Now its time to build, the Game Room!

SilverCoin

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Long story short, we have a baby on the way. I have the ok to move the current arcade into the basement! We need to shuffle some rooms around for a kids room, so my dream of a dedicated arcade is coming true.

I am the point where I know what I want, but I need to find someone (contractor) to frame things up, wire electrical, finish a small bathroom already started(not by me), and make it look real nice for my games to come downstairs.

What can I tell you?

Next to no water issues from walls or floor. Extreme tornado like rain did cause a little bit of water to come in. First time I've seen it in 2 years.

200 Amp service in the house.

New furnace/air installed 3 weeks ago

Not looking for someone to do this as a part time job, want it done right, and reasonably quick.

Just looking for anything that we might not think of, or helpful info on who/what the contractors should be doing. Also what to ask them when interviewing them for this job?

Thanks all!
 
Your biggest problem will be getting contractors to show up when they say they are going to. You'll want to make sure they have a certificate of insurance and a list of references.
 
I started my game room renovation about the middle of Jan 2010, the contractor i hired said it would take 10 days, it's middle of July, he doesn't work for me anymore, i fired him last week. ( i believe he is now at R@M controls lol)
 
Lots and Lots of surge-protected plugs. Blacklights. A single switch to turn all plugs on and off (one touch arcade ON).
 
If your avatar is any indication, the little one will be well fed. ;) Congrats.

Seconding ShavenYak, references, and check the hell out of those references. If it's friends of theirs or anything is weird, walk away, the time it takes to find someone good will be far shorter than dealing with someone flaky and then having to bring in someone good. My parents just went through that with their kitchen and it was a major headache. Certificate of insurance will show that they're at least somewhat serious about doing what they do as a job and not as some side thing while waiting for the job market to get better.
 
When the contractors give time estimates, make them give DATES, and IN WRITING. You'll have to decide if the dates they give are OK or not, but if you don't get dates you'll get workers every couple of weeks for the rest of the year.

When I had my pool redone a few years back we found out that 'about 2-3 weeks worth of work' was actually the entire damn summer because they'd show up, do a bit, then not show again for 2 weeks. I'd have happily scheduled the whole mess for August, but instead they made it so I couldn't use the pool for the entire year.

Make sure you're getting enough outlets and spread them over as many breakers as you can.
 
To bad you are so far away this is what I do for a living... Sounds like a two to three week project if every thing drops into place. Check with your local building supply to see who they would hire.

To see my companies work look at my past thread (My Arcade). Good luck!!
 
Long story short, we have a baby on the way. I have the ok to move the current arcade into the basement! We need to shuffle some rooms around for a kids room, so my dream of a dedicated arcade is coming true.

I am the point where I know what I want, but I need to find someone (contractor) to frame things up, wire electrical, finish a small bathroom already started(not by me), and make it look real nice for my games to come downstairs.

What can I tell you?

Next to no water issues from walls or floor. Extreme tornado like rain did cause a little bit of water to come in. First time I've seen it in 2 years.

200 Amp service in the house.

New furnace/air installed 3 weeks ago

Not looking for someone to do this as a part time job, want it done right, and reasonably quick.

Just looking for anything that we might not think of, or helpful info on who/what the contractors should be doing. Also what to ask them when interviewing them for this job?

Thanks all!

How many games?This will tell you if your 200 AMP is going to be enough. I assume this is for the entire house, if so you may want to see what you have left in the box.

Do you have a floor plan already? If not, you may want to sit down with Google Sketchup and mock it up before you commit to any work.

Ventilation/Cooling. Those games are going to put out a LOT of heat, and if you have a lot of them, you'll want to make sure you have adequate ventilation and cooling in the basement.

Entrance to the Basement Will it be easy to get the games in and out? If not, maybe consider making a modification to the entrance since you're remodeling already, it will be cheaper then doing it later.
 
Games, 25 not including Juke, and maybe 2 pinball's.

Any idea on the overhead lighting?

Black-lights would be great, but what kind of fixtures?

I will look into the breakers to see what Amps I have left.

We have a double sized stairwell, AND a double wide door on the basement level. Easy to get anything in or out!

Great stuff guys! But is there anything you wish you would have done? Or things I should stay away from?



Oh yeah, those aren't my woman's cans... lol
 
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Your biggest problem will be getting contractors to show up when they say they are going to. You'll want to make sure they have a certificate of insurance and a list of references.

And permits! With the permits in place the contractors work also has to be inspected by the city/county.

Matt
 
Seconding this. If they say they don't need permits, then what other corners are they going to cut?

Very good point.

We had 3 estimates from guys to finish our 1400 sq ft basement in Colorado. One of them was $18k LABOR only, I had to pay for and go and get all the parts. Another guy was $39.5k "no permits needed" and the last guy (and the one we went with) was around $45k and he was on the up and up bigtime. He got all the permits, supplied materials, hired good subs, dealt with the inspectors and they did a great job.

Then I had to go and friggin move!!!! ARGH!!!

Matt
 
Very good point.

We had 3 estimates from guys to finish our 1400 sq ft basement in Colorado. One of them was $18k LABOR only, I had to pay for and go and get all the parts. Another guy was $39.5k "no permits needed" and the last guy (and the one we went with) was around $45k and he was on the up and up bigtime. He got all the permits, supplied materials, hired good subs, dealt with the inspectors and they did a great job.

Then I had to go and friggin move!!!! ARGH!!!

Matt

DEPENDING on the extent of work, a permit may or may not be needed. Not getting one can cause you problems if you ever sell your house. I'm building my gameroom separate from the house so I had to get a building permit. All over permits (elec., plumbing, HVAC) should be pulled by the individual contractor. You shouldn't pull those. Also, don't pay the contractor in full until the work is complete. If they require all (a certain percentage, up to half is acceptable) funds up front, you should run away.
 
One thing I did do in my arcade addition was to switch the outlets (commercial 20amp switches). Sure beats reaching behind machines to turn them on!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Oh yea, almost forgot...... HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET A PIC OF MY WIFE FOR YOUR AVATAR ????? Damn that girl gets around.

I have got to stop working out of town so much.......
 
never had so much talk about my avatar!

Commercial outlets?

I would do it myself if it didn't take me 3 times to hang shelves straight.. making holes each time... sigh.
 
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Finally got around to calling my mother to see if she had any tips not mentioned already after their kitchen nightmare. The one thing she mentioned that she's apparently been using since then for everything from contractors to plumbers to whatever has been Angie's List ( http://www.angieslist.com/angieslist/ ). It does cost to join (outlined http://www.angieslist.com/angieslist/visitor/price.aspx ) but it doesn't seem to expensive and she's said it's been totally worth it for her. Involves a good bit of research as you have to sit down and read all the reviews, but it might ben an extra layer of insulation from contractor nightmares. Big shock, the guy she originally hired to do the kitchen was working for realtors w/o a license, she wound up putting down a hell of a mind game on him to get her money back, she's good like that. :)
 
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