Little things that can help when creating a game room *construction thread*
- Thread starter StreetzKing
- Start date
dogbowl
Active member
My house is being framed right now. The larger part of the basement is going to be the gameroom and I've already started talking to my electrician about what I'll need.
Love the thought of being able to walk into the room, flip a few switches and have everything come to life.
So I'm planning on having a dedicated circuit for this room and switched outlets - but how much to I need to plan for? Should I anticipate roughly 2amps per game? Should I do 1 switch per outlet?
Anyone have any experience with this?
Love the thought of being able to walk into the room, flip a few switches and have everything come to life.
So I'm planning on having a dedicated circuit for this room and switched outlets - but how much to I need to plan for? Should I anticipate roughly 2amps per game? Should I do 1 switch per outlet?
Anyone have any experience with this?
if it were mine, this is how i'd do it. I would use 20 amp circuits to start with. Switchwise, i'd put 2 games on each switch, 4 switches per circuit. Outletwise, i'd switch each outlet seperately, and that'd let me put a surge protector to plug 2 games into per switch. Inrush current is high, but, so long as you flip each switch on one at a time, you won't overload anything, and you'll be running at roughly 80% capacity of each 20 amp circuit, which is fine for continuous use (not that i think most people will leave their games on that long). That gives you a little margin as well, if you run a game that runs a bit more than 2 amps, no biggie.
gorfchampion
New member
Well if you're putting in carpet and tile you won't need to worry about epoxy. You can google it and see more of what I'm talking about. Its 2 part epoxy that comes in 1 gallon cans just like paint; and you use a paint roller to apply it to the cement. The cement has to be clean, spotless to say the least to get the best results. Just google garage epoxy or cement epoxy and something should pop up. In the end it would either be carpet OR epoxy, not both.
Phetishboy
Well-known member
You can do both if you plan it out. I did both carpet and stained concrete in mine. The stained concrete surrounds the bar, where the most spills occur. The carpet guys just used a nice brass edge strip to frame the stained concrete:
We also did the same stained concrete at the walkout/ back door entrance, and you can kinda see what it looks like in this pic, to the left of the Qbert:
I eventually will prolly tile the stained concrete. I wanna go with classic black and white checkerboard in granite or marble.
You can do both if you plan it out. I did both carpet and stained concrete in mine. The stained concrete surrounds the bar, where the most spills occur. The carpet guys just used a nice brass edge strip to frame the stained concrete:
We also did the same stained concrete at the walkout/ back door entrance, and you can kinda see what it looks like in this pic, to the left of the Qbert:
I eventually will prolly tile the stained concrete. I wanna go with classic black and white checkerboard in granite or marble.
That's pretty cool. Looking at the picture I would never have guessed that to be concrete. It looks like a mat of some sort. I'm thinking about the checkered black and white tile too. I never considered granite or marble though.
hatrick
Well-known member
Great pics of Grandpa and the kids enjoying the games! That's what it's all about. Nice arcade space.
OP
OP
has anyone done a cement floor painted black and went nuts with black light paints on top of it?
I am finally nearing the end of my basement finishing project. I put my outlets on switches but didn't want a huge bank of them on my wall. I did 5 breakers. 4 outlets on each breaker and each breaker has a switch. So, a single switch controls 4 games. I can't wait to get it finalized and show you guys.
Robert
dogbowl
Active member
So have you planned for just one game per outlet?
One general layout option: build in a long, shallow closet along one wall. (Maybe 1-1.5 ft. deep, with sliding doors.) This is handy for storing lots of gameroom stuff but have it accessible. And you can set up a dartboard area along the front of the closet.
OP
OP
Bump*
And question.
Wanting a cheap score board, I hear a lot about chalkboard paint. Can think be applied to anything? Like if I tape off a rectangle on a wall (think sheetrock painted) will it technically be a chalkboard?? able to write and erase with no problem?? Or does it need a specific material behind it. Sorry for my lack of research but I figured why not.
And question.
Wanting a cheap score board, I hear a lot about chalkboard paint. Can think be applied to anything? Like if I tape off a rectangle on a wall (think sheetrock painted) will it technically be a chalkboard?? able to write and erase with no problem?? Or does it need a specific material behind it. Sorry for my lack of research but I figured why not.
Have you considered creating something like this attachment for each game? That's probably the route I'm going to go.
Attachments
pmichelsen
Well-known member
Chalk board paint is alright, if your walls are textured it will probably suck. Repeated erasing kind of looks like ass. But I guess you could always repaint if it got too bad. I would use a dry erase board, and use some pin striping or something to make your grid.
irobot
Active member
If you are doing a basement, be aware that a basement is generally a poor living space.
The problem is water. Concrete is porous and a basement wicks about 20 gallons of water a day out of the ground and into the air.
You dont want to trap water in walls or carpet. Waterproofing is not the answer.
Do some research on the net about how to do proper basement construction so that you don't have mold growing inside all your walls.
You can often help cure a lot of basement water problems by building a soil curb around the outside of your house and extending your roof downspouts.
The problem is water. Concrete is porous and a basement wicks about 20 gallons of water a day out of the ground and into the air.
You dont want to trap water in walls or carpet. Waterproofing is not the answer.
Do some research on the net about how to do proper basement construction so that you don't have mold growing inside all your walls.
You can often help cure a lot of basement water problems by building a soil curb around the outside of your house and extending your roof downspouts.
Pac-Fan
New member
Not cost saving upfront, but is long term if you ever have problem with "light" water (like < 1/4" ): Put Dri-Core subflooring down. Runs about $1 a sq foot on sale in 2x2 squares.
Allows 1/4" of water to flow under it safely, and wood thickness is ~7/8" so you will be protected to up to 1" of water before it hits the games directly. It also adds a nice cushion over hard concrete, good if you plan to glue carpet down, yet you can still move your games easily as if it was on plywood anywhere else in the house. Also protects against dampness/mold/mustiness caused by humidity in the concrete.
Allows 1/4" of water to flow under it safely, and wood thickness is ~7/8" so you will be protected to up to 1" of water before it hits the games directly. It also adds a nice cushion over hard concrete, good if you plan to glue carpet down, yet you can still move your games easily as if it was on plywood anywhere else in the house. Also protects against dampness/mold/mustiness caused by humidity in the concrete.
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as for flooring.. I used commercial square pieces... they have rubber backing on already...
and are made for no gluing, etc... if one gets messed up.. I can just pull it up, and replace it with a spare...
they have designs.. and are fairly cheap.. and you can cut and lay them yourself to save money..
I have had no problems with rolling games on them or pulling games forward.. they stay in place...
the squares are about 18" or so square...
and are made for no gluing, etc... if one gets messed up.. I can just pull it up, and replace it with a spare...
they have designs.. and are fairly cheap.. and you can cut and lay them yourself to save money..
I have had no problems with rolling games on them or pulling games forward.. they stay in place...
the squares are about 18" or so square...
OP
OP
Bumping this in case anyone can add anything, the more the better!
One thing I will be doing for sure is sound proofing. My man cave will double as a home theater.
The last thing I want to do is piss off the neighbors. I'm already going after them (HOA) for the constant dog shit in my yard. So I have to be Mr. perfect from now on or until the dust settles.
The last thing I want to do is piss off the neighbors. I'm already going after them (HOA) for the constant dog shit in my yard. So I have to be Mr. perfect from now on or until the dust settles.
OP
OP
sound proofing actually sounds like an awesome idea, im sure it tends to get loud at parties, seeing as you need to talk over the games plus theres a couple running at a time
