They say home ownership is a never ending series of projects and improvements. Exhibit A: the Mancave. This will be a long post, I actually had to strengthen my resolve in order to blog about this, traumatizing as it was! So grab some tea, and let’s get to it:
L’Histoire de Mancave. Chapter 1. During the house inspection, it was quickly made evident that the previous owner was a bit of a hoarder. It was packed with boxes and clothes hanging from the exposed pipes. Wading through the basement was akin to walking through Prof. Kirke’s wardrobe, I was half expecting to bump into Mr. Tumnus when I got out on the other side! We had to delay in signing the contract TWICE because it took them so long to clear it out. But finally, closing day came and here’s a look at the basement before I moved in from January 2012:
With so many other things in the house needing more immediate attention (READ: I had to sleep in the dining room for a week until the floors upstairs were done!) We moved everything into the basement and started working on the house from the top down. The Mancave had a dividing wall between the finished/carpeted “living area” and the washer and dryer room. Here is a shot from April 2012:
The worst day of home ownership for me actually involves the basement. I don’t think I posted about it because it was too raw and painful of an experience. The goal was to move the washer and dryer next to each other. Simple enough, right? WRONG. One by one, the water pipes started to burst, from the back of the basement, literally to the main water line. It. Was. Horrible. I counted 10+ visits to both Home Depot or Annie’s Ace Hardware to get the right sized pipe, tool, connecting part it was a very cruel welcome to the DIY world. 12+ hours later, we still had leaks and my friend Will STILL had to come back the next day to do one final correction/connection and we were officially SEALED.
But in the end, I basically got plumbing 101 certification. They say education is expensive, and at the time I was cursing my stubbornness (and cheapness), but in hindsight, one day of hard labor to know my pipes are now all basically new and sealed is worth it. That said, the only other times I’ve used that blowtorch was to make creme brulee, and I prefer it that way. With this task done, I was adamant that NOTHING major be done to the basement, until further notice. I needed time to regroup, save and plot. So even discussion of basement renovation was tabled until a later date.
Fast forward to June and in order to get ready for Crabfeast 2012, I ripped out the carpet, painted the floors black, took out all the old telephone wiring – relatively small cosmetic projects in the grand scheme of things – and voila! The first iteration of the Mancave was created:
Within only one year of occupancy, the Mancave has served as the venue to countless movie marathons, award show parties, karaoke fests, guest accommodations, and extended stay housing for my nomadic friends. GOOD TIMES.
So why mess with a good thing? Well, good question! As with so many things in my life, the basement remodel became victim to escalation. It started with installing overhead lighting. Then electrical sockets. Then – let’s paint the ceiling black! Then, you know what else would be great? Let’s add a bathroom. More on that in a previous post.
And if you’re going to add a bathroom, you may as well redo the floors. But if you’re going to redo the floors, then you may as well paint the whole space. Next thing you know, and $9K+ later, as Fawkes rises from his ashes, a newer, brighter version of the Mancave is born:
The wall that separated the washer and dryer room was taken down to accommodate the bathroom addition, and the room got a fresh coat of paint on all surfaces.
Still toying around with room set up. But have decided that TV stays on the biggest wall. And I’m not getting new furniture, at least not immediately. So there will still be a bit of the Mancave spirit in this new calypso iteration.
If I’m ever home long enough one of these weekends, I’ll start restocking the bar and sorting through all the stuff that was moved upstairs that doesn’t need to be moved back downstairs. Georgia Avenue Thriftshop is going to get a sizeable donation from me soon!
And there you have it friends. I hope this space continues its mission of facilitating epic events of Mancave worthiness. A launch party for is scheduled for Veteran’s Day Weekend, in conjunction with my annual themed potluck of “Food From Countries We’ve Invaded.” We are also rolling out a new karaoke machine and surround sound. Hope you can make it.
Between Awnings and AstroTurf 