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I recently
moved to a new house (OK, not new construction, but new to me) and had a chance
to do a new work area. The basement was partially finished. There was carpeting
and drywall up. The electric was partially run and there was insulation in
place. The only thing I had to do was finish everything off and make it useable.
The room I chose for my work shop (and office) was to have been a fourth
bedroom. Since there was no real need for this room I negotiated occupancy
rights from the lady of the house. One of the first things that needed to be
done was box in all the ductwork. This comprised building a basic wood frame
around the ducts and then covering that frame with drywall. O course you have to
tape and mud and sand. And sand, and sand. This was the longest part of the
whole process. I decided to install a suspended ceiling. Everything you need is
at the local home improvement center (in this case Home Depot) Since I was going
to eventually do the whole basement I started small with my office to get the
feel for how to install this type of ceiling. I won’t go into the particulars
but suffice it to say that it’s not that difficult and anyone here on ARC is
more than qualified to do it. Once the basic grid was up I had to decide on
lighting. Over the workbench I went with a per-wired 2’x4’ fluorescent fixture with 4 bulbs. This gives a nice even light. For spot lighting over my desk I used recessed can lights. I wired all of these in to the existing light circuit after removing the hideous fixtures that were previously there. Once the lights were done it was time to install the grid panels. Since the grid I chose was standard 2’x2’ squares it was just a matter of dropping the tiles in place. For the grids that were non-standard I did have to measure and cut them with a utility knife.
The finished room is dramatically different than before. The lighting is much more even and balanced. The whole room is much brighter due to the white walls and ceiling. I also had to install base trim moulding so following the rule of a major project (you know; any new project allows you to purchase a big, new tool) I bought a compound miter saw and went to work. Once the trim was done it was ready for move in. Here are some particulars for the room:
Now here’s an even better perk. Just outside the door to my office is a small alcove area about 7x9. This space is basically unusable for much of anything so it’s become my display area. As the collection grows with items from the stash being built (hahahahaha) I’ll have a place to display it. So this area was given the treatment too and had a ceiling installed with recessed lighting. Right now it’s not completely done because my in-laws treadmill occupies it and I have to build some display cases but I know my completed models have a home. I think from the pictures I have hung on the walls you can see an aviation theme. I hope you enjoy seeing pictures of my new work area as much as I have enjoyed building it and sharing with you. Jeff Brundt Visit my web site @ http://www.geocities.com/jbrundt
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Photos and text © by Jeff Brundt
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