Okotoks, AB
It was strange. The beams weren't doing anything really. Some weren't even touching the floor. I brought a couple of contractors in and they said these beams weren't necessary.
Previous owners could have been sensitive to deflection ( bounce ) in the floor , or maybe had a pool table , or waterbeds ( lol @ 80's waterbeds , push once , coast for five!!) and worried about the extra weight . Some DIY do some silly stuff.
Wow! Looking really nice bro! That is a SWEET space. Plenty of room for a great collection. Good luck the rest of the way. I hope it all goes smoothly for you guys.
Quoted from ls1chris:Previous owners could have been sensitive to deflection ( bounce ) in the floor , or maybe had a pool table , or waterbeds ( lol @ 80's waterbeds , push once , coast for five!!) and worried about the extra weight . Some DIY do some silly stuff.
That's kind of what I was thinking. I slept on a water bed once. I woke up and felt I had been tortured.
Quoted from Pinfidel:Wow! Looking really nice bro! That is a SWEET space. Plenty of room for a great collection. Good luck the rest of the way. I hope it all goes smoothly for you guys.
Thanks man!! I think I can get 12-15 pins down here. My wife wants to put a couch in one corner where I could put 2-3 pins.
Edit: Just did some measuring. If I packed em in I would have the space for 19 pins I believe. I don't think I want it that crowded, but it's nice to know I'll have some space to grow the collection.
I think you should have painted the walls, you should have left them all natural especially with the scone lights lighting them up. Sure it would have been darker down there but I think it would have given the room a more dramatic look and would have been plenty bright with all the games, neon and bar lit up. Just my 2 cents.
Quoted from eharan:Looking good Kenny! Can't wait to see it when it's done and the pins are in the room! Really like that TZ sign!
Ed
Thanks Ed!! Can't wait get to get them down there and get everything set up. You need to come visit if you ever come to Nashville.
Quoted from MustangPaul:I think you should have painted the walls, you should have left them all natural especially with the scone lights lighting them up. Sure it would have been darker down there but I think it would have given the room a more dramatic look and would have been plenty bright with all the games, neon and bar lit up. Just my 2 cents.
I agree with you. We wanted to leave the stone unpainted, but because of moisture concerns we decided to mortar/paint the walls with a material that blocks moisture.
Quoted from MustangPaul:Oh...have you had your basement check for Radon? You'll be spending a lot of time down there.
We haven't, but that's a good idea. We'll have to get a test kit and do that. Thanks for the heads up.
This reminds me of our basement. We have a 1926 house and I'm sure it had a boiler too. There were two floor drains and both were concave in the floor. Think Orbitor 1. We had to pour in gypcrete to level the floor and then install carpet.
We had extra floor posts too. We ended up bolting an engineered 2x12 beam to the existing beam before taking out 2 of the 3 posts just to be safe, but I really don't think the posts were necessary.
It's good that you have all of your machinery in the corner. Ours is that way too. Nice not having it smack dab in the middle of the room. Should look really nice when you're done and will be very functional.
Quoted from dothedoo:This reminds me of our basement. We have a 1926 house and I'm sure it had a boiler too. There were two floor drains and both were concave in the floor. Think Orbitor 1. We had to pour in gypcrete to level the floor and then install carpet.
We had extra floor posts too. We ended up bolting an engineered 2x12 beam to the existing beam before taking out 2 of the 3 posts just to be safe, but I really don't think the posts were necessary.
It's good that you have all of your machinery in the corner. Ours is that way too. Nice not having it smack dab in the middle of the room. Should look really nice when you're done and will be very functional.
Thanks! That does sound a lot like our basement. I'm really excited to start using it soon.
Quoted from Danzig:Any idea where I might be able to find a Twilight Zone sign like that?
Not sure, but if you contacted someone associated with the Texas Pinball Festival I bet they could tell you the vendor who sells these.
Quoted from Rockytop:Thanks man!! I think I can get 12-15 pins down here. My wife wants to put a couch in one corner where I could put 2-3 pins.
Edit: Just did some measuring. If I packed em in I would have the space for 19 pins I believe. I don't think I want it that crowded, but it's nice to know I'll have some space to grow the collection.
Score brownie points with the wife, put a couch down there. It's the right call anyway.
Need a place to kick it. 
Looks cool. Kinda like a pinball coffee house feel I bet. I have a huge basement but the placement of the stairs really limits me. I'm jealous. Keep up the food work and keep the pictures coming.
Nice room. I like the painted brick. A rustic room like this will look amazing with pinball machines.
Quoted from Rockytop:2. buried the sump pump
ummm did you do anything to deal with NOT having the sump pump?? Obviously it was there for a reason.
Love the look. I'm sure your going have a blast down there. I have only one concern though. You bricked up the windows, God forbid, but if you have a fire upstairs, are you a dead man? Or do you have a alternate escape route. Here in Michigan that wouldn't be allowed unless you have a walkout basement.
Quoted from J_Cutler:I have only one concern though. You bricked up the windows
I thought about that too. If anything, just being able to crack it is a big plus. League night at my place brings in some very unpleasant smells with some... I am UBER glad I gotz me a couple of windows
radon is usually present in all basements , it comes from the soil, good thing to check, it sucks having to put in a radon pump but I had to do it in my basement, the more you seal in that area , the higher concentration of radon will be present, looks like you have asbestos insulation on your heat pipes, you may want to address that to be safe, watch for condensation on your water lines, you may want to wrap them with insulation, you don't want them "sweating" dripping water on your pins, looks like an awesome man cave, good job
What kind of head room do you have? One thing nice about hot water heat...no duct work hanging down. 
Quoted from J_Cutler:Love the look. I'm sure your going have a blast down there. I have only one concern though. You bricked up the windows, God forbid, but if you have a fire upstairs, are you a dead man? Or do you have a alternate Escape route. Here in Michigan that wouldn't be allowed unless you have a walkout basement.
Good question. There are 2 ways outs...the stairs and a cellar entrance.
Quoted from Atomicboy:I thought about that too. If anything, just being able to crack it is a big plus. League night at my place brings in some very unpleasant smells with some... I am UBER glad I gotz me a couple of windows
The windows are underground, with the exception of a few inches of daylight. One was used as a coal chute so I'm sure they were exposed at some point in the life of the house.
Quoted from Atomicboy:Nice room. I like the painted brick. A rustic room like this will look amazing with pinball machines.
ummm did you do anything to deal with NOT having the sump pump?? Obviously it was there for a reason.
It's still there...it's built into the floor now. I definitely wanted to keep it in case we needed it.
Quoted from MustangPaul:What kind of head room do you have? One thing nice about hot water heat...no duct work hanging down.
About 9 feet. Some of the pipes are lower.
Quoted from bobbyt:radon is usually present in all basements , it comes from the soil, good thing to check, it sucks having to put in a radon pump but I had to do it in my basement, the more you seal in that area , the higher concentration of radon will be present, looks like you have asbestos insulation on your heat pipes, you may want to address that to be safe, watch for condensation on your water lines, you may want to wrap them with insulation, you don't want them "sweating" dripping water on your pins, looks like an awesome man cave, good job
Thanks for the info about Radon. I didn't think of the pipes sweating...I'll have to keep an eye on that.
Quoted from Jared:More pics please!!
No problem! Here you can see the stairs from the house as well as the cellar entrance. We are doing wine racks under the stairs .
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Here you can see the sump pump in the floor. All the lights are can de dimmed. I have about 20 feet of space on the side walls. About 8 and a half along the wall near the boiler. I'm thinking about making a coffee table with my old MM playfield...not sure if that's sacrilegious or not., but I figure there will be plenty of them available in the future.
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