Meet My Back Room

[mainestratman]

So I don't completely hijack Plank's kitchen thread, I thought I'd start out by introducing you guys to my back room, where the pub will be located.

Initially, I got really overboard excited about the project and was going to install a 17x8 stage, but decided against that. Too much work. Instead, I'm going to simply add a bar and barback to the practice space... okay.. maybe a booth or two, depending on who I find for a drummer and how much equipment he has.

Coming into the room from the bathroom, which is what connects the back room to the rest of the house:
http://jonnyblues.com/pub/DSC_0238.JPG
(Yes, I move the guitars before I light a fire.. lol)


The view from the opposite end of the room... in front of the french doors in the last picture:
http://jonnyblues.com/pub/DSC_0239.JPG


The view I have when I play:
http://jonnyblues.com/pub/DSC_0240.JPG


And the gratuitous shot of my setup... please note my pedal board looks empty... this time next week it won't.. fed some MGAS (Major GAS) this past week:
http://jonnyblues.com/pub/DSC_0242.JPG


Now that you have a basic visual of the room, the bar will be going in the space by the bathroom door... where the white love seat is. I'd outlined everything with some blue painter's tape then drafted up a bar design in AutoCAD based on the tape.. it should work out well.

The bar and barback will be made out of recycled barn board and stained dark-ish. I'm still working on how I want to do the lighting.

We also really want to rip out all the carpet and put down laminate flooring of some sort, with some area rugs, but flooring a 500+/- square foot room is going to be $$$.

Paint-wise, we're leaning heavily towards a nice forest green with stained pine wainscotting and chair rail. Yes, we'll be starting just with paint. LOL No clue what color we're going to do the ceiling in.


Okay.. so that's it for now. :-)

:beer:

[kidsmoke]

No clue what color we're going to do the ceiling in.
:beer:

How about glass? somebody did some great drywall work in there, but, what about a few skylights?

Nice space, man.

[mainestratman]

Skylights would be awesome.. outside of budget for now, but definitely a thought for some time down the road. :-)

As for the drywall.. fortunately when I snapped these pix, I had the autoflash off, so it blanched out the cracks.. lol

[kidsmoke]

years ago, my folks converted a screened in deck to a convertible room. A tiled cool room in the winter, or a screen porch in the summer. Point being, they replaced the old school sliders with french doors. My Dad had the contractor take the sliders, which are simply large insulated units, and build frames in the roof for them, viola, skylights. Saved on roofing materials, actually saved him a few bucks.

Maybe find something similar, or a shop redoing a storefront. I hear you re: budget, dude, believe me.


Enjoy the process. sounds like your enjoying it.

[Blaze]

Cool project Jon ,i wish i had that much space to make some big noise and how about adding a bar to that ..Miummy :beer:

My question is where s the Strat.. ??

[mainestratman]

All my fellow Fretters have an open invite to come on over once the bar opens.

If not, my partner has already informed me that we'll be rigging up a webcam to do live webcasts of performances.. LOL If anyone is truly hard up for something to watch, I'll be sure to share when and where.. LOL

[mainestratman]

Oops.. Blaze.. I traded in the Strat for other GAS-induced wants... I'm probably going to get another one, but I want one with lace sensors on it. :-)

[Spudman]

That would make a very nice rehearsal room. Nice size and layout. I really like that you can get good light into the room too. Windows are so great for inspiration. The windowless basement scene I've experienced gets pretty old after a while.

[mainestratman]

Agreed Spud... plus there is something about how concrete reflects sound... just thinking about that is triggering my "basement rehearsal PTSD".. lol

Granted, I have a large enough space in the basement as well, and it's even already painted!! But I can't deal with the acoustics against concrete. :-)


PS. For the record, I made the curtains myself! :-)

[Ch0jin]

Just on acoustics, wouldn't the carpet be much better than going for laminate flooring?

I suppose you could go laminate and toss some big rugs about. I met many gentlemen in Turkey that could help in that regard ;)

Also, I detect a bit of Scottish heritage in the background hey :)

[Katastrophe]

Very nice, MSM! Can't wait to see the finished product.

[mainestratman]

Me either. ;-)

[@nthony]

Very nice space and room - I could only dream about something like that (as it is) thanks to the property prices here in Blighty (England) :(

I'm actually very jealous!

[Kazz]

Jon....nice to know I am not the only guy in the world who can sew and make his own curtains.

[kidsmoke]

:what you GUUUYYYZZZ!!!! :thwap

Please, this is a PUBLIC forum. we have a collective image to uphold!!

We are self absorbed, inconsiderate, amp-cranking-at-midnight-on-a-tuesday-in-a-crowded-apartment-building, spent the kids christmas money on a custom shop model, womanizing group of duuudes....

we don't sew curtains!!!

(PM me please...do you use a PFAFF, a singer, white? foot pedal, one of those knee switch in the console jobs? what are we talking about here?)

[mainestratman]

@@nthony - Just a matter of "right place, right time"... although as part of our 5-year plan, if we start looking at building a new house, I've already been informed that it will have a studio space of equivalent area. :-)

@Kazz - Amen, brutha. A sewing machine is just another power tool... lol

@Tio - No sweat.. I'm still most of those things you mentioned! (We have a Singer) :beer:

[@nthony]

I hear ya. That much room for a studio is excellent.

BTW, love the Scottish flag in the corner, do you have any ancestory? I love hearing about that kind of thing.

[Katastrophe]

(PM me please...do you use a PFAFF, a singer, white? foot pedal, one of those knee switch in the console jobs? what are we talking about here?)

Sewing machine GAS??? ROFLMAO!:AOK

As an aside, my grandfather once sewed me a quiver for a bow and arrow he made for me with his own two hands. Sewing is manly.

Back to your regularly scheduled thread.

[@nthony]

This forum should be renamed "The Spool.net" at least if only for today.

[mainestratman]

@@nthony - The Scot flag is two-fold purpose: 1) to cover up the holes in the wall, and 2) to display pride for my Scot heritage. I don't have to go too far back in my genealogy to find ancestors who came over from Scotland and Ireland.

@Kat - Actually, yeah, I have some wicked sewing machine GAS. Viking and Husqvarna both make these awesome embroidery machines... you can design graphics on your computer and upload the pattern into the machine which spits out a perfectly embroidered "printout". But if I have the choice between one of those and an ES-335, I'll take the Gibby, thanks. :-)


Back to the regularly scheduled thread... I know I probably posted all this a little prematurely, but there is a TON of "behind-the-scenes" action going on. I've got the room layout completed and am now working on the bar design, using DoubleCAD XT, which I severely dislike compared to AutoCAD, so it's kind of slow going.

The bar itself will be a relatively modest L-shaped unit, about 42" tall, 72" on the long end, 45" on the short end with a bar surface of about 18". Initially, I wasn't going to build a "mixing area" shelf, but decided to go ahead and do so. I'm going to run some basic plumbing to it so we can have a small bar sink, and a drain for the ice tub which will be used to keep beverages cold (as opposed to a refrigerator with is cost-prohibitive at this point).

The bar itself is taking priority, and will be built within a couple weeks of me getting the material, which will have to be a semi-warm day so we can help ourselves to the barn board from the collapsed barn at our friend's house.

The whole thing will be lightly sanded, except for the bar surface which I will run through the planer, then it will all be stained a rich dark cherry or mahogany and sealed with polyurethane. I am actually toying with the idea instead to use linseed oil instead of stain.. that stuff really makes wood grain *pop* out (and would be my finish of choice if I ever get an old beater guitar to refinish).

When I get around to building the barback, it will be constructed in a similar manner. The challenge at this point is finding a mirror I can use that isn't going to cost me $200. I hate to use it, but if I must, I'll use some of that 70's style mirror tile.

The barstools will be less fancy... we're going to get some inexpensive commercially-available ones. My woodworking skills aren't near good enough to deal with circles and complex angles.. lol

If I could convince this stupid CAD program to spit out "paperspace" JPGs, I'd upload what I've drafted so far... but all-in-all, I've got most all the details worked out and am just waiting to get my hands on the materials. :-)

:beer:


PS. Oh.. and I may have found a drummer!! If he sticks around, my little 3-piece blues project will be the headliner for the Grand Opening of "Pub McQ"!

[Tig]

Nice room, MSM.

OK, this is where I have to expose a piece of my marriage life...
My wife loves to watch those home renovation and design shows (HGTV, DIY). I'm good for maybe 5 minutes before running away from the TV to go play. However, based on hundreds of 5 minute viewings, I'll give your room's layout an unsolicited critique.
:thwap
Pull the couches out and away from the walls or put at least one in the middle of the room facing the fireplace or at a 45 degree angle!
That is all. :poke :tongue:

I know you didn't ask for this abuse, but hey, give it a try. Also, take two stomp boxes and call me in the morning. :D

[Commodore 64]

I wonder how one of DVMs rabid rodents would work on a sewing machine.

[mainestratman]

@Tig - Thanks for the tip.. I'll take it under advisement. ;-) Actually, the blue couch is going to be moved into the living room out front, and I'm going to find a place for the white love seat.. most likely not in the middle of the floor though.. that's practice space. :-)

@Commodore - I'll let you know when it gets here. ;-)

[otaypanky]

That would make a very nice rehearsal room. Nice size and layout. I really like that you can get good light into the room too. Windows are so great for inspiration. The windowless basement scene I've experienced gets pretty old after a while.

I get it, like a potato, Spudman lives underground.

So that IS you in your avatar! :rolleyes:

[Plank_Spanker]

So I don't completely hijack Plank's kitchen thread, I thought I'd start out by introducing you guys to my back room, where the pub will be located.

Initially, I got really overboard excited about the project and was going to install a 17x8 stage, but decided against that. Too much work. Instead, I'm going to simply add a bar and barback to the practice space... okay.. maybe a booth or two, depending on who I find for a drummer and how much equipment he has.

Coming into the room from the bathroom, which is what connects the back room to the rest of the house:
http://jonnyblues.com/pub/DSC_0238.JPG
(Yes, I move the guitars before I light a fire.. lol)


The view from the opposite end of the room... in front of the french doors in the last picture:
http://jonnyblues.com/pub/DSC_0239.JPG


The view I have when I play:
http://jonnyblues.com/pub/DSC_0240.JPG


And the gratuitous shot of my setup... please note my pedal board looks empty... this time next week it won't.. fed some MGAS (Major GAS) this past week:
http://jonnyblues.com/pub/DSC_0242.JPG


Now that you have a basic visual of the room, the bar will be going in the space by the bathroom door... where the white love seat is. I'd outlined everything with some blue painter's tape then drafted up a bar design in AutoCAD based on the tape.. it should work out well.

The bar and barback will be made out of recycled barn board and stained dark-ish. I'm still working on how I want to do the lighting.

We also really want to rip out all the carpet and put down laminate flooring of some sort, with some area rugs, but flooring a 500+/- square foot room is going to be $$$.

Paint-wise, we're leaning heavily towards a nice forest green with stained pine wainscotting and chair rail. Yes, we'll be starting just with paint. LOL No clue what color we're going to do the ceiling in.


Okay.. so that's it for now. :-)

:beer:

This room has virtually endless possibilities! :dude

When you mentioned "pub bar" to me, I had no idea you had this amount of space to work with. That's a whole lot of laminate, man.....................but it will be an item with big return on investment. Laminate rocks! What floor finish are you considering?

My family room is trimmed in dark barn siding and it provides a great accent and mix in texture.

Post your progress here. I will love seeing this project in motion!

[Spudman]

I get it, like a potato, Spudman lives underground.

So that IS you in your avatar! :rolleyes:


Used to live underground. That's an old picture before I lost the weight. :D

[mainestratman]

Yup.. lots and lots and lots of laminate. Maybe too much. So to that end, we're going to most likely laminate the 80+/- sqft in that cubby area where the bar will be and leave the rest carpeted for now.

We're a little back and forth on which flooring to get... probably something a little darker, but whatever is on sale at Marden's (http://mardens.com/) will be the winner. They do have some really nice looking fake stone laminate that we like as well.





This room has virtually endless possibilities! :dude

When you mentioned "pub bar" to me, I had no idea you had this amount of space to work with. That's a whole lot of laminate, man.....................but it will be an item with big return on investment. Laminate rocks! What floor finish are you considering?

My family room is trimmed in dark barn siding and it provides a great accent and mix in texture.

Post your progress here. I will love seeing this project in motion!

[Brian Krashpad]

Man I'd kill for room like that in Casa Krashpad.

Fortunately I can use the office after hours for most band practices.

[sunvalleylaw]

That place looks great MSM! My area is pictured in post 32 of this thread:

http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php?t=12460&page=2

I intend to do a follow up shot now that we have some area rugs and a big couch in there too. It is really nice to have a good sized area to use. I do not have your "stage" space unless I move things around now, but it is still comfortable. We (or at least I, my wife may differ slightly) are going for an intimate pub feel a bit too, and have a soft tip computerized dart board where we can play 301 and Cricket, and hope to find an old tav quality foosball table at some point.

Now that the couch is in, the sounds are a bit less reflective than when the shots I posted in that thread were taken.

Fun to see your space to get ideas!

[mainestratman]

Great news!!!! We just picked up 125 sqft of hardwood laminate for under $75. It's REALLY cool-looking stuff too!! We're gonna start laying it down on Monday. :-D

SVL.. very nice space. :-)

[Brian Krashpad]

Great news!!!! We just picked up 125 sqft of hardwood laminate for under $75. It's REALLY cool-looking stuff too!! We're gonna start laying it down on Monday. :-D



Score! Laminate rocks. We've done our entire downstairs at Casa Krashpad in laminate, and except for right at the start, it was just me and the missus. Neither of us are handy at all either. As long as you got a good electric saw and a couple of the specialized tools necessary, you're good to go.

Any of my guitar pics on here have our laminate as background.

;)

[mainestratman]

@Brian - This laminate is straight up tongue and groove.. no special tools required. Just have to glue it to the sub-floor, which is no problem.

Here are some quick pictures of it... there are some super random bits in the packages (something else that sold us on it)... with hints of green, although these pictures don't really show it...

http://jonnyblues.com/pub/flooring1.jpg

http://jonnyblues.com/pub/flooring2.jpg

http://jonnyblues.com/pub/flooring3.jpg

[Plank_Spanker]

That laminate doesn't float?

[mainestratman]

Nope.. it's glue-down.. another selling point. :-)

[Katastrophe]

Score! Laminate rocks. We've done our entire downstairs at Casa Krashpad in laminate, and except for right at the start, it was just me and the missus. Neither of us are handy at all either. As long as you got a good electric saw and a couple of the specialized tools necessary, you're good to go.

Any of my guitar pics on here have our laminate as background.

;)

As an aside, MSM, Brian's laminate is so cool that it grows guitars. May yours do the same! You did get the LP laminate, didn't you?

[mainestratman]

I hope so. :-)

[mainestratman]

I'm updating photos on my Facebook... let me know if you guys can see the album okay.. if not, I'll repost here. :-)


http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051273&id=1486660519&l=f7a5c0fdac

[Brian Krashpad]

I'm updating photos on my Facebook... let me know if you guys can see the album okay.. if not, I'll repost here. :-)


http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051273&id=1486660519&l=f7a5c0fdac

Yeah, I can see them. The master bedroom at Casa Krashpad used to be that same color green.

[Blaze]

That's it , that's the pub color..
I ve worked 7 years in a Pub ,we had the same with woodworks all over the place ..

Keep on the good work MSM..

[mainestratman]

The flooring is DONE for now, yay!!!

I made a Facebook page for it as well... anyone of you Facebookers are welcome to fan the page... and as always, no cover charge for fellow Fretters. :-)

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pub-McQ/319422317425?ref=mf

[Plank_Spanker]

Post some pics here!

[mainestratman]

Post some pics here!

That takes more effort than just posting a link! LOL

Before:
http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs513.snc3/26940_320317352425_319422317425_3673787_4957408_n. jpg

The dog, supervising:
http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs513.snc3/26940_319684712425_319422317425_3670816_2682376_n. jpg

Paint!
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs513.snc3/26940_319684722425_319422317425_3670818_6913199_n. jpg

More paint!
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs493.snc3/26940_319692317425_319422317425_3670961_5822305_n. jpg

The woman, putting down flooring:
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs493.ash1/26940_319694442425_319422317425_3670970_5696087_n. jpg

Way more flash than I needed... there's about another foot of floor completed, and that's where it currently stands.. been busy since then!
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs505.snc3/26529_320757612425_319422317425_3675509_1365430_n. jpg

[syo]

When are the beer pics coming? :beer:
What a cool project.

[mainestratman]

One thing at a time, please. :-)

[Katastrophe]

I'm diggin' the floor and the wall color. Very nice!

[BigBadWolf1171]

Awesome room maine, ive been checkin it out on facebook. your room has inspired me to turn one of the spare bedrooms into my music room !:happy

[Plank_Spanker]

Looking good! Does resident sound dog approve?

[mainestratman]

Resident sound dog LOVES it. :-) She kept trying to lick the drum kit.. otherwise she was on the couch, enjoying it all.

Today when I was playing, she was curled up in front of my monitor, sleeping while I played at "club" volumes.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2052329&id=1486660519&l=2a066cc580

[mainestratman]

Finally an update!

We got our first load of wood (barn board) for the bar! It was pretty hazardous pickings, but we got some pretty decent pieces. :-)

[mainestratman]

Starting the bar today. Using "modern" wood inside, "old wood" outside.

I've decided to leave everything but the actual bar surface and rail "rough". Hopefully it'll turn out okay. :-)

[ZMAN]

Heading down to Maine in a couple of weeks. Will the Pub be open by then?

[mainestratman]

Welcome back, Zman.. couple weeks... probably not *done*, but might be open. ;-)

[mainestratman]

Updated pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=154311&l=e8fb873709&id=319422317425

[mainestratman]

Holy bar, Batman! Needs a lot of sanding and some stain, but we have a f*cking BAR!!!

http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs429.snc3/24746_363363292425_319422317425_3793112_6314522_n. jpg


Blues jam tonight.. like out in public! Cannot WAIT!

[Katastrophe]

The sheer awesomeness of this room is almost beyond my comprehension.

[mainestratman]

Stain!

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs409.snc3/24746_366062332425_319422317425_3801361_4439318_n. jpg

http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs409.snc3/24746_366062367425_319422317425_3801363_2951510_n. jpg

[Plank_Spanker]

I don't know........................................is your wife cool with all of this?

You might not want to come out of the room once it's done.........:dude

Looks great!

[mainestratman]

Well.. I'm not married... but if this is an indication how the g/f feels about the whole thing:

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs429.snc3/24746_366062292425_319422317425_3801359_7623106_n. jpg


BTW.. the bar is DONE. (I put another coat of stain on the top after these pix)

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs073.snc3/14100_370089952425_319422317425_3812027_6096711_n. jpg

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs053.snc3/14100_370089967425_319422317425_3812028_7423063_n. jpg

[MAXIFUNK]

WOW MS the bar came out great. I have no carpentery skills at all I'm envious to say the least.

[Blaze]

Hummmm!! I can smell the Guiness comin..

Nice :AOK

[mainestratman]

@Maxi.. thanks.. but I have to admit.. enough stain will hide a LOT of errors.. LOL

I adopted a very "don't care if it's perfect" attitude for this whole project.. so far it's really been an asset.

@Blaze.. glad you can smell the Guinness... all I can smell is stain.. lol

[sumitomo]

That is comming out very cool,me likes it.Good Job! Sumi:D

[mainestratman]

Flooring is DONE!!!! I'll post some pictures tomorrow after we scrap up the excess glue and sweep and mop it and get every back into place. VERY tired, but VERY happy!