Saint Paul, MN
Quoted from Arcade:Finally done moving all the machines out and replacing the carpet due to hurricane Harvey flooding.
Just got everything back in place last week.
Looks great, how bad was your flooding.
(Topic ID: 1058)
Quoted from djreddog:Girlfriend finally finished the second wall leading down to the basement. All hand drawn and hand painted.
That paint work looks fantastical!!!
Quoted from Lefman:That paint work looks fantastical!!!
Thank you! She has worked her tail off over the last few months making it all come together. After a short break, she is going to start painting the walls in the basement with 3ft characters from the classic 80's arcades.
Quoted from Dayhuff:Pretty sure I was in your basement/gameroom about 4-5 years ago...??
John
Hi John,
You were at my friends gameroom, not mine. He was out of town and you bought a Theatre of Magic, and a Car Hop if I recall correctly. That Theatre was originally my game. I miss that one! 
Quoted from MustangPaul:Looks great, how bad was your flooding.
We were very lucky. Water only came in under the carpet and soaked the padding.
Lots of people around us lost their entire homes.
My cousin had 5ft of water and lost 5 pins, two cars and his house.
It is all very surreal.
Quoted from Arcade:We were very lucky. Water only came in under the carpet and soaked the padding.
Lots of people around us lost their entire homes.
My cousin had 5ft of water and lost 5 pins, two cars and his house.
It is all very surreal.
Dang you were VERY lucky.
Quoted from djreddog:Thank you! She has worked her tail off over the last few months making it all come together. After a short break, she is going to start painting the walls in the basement with 3ft characters from the classic 80's arcades.
Wow, love that shit!! Please post updates!
Quoted from ramegoom:I used a 100 amp panel for my game room, which is 2900 sq. ft. I have installed about 80 outlets scattered all over, many at neon-sign level, several in the ceiling (which is a 9 ft. unfinished, painted black). I have six pins on a single 20 amp circuit with the possibility of adding one or two more - because I have LED'd all of the machines which reduce power consumption substantially. Most of the rest of the circuits are 15 amp arc-safe breakers or GFI breakers (for the bathroom). I put a power meter on the wall to monitor power usage, which is very low as about 99% of the lighting in the room, including the machines, is LED.
All of the pin outlets are 4 ft. off the ground so no cords show anywhere. I'm a stickler about electrical cords showing. Always put in MORE outlets than you think you'll ever need. There really is no limit to how many outlets you can put on each circuit, since you'll only use what you need. Even after 80 in place, I wish I had put in more.
Ceiling outlets are very handy if you plan on putting perimeter lighting LED strings throughout. Using remote outlet controllers, I can turn on any of six zones for the LED lighting. Put them in every corner, and also floating within the grid of the ceiling at every 10 feet or so. You can float pinball machines in the middle of the room anywhere if you have a ceiling outlet hookup - no cords on the floor anywhere.
I used ceiling can lights scattered to provide even lighting, along with a few in a row over the pool table and a couple in the "family room" section with the fireplace. 65 watt flood LED lights only use 12 watts each, and don't produce any real heat.
As for heating, I have a gas forced air ducted heat system, but rarely use it, even in the dead of winter. The house is a raised ranch with the basement being aroung 4 ft. under the grade, and the heat from upstairs is very adequate for the basement.
Finally I did my floor in a "polyaspartic" material, similar to epoxy but more rugged. It's got about 80 lbs. of pure aluminum flakes mixed into the clear topcoat, giving it a "wet" appearance and very deep. It's first thing people comment on when they get in the room. Glossy bright, you can do it in any material or color, very cool and can take much abuse and heavy machines with no downside. Mop it to clean it as well.
Many different ways to design a room, so this is just the way if finally did my room, after building 3 different game rooms in past houses.
How hard was it to paint the exposed ceiling that dark grey color? I imagine you have to be pretty strict about running electrical wire and where plumbing and air duct work goes so it doesn't detract from the look too much... Very industrial and I love it. Wonder if my wife would let me do this? Hmmm....
I used a total of 36 gallons of "Black Magic" paint thru a Harbor Freight airless spray gun. It actually worked quite well, but you have to clean it out thoroughly when not in use. The room is 2900 sq. ft. but I only painted about 2500 feet of ceiling. That paint has a primer built in, so I was able to spray the galvanized heat ducts and it stuck nicely.
Do the ceiling BEFORE the room gets finished. The overspray will dry before it hits the floor, so it's a simple task to sweep it up afterwards.
Once you get the room together, you'll no doubt be adding more circuits and wiring, so you can rattle-can those exposed items with semi-flat black and it'll blend right in. I recently picked up a 1944 vintage Western Electric telephone operator switchboard and a number of old dial phones, so I have to add wiring everywhere - wished I'd put the wall jacks in before finishing the walls, but who knew? So some of the jacks will have exposed wire. Owell.
Quoted from ramegoom:I used a total of 36 gallons of "Black Magic" paint thru a Harbor Freight airless spray gun. It actually worked quite well, but you have to clean it out thoroughly when not in use. The room is 2900 sq. ft. but I only painted about 2500 feet of ceiling. That paint has a primer built in, so I was able to spray the galvanized heat ducts and it stuck nicely.
Do the ceiling BEFORE the room gets finished. The overspray will dry before it hits the floor, so it's a simple task to sweep it up afterwards.
Once you get the room together, you'll no doubt be adding more circuits and wiring, so you can rattle-can those exposed items with semi-flat black and it'll blend right in. I recently picked up a 1944 vintage Western Electric telephone operator switchboard and a number of old dial phones, so I have to add wiring everywhere - wished I'd put the wall jacks in before finishing the walls, but who knew? So some of the jacks will have exposed wire. Owell.
You did 2 coats didn't you?
Quoted from Allibaster:Finally got my game room setup how I wanted it.
That look classy.
Quoted from seeburg220:I have a game room instead of a living room. Wish it was bigger.
» YouTube video
Nice!!
Quoted from seeburg220:I have a game room instead of a living room.
You must be single.
Quoted from MustangPaul:That look classy.
Thanks!
Anybody have addressable led strips in their gr? I've been thinking of putting them in my garage/shop/gameroomII and could use some help with what to buy. About 45 feet would be needed for what I want to do. Thanks
Quoted from seeburg220:I have a game room instead of a living room. Wish it was bigger.
» YouTube video
This is the first video someone posted here that I kept watching. GREAT WORK.
Quoted from RTS:You must be single.
Close: I'm on my 2nd marriage. This girl understands me.
Quoted from jsa:This is the first video someone posted here that I kept watching. GREAT WORK.
Thanks !
Quoted from Soapman:Nice!!
Thanks !
My gameroom has evolved over the years. Back in the nineties, my simple basement featured bluish-green walls, carpeted load-bearing posts, a cheap sofa-bed and a cat named "Pastrami."
The first 5 photos, circa 1998, depict that long-gone gameroom.
As for my current, utilitarian gameroom (last 3 photos), I've crammed 40 games into it. My 15 year-old daughter makes Blue Note sing, while my tall niece takes a swing at Volley. But, one thing hasn't changed. The party doesn't officially begin until my 86 year-old mom fires-up Fireball Classic.
20150117_211611 (resized).jpg
20150117_211452 (resized).jpg
20150117_211635 (resized).jpg
20150117_211355 (resized).jpg
20150117_211244 (resized).jpg
20171022_010410 (resized).jpg
20171007_211742 (resized).jpg
20171007_212812 (resized).jpg
Quoted from Electronmagic:This is my first post, so go easy on me if I mess it up. Here's my game room!
Holy crap, that's a hell of a cool collection!
Quoted from Electronmagic:This is my first post, so go easy on me if I mess it up. Here's my game room!
Welcome to Pimside. I can see you've been in the hobby for a while. How did you hear of Pinside?
Quoted from Electronmagic:This is my first post, so go easy on me if I mess it up. Here's my game room!
Thanks for sharing.
Looks awesome.
Quoted from Electronmagic:This is my first post, so go easy on me if I mess it up. Here's my game room!
That looks awesome! I thought it was funny seeing the little boy in the first photo playing on the arcade machine and ignoring the pins, that’s what my grandkids do.
Quoted from Electronmagic:so go easy on me if I mess it up.
That's a very nice mess up. Tape on the floor=Dart Machine?
Quoted from ZNET:Today, I've crammed 40 games into my utilitarian gameroom
Nice! No longer any room for even one of the Coca Cola machines?
I have a Vendo 39, and one from the 60s. I plan on restoring the 39..
Quoted from Electronmagic:This is my first post, so go easy on me if I mess it up. Here's my game room!
That's a heck of a first post! Welcome! Take a look around. Stay awhile.
Quoted from MustangPaul:Welcome to Pimside. I can see you've been in the hobby for a while. How did you hear of Pinside?
Been collecting for about 10 yrs. I can't remember where or when I first heard of Pinside. I've known about it for a long time, just never posted before today.
Quoted from foobeer:I often like to use the photos in this thread to show my wife and say “see, at least I’m not as bad as this guy”
Yeah, that's what I've been doing for years too!
Quoted from Mopar:That's a very nice mess up. Tape on the floor=Dart Machine?
Thank you! And yes, green is for dart board regulation distance and blue line for 6 year old distance.
Quoted from Electronmagic:This is my first post, so go easy on me if I mess it up. Here's my game room!
Wow!! Member of pinside since Feb 2016 and just now posting for the first time. Has to be close to a lurking record.
As for messing it up, the only thing I can see that you did wrong is not sending out my personal invitation to stop by and play that cool collection!! 
Quoted from Electronmagic:This is my first post, so go easy on me if I mess it up. Here's my game room!
I'd rather play in that gameroom than all the cookie cutter collections in this thread. Very nice!
Edmonton, AB
Quoted from Electronmagic:This is my first post, so go easy on me if I mess it up. Here's my game room!
If I had that many pins to play? Heck I would not find the time to post here either.
Nice looking collection
Quoted from Mopar:Nice! No longer any room for even one of the Coca Cola machines?
I have a Vendo 39, and one from the 60s. I plan on restoring the 39..
Hey Tim. I know that your collection is also populated by miscellaneous coin-op machines. Two of the three coke machines have remained in my collection since 1985. The Vendo 39 is so nice that it passes the "main floor. . .wife approval" standard, as shown in two of the photos below.
When I started my career back then, this coke machine was in a remote spot in the basement of my office, a dilapidated 4-story building, in the heart of Camden, NJ. Based on service paperwork in the machine, it was last in service in the seventies. This Vendo 39 is the iconic early version, solid red, with an embossed rib running down the coin door to the front and a stamped coin entry plate. This machine spent its entire life in the building of that basement, which accounted for its remarkable original "time-capsule" condition.
I used to walk by it in search of old files stored in that basement. One day, I tracked down the owner and was able to buy it. This was years before Sharper Image began buying up these old Vendo 39, V-44 and V-81 machines, restoring them and selling them in their catalogues for as much as $7,500. In the years thereafter, coke machine restoration outfits became omnipresent and prices adjusted downward considerably. Regarding your Vendo 39 restoration, there's advice available about selecting the correct red paint, as you may know.
The other coke machine that I kept was the Cavalier CS-72. You can glimpse some of that coke machine next to the Sega Rifleman below. As you likely know, soda machine collectors like the illuminated "Have A Coke" lens on that model and the fact that it will vend 12 oz. and smaller bottles as well as many brands of soda cans simultaneously.
The third machine was a Cavalier C-51, Cavalier's counterpart to Vendo's 39 model. I gave the C-51 to a fellow pinball collector friend. There's also a small Tom's Candy machine (depicted below) which has remained in my various gamerooms over the years, from house to house.
Pinball, arcade games, bingos, soda machines, candy machines, trade stimulators (not shown). . .if you can drop a coin in it, we love it, right? About the only coin-op item that doesn't appeal to me are the Pachinko games, although I do find the history of Japanese pinball interesting.
My latest project is the Americoin Fire Chief arcade shown below, which propels actual water from a toy fire engine onto faux fire-blazing window targets. Among all of the games in my line-up, the most popular, for many years, continues to be 1972 Sega Monster Gun (nylon pellet shooter arcade with challenging physical targets and great sound effects) and 1954 Two Player Basketball (arcade), which are side-by-side in one of the photos below. I know that you share my high opinion of the Genco game inasmuch as it's also a hit in your collection.
Quoted from ZNET:The party doesn't officially begin until my 86 year-old mom fires-up Fireball Classic.
That was so awesome to see your mother playing the pins!
My mother did the same thing, and did so until she was 91 . . . the same year she passed away (last August).
She would play so intently. As her reflexes slowed down, she would yell and scream when a ball would fly by and drain. And lots of laughter. Some of the best memories I have.
Tell your mom we are all proud of her and that it lifted our spirits. Give her a big ole hug!!!
Mike in Kentucky
Quoted from ZNET:the most popular, for many years, continues to be 1972 Sega Monster Gun (nylon pellet shooter arcade with challenging physical targets and great sound effects) and 1954 Two Player Basketball (arcade), which are side-by-side in one of the photos below.
It's always enjoyable checking out your great vintage machines Bruce, and yes,
in the back room the Pellet Shooting Rifle Gallery and The Genco Basketball are the
#1 hits, then the United's 5th Inning, which to me isn't really the best Skee
Ball Shuffle player, but the most unique. The Bally "All the Way" also gets enjoyed
which is kind of an unique boggling wonder of a machine, and many of the Classic
add-a-ball Wedge Heads' bells ring much of the time..
I have known of Fire Chief, but never had seen one in action. It would be very interesting
to see a video once you have the restoration completed. I'd be looking forward to it.. (T)
Quoted from foobeer:I often like to use the photos in this thread to show my wife and say “see, at least I’m not as bad as this guy”
Ha! Me too!!! I'll tell my wife, "Hey . . . look at this. See what this guy has done with his game room? We could have something like that too if you would just go along with it." Then, I hear: "Well . . . you MIGHT be able to have that someday AFTER you enlarge the back deck, put me in a Jacuzzi, cut down that dead tree in the back yard, buy me a new washer and dryer, and trade my car in for a new one."
I would tackle ALL of those requests but . . . I know the list would just keep on expanding . . . .
I've got a pretty decent game room, so guess I should just leave things alone. It will be cheaper in more ways than one!
Mike in Kentucky
Quoted from foobeer:I often like to use the photos in this thread to show my wife and say “see, at least I’m not as bad as this guy”
Right there with you!
Guess that‘s the fate of us smalltimers with only 4 pins 
Quoted from Rondogg:I'd rather play in that gameroom than all the cookie cutter collections in this thread. Very nice!
Cookie cutter??????....I resemble that statement. 
These 2 walking sticks will be hung somewhere soon but I'd like to light the eyes up first.
16107231_10209058216397454_3808447985777374422_o (resized).jpg
Quoted from Electronmagic:Been collecting for about 10 yrs. I can't remember where or when I first heard of Pinside. I've known about it for a long time, just never posted before today.
Yeah, that's what I've been doing for years too!
Thank you! And yes, green is for dart board regulation distance and blue line for 6 year old distance.
Dam nice setup. I'll be over in an hour! lol Miss having my kids enjoy the home arcade like that. Makes me want to sing that cats in the cradle song.....
Quoted from nightsearcher:Paul, those sticks are sick, are the from a couple of your ex girlfriends
Reply
Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.
Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!
Donate to PinsideGreat to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!
