Man Cave Part V: Vapor Barrier and Purchases 

My son Liam helped me get the vapor barrier up. I used a 4 Mil 8' x 100' roll and made pretty quick work of it with 1/2" staples.

The Vapor Barrier in place.

My staple gun of choice is the Powershot 5700 staple and brad gun. I've had it for almost 20 years and it still rocks.

Next up, the drywall.

So, I stopped in a local furniture store and found two of these killer over-sized black leather chairs. They were on clearance and I got the pair for $150.

Over-sized leather chair.

Lighting has been tricky. I found 4 of these amazing art-deco style sconces made by Forecast Lighting. The MSRP is $126 a piece. I got all 4 on e-bay for $16 - total, S/H included.

Awesome lighting.

I also picked up an X-Box at a yard sale for $20. 

Now I need a leather sectional and a large TV.

It's all coming along.

Electric and Ductwork

It's been a week since my last post and even though I've been idle here, I haven't been idle in the man cave.

Electrical Work

To help isolate the cigar smoke smell from the rest of the house, I wanted to put up a drywall ceiling. If I hadn't said it before, I had plumbing and electrical work hanging from the joists that all had to be moved.

I had to move or remove the fluorescent lights that were hanging and move any wires that were lazily run and hung on the joists. I'd detached everything and put up the framing around it, but the time had come where I had to bite the bullet and rerun wires, etc.

I put in a 20 amp circuit for the outlets, and installed 10 outlets around the room - about every 4 feet from corners, doors, and each other. I went with 20 amp so any refrigerators or air purifiers, etc. would be accommodated.

 

Double duplexes for the A/V equipment.

I put in a 15 amp circuit for the lights and the exhaust fan.

I am using 4 sconce lights that I got on eBay for $16 (S/H included) on a dimmer. I am putting two recessed lights on a separate switch, and the fan - which is only 98 watts - on it's own switch.

I also had to rerun the basement's existing circuit to accommodate the lighting in the utility areas and an outlet for our freezer.

The fluorescent fixture moved to the area where the electrical box resides.

Duct Work

I bought a 10 inch ceiling box with a 90 degree out for the primary exhaust. I couldn't find this item at Home Depot or Lowe's, so I bought it at a place in Norristown/Plymouth Meeting called Riley Supply. I also went to them for the exhaust hood that will be on the outside of the house.

The 10" ceiling box in place. The duct is 6".

The most important part of this plan was the exhaust fan.

There was a lot of conflicting information out there about ventilation needs and how to size and select a ventilation system.

I found a formula for scaling ventilation needs that went like this:

Room length x Room width x Room height = cubic feet of the room.

In my case, that was 16' x 12' by 7' = 1344 cubic feet.

I needed to divide the cubic feet by 60 minutes. 1344/60 = 22.4 CFM. This meant, to exchange the air once in the room, per hour, I would need a 22.4 CFM fan.

I want 12 to 16 exchanges per hour in moderate to heavy smoke conditions. Granted, that won't happen often, but if I get several of my friends smoking in the room at one time, it'll be nice to have.

So, the range I would need was defined by 12 x 22.4 = 268.8 CFM. and 16 x 22.4 358.4 CFM.

I ended up buyng a Panasonic Whisperline in-line fan, model FV-30NLF1 that is rated at 340 CFM. This is way above the minimum 268.8 CFM I needed, and almost at the 358.4CFM on the high side. (The fan is spec'd at 370 CFM.)

The Panasonic FV-30NLF1340 CFM fan.

The other factor was noise. This baby would be installed right under my kitchen, so I didn't want anyone upstairs being bothered by a loud fan running. Fans are rated in sones. The average bathroom fan was rated at 2 sones. This fan was rated at 1.7 sones, whereas many utility fans or hydroponic fans were rated 6 or more sones.

I had to do a little modification to the floor joists to fit the fan in, but it was no big deal.

Next up, the vapor barrier and drywall.

Man Cave Part 3: Insulation and Framing.

Insulation, check.

Framing, check.

When I tore out the fiberglass insulation that was previously in the basement. I swore I wouldn't repeat the mistake the previous owner made. Were this an above grade installation, that would have made sense, but this was the basement.

First, it acted like a sponge when we had the water in the house. The bottom few inches of every piece that had been exposed to the water was moldy.

Second, it was a haven for mice. When I tore it out, I discovered numerous dead mice laying at the bottom of the frame pockets, just behind the insulation.

So, this time out, I decided to use rigid foam insulation, It was inexpensive, easy to handle (all six sheets weighted less than 20 lbs. combined), and installation was a breeze.

I measured out each piece, used a utility knife to cut out what was necessary to fit around access panels, etc, and used Liquid Nails construction adhesive to attach it to the wall. If you decide to do this, make sure the wall is clean and be sure whatever adhesive you use is appropriate for foam. Liquid Nails was perfect as I needed an entire tube for each piece and it's relatively inexpensive: about $1.69 a tube.

Once the panels were in place, I taped all the seams.

I was going to use a product made by Armstrong called, QuikStix for the framing. It was a galvanized steel framing material that looked like a very easy product to install and was guaranteed to last 10 years.

Unfortunately, it was only available regionally at Lowe's and I would have to special order it by the case. That would leave me with a lot of waste (I needed 12 rails and the product came in cases of 10!) and it was twice the cost of wood. I also couldn't get anyone at Armstrong to tell me how you would frame a door with QuikStix. It's too bad this didn't pan out. I love trying new things- if they work.

I considered conventional steel framing, but again, it was very expensive and would be as difficult to install as wood.

The only real drawback to using wood was the way it can change shape was a result of environmental shifts - particularly in damp or wet environments - and the weight of it.

I only needed about 50 timbers, so I discounted the weight part. I used pressure treated bottom plates which I will have also sealed with caulk at the bottom to prevent any future water issues from impacting the new space.

My brother, Jay, helped me install the framing. No way around it, framing was at least a two-man job. He's also had experience with framing - I hadn't done it in 25 years - and he had the right tools to get it done. He was invaluable in this process and I owe him big time.

I had a circular saw and a nice Delta chop saw, so that part was covered. Jay had an impact driver and a .22 caliber nail driver. I can't imagine having tried to do this without those tools. (I think an impact driver is on my list of tools I need to acquire.)

We built the frame in place- that means we placed the top and bottom plates and then cut the uprights to fit. The other conventional method is to build the frame laying down on the floor, then to raise it into place. That would have been next to impossible with this room. Every upright had a different length. We went with 24" centers since none of this is structural.

It was also serendipitous that I was able to do the angled door into the space that I had originally hoped to do. When I was planning, I couldn't get it to work, but, as we laid out the frame, there it was- the perfect alignment of everything to accommodate my original idea.

 
We also installed one of the doors. The space has an 81" ceiling so I had to go with 78" doors. Even with the shorter door, we still had to trim down the jamb and cut 5/8" off the bottom of the door.

Next up, the wiring. Fun!

Man Cave Plumbing

My house was plumbed by Mario Brothers on LSD.

I couldn't even put in to words how ridiculous some of the plumbing was. The issue with  my Man Cave, though, was three pipes - a cold feed to the water heater, the hot return, and a gas line - running the length of the room down the center. With a  ceiling height of 81", my choices were to box out the pipes and risk broken skulls, or move the plumbing.

I wasn't too concerned about the water pipes. When I ignored the mess that was there and focused on the solution, the problem wasn't as bad as I had feared. I've even moved gas lines before, but for the sake of my wife's concerns (and a hassle I wanted to avoid) I decided to start by hiring a plumber to move the gas line.

I ended up using a company I found through ServiceMagic called Fluid Plumbing. They gave me a quote of $400 to move the pipe about three feet closer to the steel support beam that runs the length of my house. I couldn't have been happier. The tech showed up with an assistant, and in a timely, courteous, professional, and clean manner, completed the work in about 3 hours. I HIGHLY recommend these guys if you live in the Bucks/Montgomery county area.

Once the gas line was safely moved, I could begin work on moving the water lines myself.

I decided to go with PEX and SharkBite connectors for the water lines. I installed a new expansion tank on the water heater, a ball valve on the hot line out of the water heater, and was able to remove about 70 feet of unnecessary copper pipe.

The picture above shows the 3/4" feed with a new tee that runs to the water heater and a 1/2" ninety that connects the hot return with the rest of the house. These are both right along-side the gas line that was moved.

The SharkBite product gets high marks from me. A bit expensive, but the time saved was well worth the extra money spent.

The only bad thing that happened was I couldn't get the hot water heater started again. After several frustrating attempts, I called Fluid back and asked their tech to come out and get it started for me. They arrived within minutes, got it started immediately (which made me feel like an idiot) and charged me nothing. (I'm getting verklempt.)

I was able to start the framing once the plumbing part was completed.

The Man Cave: Part 1

And so it begins.

Several weeks ago, I started my Man Cave project. The goal is a room where I can enjoy movies, etc. with the family, Packers Games with a fellow die-hard fan, cigars with my cronies, and play my guitars, etc. (Maybe a little music studio, too.) The finished size of the room will be about 12' x 16'.

I am doing most of the work myself with few exceptions. Why? I enjoy this kind of stuff. I love tools, gadgets, widgets, etc. I like tinkering and creating. I like being able to talk about the experience with my friends.

Part 1: The demolition.

A bout a year-and-a-half ago, I had a sump pump die during a particularly rainy February and, as a result, my basement was flooded. Not terribly so, but enough to cause some mold issues. Combined with the previous owner's half-baked finishing job, I needed to tear out what was in the basement to get started on my project.

I started with clearing out all the stuff we'd stored in the basement. That, in itself, was a major pain in the arse. It's amazing the CRAP you can accumulate over time.

Step two was getting the dumpster. Johnny "Carpets" Eadeh, a good friend, recommended a company called Reube's Roll-offs in Hatfield, PA. Todd Reube was a gem. He rented me a 20 yard dumpster for 10 days for $350, which included the first ton of waste. Unbelievably, I had over a ton of waste when it was completed, but the total bill was only $372. Everywhere else I called, the going rate was $600-$800.

Once that was completed, I needed to tear out the suspended ceiling - the one that was covered in years worth of mouse poop. Yeah, this part was disgusting. I set out a large 9' x 12' plastic tarp on the floor and started pulling down the tiles. I was wearing gloves, safety glasses, and a dust mask. As I pulled them down, I created a pile in the center of the tarp. Once done, I started tearing down the frame. I piled the pieces on top of the tiles, then tied the corners of the tarp together and dragged the whole ceiling out to the dumpster in a single bundle.

There were two 12' x 10' carpets that needed to be rolled up and dragged out.

Tearing out the horribly dated paneling, the fiberglass insulation, and the 2"x3" framing came next. I ran a circular saw around the room at waist height, essentially cutting the paneling in two. That made it easy to grip and pull right off the framing. Then I kicked each section in half so I ended up with quarter sheets which my son, Liam, helped drag out to the dumpster. Then I rolled the insulation up and bagged it. Finally, a small sledge hammer made quick work of the old framing. I used a grinder to cut off the concrete nails that had been used to fasten the framing to the floor.

Lastly, I cleaned. Sweeping up all the debris, shop-vacuuming all the joist pockets to remove any remaining mouse poop, and scraping the floor where necessary to remove carpet backing remnant. It ended up looking like this:

I found at least a dozen dead mice when I was going through this process. Nice to have that smell gone from the basement. I also purchased some sonic pest repellants, so I hope that will put an end to my mouse problem.

Next up: The plumbing issues.

My Top Five Female Acting Performances

Wow, I can hardly believe It's been this long since I wrote a blog entry.

I'm coming back to my top five in the movie category. This time: My top five favorite female performances.

I have to admit I'm not a big fan of actresses. Chick flicks, for the most part, turn me off. And so many of the female roles in action or sci-fi films are vapid and merely there as eye-candy. So finding a female performance that really stands out in my mind - and that I actually can call a favorite - is a rare thing.

Don't expect many oscar-winning performances here. Meryl Streep isn't on my list (don't get me wrong, she's an amazing actress and I am a fan).

That said, let's jump right into the list.

5) It's a tie: Madeleine Stowe as Kathryn Railley in Twelve Monkeys; Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor in The Terminator; Sigourney Weaver as Ripley in Alien. (She wasn't Ellen until the second installment.)



I kept going back and forth on this. Stowe, Weaver, Hamilton; I couldn't make a final decision. So, it's a tie. Let me e clear here, though: When I say Linda Hamiliton as Sarah Connor, I mean in the original The Terminator film, and not T2. Same for Sigourney Weaver: Alien, not Aliens.


4) Sally Field as Mama Lil in Where The Heart Is

I've never really cared for Sally Field's roles. The whole Smokey and the Bandit thing was silly. I didnt' care for Gidget or The Flying Nun, really. Sybil was tough to watch (because of the subject matter, not her acting) and Norma Rae kinda bored me. Usually, when I was presented with the chance to watch a film she was in, I would roll my eyes and panic.

Then I saw Where the Heart Is.

Sally has about 5 minutes screen time, if even that much, and put in one of the best performances I've ever seen. I was blown away by it. Props.

3) Donna Reed as Mary Hatch Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life

Sigh. I have to admit, I fell hopelessly in love with Mary Hatch Bailey the moment I saw her, which was, I believe, Frank Cappra's intention, and why he got that amazing "glow" in this shot. I doubt I am the first, nor will I be the last, to have swooned when she appeared onscreen.

And Donna Reed's performance in this film is amazing. From her sarcastic wit, to her anger with George, to her undying devotion, to her romanticism, to her glee when their friends come to the rescue - she never fails to make Mary real and bigger than life all at the same time.

2) Milla Jovovich as Leeloo in The Fifth Element

The girl worked with the director (Luc Besson) to invent a completely new language. And she made it believable. AND she's the lead female role in one of my top five favorite films ever.

Unfortunately, Milla hasn't gone on to do too many great films other than this one, unless, of course, you like the whole Resident Evil franchise.

1) Audrey Hepburn as a whole lotta characters in as many movies.

Princess Ann in Roman Holiday, Sabrina in Sabrina, Jo Stockton in Funny Face, Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's, Regina Lampert in Charade, Gabrielle Simpson in Paris - When It Sizzles, Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Susy Hendrix in Wait Until Dark, Lady Marian in Robin and Marian, and even as Hap in Always, just to name a few.

These are so many roles she's tackled and she made all of them memorable. I don't think there's been a better actress in the history of film-making.

Kudos, Audrey. We miss you.

Honorable Mention: Helen Bonham Carter in Fight Club and Eva Marie Saint in North by Northwest.

5 Favorite Concert Moments

I've seen a lot of shows. My very first was Frank Zappa at Stabler Arena in 1979. I was 15. It was an amazing show. Since then, I've seen The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, David Bowie, Yes, Kansas, Todd Rundgren, The Tubes, and far too many others to mention and even a few I'm sure I've forgotten.

Of all the shows I've attended, here are five experiences I'll never forget.

5) Metallica, 08/07/1989 at the at the Stone Balloon, Newark, DE

I've always envied people who got to see huge acts in tiny venues. Well, this was my experience with a huge act at a tiny venue.

I thought maybe it was a misspelling or something- perhaps this was a Metallica tribute band or similar. I called the club and they confirmed that it was, in fact, the real deal and Metallica would be playing at the Stone Balloon.

The Stone Balloon was not a huge place. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but the legal capacity for the venue had to be less than 400. So when I saw an ad in a local music magazine boasting that Metallica was playing there, I called a friend, and he and I drove immediately from the main line in PA to Delaware to get the tickets - to ensure our place at this historic event.

That night, I experienced one of the loudest concerts I'd ever been to. I hung out with Pauli Slivka (Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers' bassist) right in front of the sound board. He and I took cigarette butts and jammed them in our ears to lessen the barrage.

I think Slayer opened for them that evening, but it was all about Metallica for me that night. I couldn't have asked for a better set and a more memorable setting.

4) The Tubes, Summer, 1989 at the 23 East, Ardmore, PA

The Tubes were on a small club tour with another lead singer after Fee had left the band. Now, for some, this would be a disappointment, but the core of the band, Bill Spooner, Rick Anderson, Roger Steen, Vince Welnick, and Prairie Prince - drummer extraordinaire - was intact. I'd pay almost anything to see Prairie play and to hear Bill Spooner croon. (That's Spooner in the pic.)

They played an amazing set list that night, including Pimp and Brighter Day from the Young and Rich album. Hard to believe, but Fee was barely missed.

At one moment, during I Don't Want to Wait Anymore, Bill toasted the crowd, guzzled a 12 oz., subsequently vomited behind his amp, and came in on the vocal without missing a beat- like it had been choreographed.

Afterward, I went backstage and was chatting with the band. They'd seen my band, Love Bomb, on the schedule to appear in the club later that month and wanted to know who and what it was. When I told them it was my band, they asked if we did any covers of their stuff. When I said I hadn't, Roger Steen asked, "What, does our stuff suck so much?" We had a good laugh. At least, I did.

Bill invited my band to come and record at his studio in San Francisco. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in an earthquake and we never got the chance to do so. C'est la vie.

3) Jane Siberry, 5/4/1988 at the Chestnut Cabaret, Philadelphia, PA

I'd caught Jane on MTV's 120 Minutes when she released the single, One More Colour, from her debut album, Speckless Sky. I thought she was terrific. So, imagine my surprise when I arrived one night at the Chestnut Cabaret to see a friend's band, only to walk in Jane playing live. What an unexpected surprise.

During one song, a boisterous number with a rich Latin feel (Very Large Hat, perhaps?), the band broke down into a simple quarter-note piano part. Jane came out looking like Jackie-O with the tight sleeveless dress that ended just above the knee, white gloves, and a pill-box hat. She started waving both arms back and forth with the beat, then broke into Petula Clark's Don't Sleep in the Subway. The rendition was flawless and I was floored. Then, when the song was over, they went back into the loud frenetic Latin number as quickly as they had come out of it.

I will never forget that.

2) Chris Whitley, 10/24/92 at the Chestnut Cabaret, Philadelphia, PA

I'd seen Chris with his entire band at the Trocadero in Philadelphia just six months earlier. He was touring in support of his first album, Living With the Law. That night at the "Troc," the turnout had been good and the show was great. The live versions of his tunes were spot on.

My guitarist, Sean, and I had a serious love affair going on with Chris's first album. So when we heard he was playing again so close, it was a no-brainer to go see him.

On this night at the Chestnut Cabaret, though, there were few in the audience - maybe 50 - and Chris took the stage alone. He came out with National steel Dobro and a gadget called a Stomp-box. What ensued was one of the most intimate nights of music with an amazing artist that I've ever experienced.

Chris stomped out the beat on his stomp-box while he did solo versions of every song on the Living With the Law collection, with the exception of one tune: Dust Radio. Dust Radio was Sean and my favorite song at the time and we - and the other 48 people in attendance -simply wouldn't let Chris leave without playing it.

He came out for the encore and apologized, saying that he couldn't pull it off without the band. We begged and pleaded for him to do his very best and that we would be satisfied with any rendition of the song. He relented and started playing.

I know that the parts of the arrangement he couldn't play were imagined by all of us as we swayed back and forth to the stripped down, but magical version he gave us that night.

What an amazing show.

1) King's X, 8/12/2009 at the Sellersville Theater, Sellersville, PA

I've seen King's X 5 or 6 times now. And every show has been great. In addition to being a kick-ass bass player and having the best voice in rock and roll, DUg Pinnick (see photo) is the pinnacle of charismatic front men - he knows how to entertain a crowd. Ty Tabor is one of the greatest guitar players alive: watching and hearing him play is mind-blowing.

I'd seen a set list online before the show and knew what to expect: along with 4 songs on their set list from their latest album, XV, the band had chosen a broad selection of material from most of their albums.

I attended the show on the 12th with my brother and two other friends. I knew my brother - also a huge King's X fan - would be happy that the band was planning to play Summerland, his favorite King's X song.

My favorite King's X song is Goldilox, a track from their first album that Ty Tabor had written. My brother loves that song, too, but unfortunately, it wasn't on the set list I'd seen before the show. It's not a song they do live very often. We've only seen them do it once before in the early 90's - and my brother and I certainly had no expectations of seeing it that night.

So, as is usual, the band was incredible. We had front row seats just behind the "cabaret" seating (a few tables and chairs immediately in front of the stage) and right in front of DUg, so our view couldn't get much better. The band played Summerland and my brother was ecstatic.

Then came the moment. DUg turned the mics out to the audience, the house lights came up, and Ty started playing the opening guitar part of Goldilox. My brother and I were in disbelief. Then, DUg motioned for the audience to start singing. 300 + people in attendance started singing every word of the song as the band played softly in the background.

DUg came off the stage and stood in front of my brother and I - a mere 2 feet away - and we all continued to sing. "I'd like to know your name and I must know who you are..."

At the end, DUg said, "The hit that never was." Someone behind me yelled, "It's a hit to us." Another yelled what we were all thinking, "Thank you for writing that song."

Sigh. Yeah, I can go in peace now.