Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Several weeks ago my wife and I were out to dinner with some friends. He and I smoke cigars. It was one of those dinners where you really wanted a nice cigar afterward, but it is also winter here in Ohio. Sitting in the garage after a nice dinner sorta kills the mood. So......I mention to no one in particular that it would be nice to have a smoking room in the basement. Much to my amazement my wife says thats not a bad idea.......Not believing my ears, I said nothing more about it. About a week later, out with same couple I said that I had been researching what would be needed to build a smoking room, with a goal of raising the flag a second time to see if I had been imagining. Lo and behold she says when do you think you will start. Nough said.
I started researching and ordering in earnest.
Some details:
Room will be 12X16
32" Plasma with Sony surround
3 extra large leather chairs/recliners
Vent fan is Fantech 741 CFM inline vent fan on timer and rheostat.
Sconce lighting with dimmer
Will have cherry laminate flooring by Armstrong called Grand Illusions. Walls are still up in the air with regards to color.

Well today the construction started in earnest with a goal of having it smokable by Christmas or soon thereafter.:ss:ss

Construction is being done by myself, my brother who owns his own remodeling company and my son in law. All of us like stogies.

Here are the before we started pictures.

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0109.jpg

The window on the right is where the exhaust fan is going to vent out.

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0110.jpg

This is my vent fan and the surround sound for the room.

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0111.jpg


All the pieces and parts ready to be assembled.


http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0112.jpg


Here is one of the 3 chairs that will be in the room.


Next we have the room at the end of Day 1 (today)

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0117.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0118.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0119.jpg

More in the coming days

Merry Christmas!

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Holy moly -- make it so!! :tu

:salute:

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

I think thats enough to make quite a few of us jealous! Congradulations!

whereabouts in ohio are you?

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Grove City

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

I'm loving the chair,,,nothing like an oversized leather mothersmokin chair to get cozy in. Keep the pics coming. I live vicariously thru others.

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Can't wait to see the finished product!

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

So much for taking it slow! This may be the quickest lounge ever done. NICE!

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Way to go Gary! I think you have a great plan, especially where you get all the furniture in the room first so you don't have to get them through a narrow doorway :r
Keep the pics coming!

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Looking good. Can't wait to see the final results...

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Looks great. Can't wait to see the progress and the finished room!

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

What a lady you have!!

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

WOW! Nothing can hold a man back once motivated by cigars. :ss


Nice job Gary.

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

I am very impressed... just getting the walls up would take me a few weeks, and they sure as hell wouldn't be plumb!

Excellent job, looking forward to watching the progress. (Don't forget to snap a few yardgar--er, basementgar--pictures, too :D)

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Can't wait to see it in person Gary! Maybe if you get some time in the next week or two you can stop over and see mine....and have a cigar too :ss

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Great job, can't wait to see this finished! :tu

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

I love watching these projects progress. Thanks for sharing and keep 'em coming.

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Very cool! :ss I am jealous!

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

looks pretty sweet...

I'm in the process of doing the same thing, but just renovating an existing room. It's not nearly as big a space, but will do nicely.

I'll post before and after pics when I'm done.

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

This will be great to watch! I'm also doing a room as well but I dont have any help with mine... :(

I believe yours will be the fastest room I've ever seen get assembled!

Great job so far!


740 cfm will definately do the trick! (Like a motorcycle, go big or go home!:) ) My B&M is bigger and they only have 450 cfm.... :hn

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Very Sweet

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

I love the ambition to get it done asap! Very nice work and good lord those chairs are big. Please post more pics & congrats on the green light!

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

I wish I had a basement to create a great space like that is going to be.

Mike :ss

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Just an update tonight, no pics. All the electric wiring is done, speaker wiring is done, built a sofit to cover couple of pipes. Hung the exhaust fan. Going to the HVAC store tomorrow for 12" piping to finish.

tomorrow we start the drywall....pics then.
Had hoped to get it smokable by Christmas day but looks like we will be in the garage at least one more time. Most likely Christmas day afternoon we will be mudding.

Merry Christmas to all

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Maybe next week Jack. I am off next week.
Congrats of the little one. We are babysitter the granddaughter tonight.

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Great project you have going! With a virtually empty basement, as it appears from the photos, AND a brother in law in construction, AND apparently a wife that is VERY supportive....I gotta ask....WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?

By the way....when you get this room done, you need to have someone snap a photo of you smoking a great stick on that Pilates equipment that is in the photo....now THAT would be a first!!!

This, without doubt, is one great Christmas present that you're building! Congrats and enjoy.

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Believe me, it has been brought up before, just never got the positive answer. Not sure why this time....and dont care to ask;)

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

This looks awesome already.

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Dec 26 update:

We put another coat of mud on today. Started to put the exhaust system in. Finished the closet that my wife insisted upon:(


http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0153.jpg

My brother putting a coat of mud on.

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0154.jpg

Some views

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0155.jpg

Looking in from door

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0156.jpg
Back Wall

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0157.jpg
First step in putting in the exhaust system. I used sheet metal to cover between two studs, floor to ceiling. The exhaust piping will enter the back of this sheet. The entire space between studs will be used as a exhaust pipe. It will make more sense tomorrow.

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0158.jpg

Another view of metal covered stud and exhaust fan.


More tomorrow.

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Looking very good. It seems like a lot of guys are getting the okay to build a man cave lately. I hope I do some day.

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Looks good bro! :tu Very jealous.... Coming along at a great pace too! :dr

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Looking good bro! Keep up the great work!

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

I can't wait to see how that turns out. I only WISH we had basements in California.

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Why a closet?

Looking good!

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

It was a compromise with my wife. She insists that if we ever sold the place she could call it a 4th bedroom:rolleyes:

I told her I would only sell it to someone who understood the value of a man cave! :ss

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

This is looking great Gary!

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

December 27th update:

All the mudding is done, sanding and priming tomorrow. Also got the exhaust system in. Hopefully we will get the electric fired up tomorrow as well. Ended up the night with son and brother in the garage having a Taboo SFO. It was 70 here today. Gotta love those Ohio winters;)

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0165.jpg


This window is where I am going to let fresh air in.

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0164.jpg

Holes for the vents. I enclosed the space between 2 studs with sheet metal and will have a vent high and low. You can see the vent screen leaning against the wall.

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0162.jpg

Long shot of the exhaust fan. Used aluminum tape to seal all joints in the piping.


http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0159.jpg

Filled the window with 5/8 plywood and ran the exhaust through it. Glued the plywood in with construction glue and sealed the cracks with caulk.

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0160.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0161.jpg


Good night......getting closer.

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Looking more & more awesome

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Looking good! Mabye you could setup the closet as a humidor. :ss

I can't imagine you'd want to store clothes in a smoking room. :D

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Dec 30 update:
The slope is getting steeper, almost there.......a cigar in the house:ss

The walls have been painted. While the picture does not look like it they are a green/grey called Mocha Accent.....

The floor is in. It is a Bronze Cherry laminate from Armstrong Grand Illusions collection. It is beautiful. Looks like real wood and goes down very easy. It is a floating floor. My brother and I put it down in 2 hours.

Today I put the main door in and the closet door. Also put all the molding and caulked it, as well as put the outlets in. Tomorrow we will put the crown molding in, paint it and fire up the electric. I have a 12 hour timer for the exhaust fan in our to leave it on for an hour of so after we are done smoking. I also have a rheostat on the fan to control the speed. The vent fans are in. I will also have the sconces in.

We are just a bit of electric, some caulk and a bit of furniture installation from a cigar. New years eve is the goal.

So without further ado here are a series of pictures.

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0176.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0177.jpg


http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0179.jpg


http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0182.jpg


http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0183.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0184.jpg


http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0186.jpg


http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0187.jpg


http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...i/DSCI0188.jpg


Good Night!

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Look great, nice job! :tu

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Really coming along nicely!

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Gonna be an awesome man cave. :tu

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Very very nice :tu

I have a question: is the floor mounted straight onto the slab? Did you put down any kind of underlayment? I'm going to have a similar issue when I renovate part of my garage later this spring. Just wondering how you handled that.

Gerard

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Looking good, now wipe your camera lens off, I'm tired of seeing those spots in every picture!!! :D

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Almost there and looking great!

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

Looking great:ss

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

That's just nice bro!

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

There is a water barrier with thin layer of foam under it. Got it from the same vendor. Gives it an excellent feel. There are no nails or glue, it snaps together, very neatly I might add and floats.

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

The spots on the pictures are dust in the air being picked up by the flash. Sorry, hazard of construction;)

Re: Christmas Man Cave Project
 

nice job...keep it up