My New Basement Billiard Room "A Work in Progress"
1/16/2013 11:38:08 AM
My New Basement Billiard Room "A Work in Progress"
I had a fire at my old home so had to move to a new place about 1 year ago. I was low on funds from losses that the insurance would not cover along with moving expenses so I could not afford a LOT. But with a 1440 sq foot basement I decided to FINALLY have the game room and entertainment room I had always wanted. My 3 requirements were to have:
- a billiard table,
- an air hockey table,
- a dart board, and,
- a TV and some AV gear
I started looking on Craigslist for a billiard table that I could get into my basement and did not cost an arm and a leg.
A co-worker linked me with a friend of his who either had to get rid of his table or leave it when he moved as his new home did not have a place for it. So what I ended up with is an AMF Playmaster with 3 piece slate. I went to look at it and discovered that two pieces of skirting were missing and the rest were either broken or poorly made. But I paid $200, disassembled the thing, loaded it into the Suburban. On the way home I stopped to take a look at an air hockey table that the owner said he would deliver. It was a nice table so I bought it as well. He followed me home and unloaded the machine while I and my slaves helpers unloaded the pool table and moved it to the basement.
I then hired Steve Stokes, a pool table mechanic in my area, to come set up the AMF Playmaster table. I assembled, squared, and leveled the cabinet, and laid the slates on the frame before hand. Steve came out and informed me that my slate was not the slate that came with this table but was a more expensive slate. Cool. He set up and leveled the pool table and installed the Simonis cloth. Steve did excellent work so if you are in the KC Metro and need pool table work done, he is THE recommended man.
Here is the AMF Playmaster pool table when I first saw it. Ugly room, even uglier chocolate brown table with cream colored rails and a black frame.
When it was setup I had burgundy cloth installed, but the skirting was still missing.
So a couple weeks back I made some new skirting from a sheet of 1/2" MDF cut in strips and covered it with stainless steel drawer/shelf liner material and some chrome corners I purchased from Muellers.
With Flash
The Room
The Floor Plan
Some Photography.
The TV is a 32" Sony that I purchased from a friend in need. The dart board is a Valley Cougar 8.
I still have some paint work and other finishing that I will be working on but all in all I like it!
My New Basement Billiard Room "A Work in Progress"
Replies & Comments
Zeke on 1/30/2013 6:35:40 AM
Your pool room is knock-dead gorgeous!
kkroger on 1/31/2013 5:12:05 PM
Thanks! It is, as I say, a work in progress.
I ordered a couple of single shade lights that match the pool table light. They are poly shades like the pool table light but they all match and look quite nice in the room.
This shot was taken from the corner by the dart machine. Believe me it is quite a bit lighter down there than the camera reveals.
I hung some Ultralight Sheetrock on the bare stud wall last evening. The "Sheetrock" brand Ultralight line is really a bit lighter than the standard stuff. Working with it going down stairs and around some turns, I can say that the weight savings was good.
This is my buddy Eric pitching some darts:
And now that I look at these photos, WOW, those drywall seams look HUGE to the camera!
I still have a bit of construction to do there e.g. some additional studs and turn the corner. Also, I need to calculate and design the enclosure for the Sump pump area and then install the drywall on it.
And here is the updated floor plan, which is still a work in progress.
I am adding a pub table, moving the AV equipment and TV, and re-orienting the dart game. I am probably NOT adding any additional games or such in this room.
At the opposite end of the basement there will be a bathroom and a bar near where the guitar stacks are. I will probably add another TV down there which will be tied into the same AV rack.
Here is the latest and greatest picture.
I still have some minor construction to attend too, and of course floors and walls. The floors will be stained and sealed with a high gloss to look like pseudo stone. The walls will be painted in a nice neutral tan or taupe finish.
Rugs will be added, and I will hang a dark grid ceiling.
Sight unseen, I'd buy your place just for the basement.
On the other side of the basement down that hallway a little way is a storage area and around the corner from that is the guitar room. Soon there will be a bathroom down there and a bar as well.
Here is what resides in the guitar room:
I am planning a burgundy theater style curtain for behind the amps and stacks to cover the concrete wall, and then some paint and pictures including a very unique print.
Finally, I plan to put a rug in front of the amp stacks and I have a few more to hang on the walls.
@Fenwick - The basement was a HUGE purchasing point for me when we were looking at buying this house.
When I came to view the place I visualized the basement with a pool table and an air hockey table. Originally, I "designed" it with the air hockey at the other end but then decided I liked it this way better. Imagine when you have guests over and decide the air hockey table needs to move? "Hey, lets carry the air hockey over to the other end... oh about 50' away!"
The House sits on 5 Acres out in the country with the nearest neighbor OUTSIDE of shouting distance. I really need to make a phone call to talk to them or walk over to their house.
Here is the view out of the back door:
The view from the corner of the front yard:
View from the front porch:
This is "Dag", he came with the house:
Here is the front of house before I moved in:
I got the whole thing for under $200,000.
When you crank up those amps, all of the houses within 100 miles will have dim lights when you hit a low E.
My nearest neighbor has a race car that he runs occasionally... I can deal with it!
Here is the living room TV...
I took this picture on Thursday and had a print made. I just framed it and hung it today.
I love the black and white photo.
Thanks! I took that photo myself on Thursday when I got home from work. I had it printed at Wal-Mart. I'll get it done larger when I get time to mess with it, but don't have time now. Their Print Center seems to be an afterthought and nothing around it tells you what the F*#k to do! There is no attendant at the photo counter anymore so all the options are "somewhere"...
thailandcues on 2/18/2013 12:56:04 AMWow! Cool room! I'm jealous now!
Thanks! I came here to the forum looking for ideas. It's a shame the board isn't a bit faster moving, but I guess it is a Niche deal. I'll keep updating the thread as I go.
I changed up the orientation of the air hockey table in such a way that the room became linear. It also freed up some room for the Dartsmen.
Some construction still left to go.
- Walls to paint (color will be Glidden "Water Chestnut")
- Floor to stain/seal (color will be "Canyon Brown")
Ceiling to hang
YEARS worth of work.
Paint and floor colors:
Here is another bit of billiard photography, making a shot and dropping the 9 ball.
Your pool room is looking really good!
Thanks @Zeke,
I am kind of bummed. My dog got run over Monday afternoon. I went to run an errand and he didn't come to me. I thought I heard something in the distance but didn't think much of it. So I headed out. I turned the corner and headed up the road and spotted him laying in a ditch full of frigid water struggling and in pain.
I stopped the pickup and dove out and headlong into the ditch full of water, I pulled him to me and for a moment when I touched him his cries stopped and he calmed a bit. I got him out of the water and into the cab of the pickup cranked the heat up full, and rushed him to the Vet. She X-rayed him and the vertebrae above his tail where the pelvis attaches was crushed. I had to make the hard decision. I had to let my buddy go.
His name was Max, named due to the Heeler in Mad Max.
Sadly, even in the sticks - leashes and pens and fences have some merit.
RIP Max
billiardsforum on 5/26/2013 8:34:26 PM@kkroger, I was ready to submit a long post about how awesome your game room is shaping up to be (e.g. one of the best I've seen in a long time) until I read your last update about Max.
So sorry to hear about what happened and I hope you are all getting by OK since the whole thing happened.
My wife was crying her eyes out when I showed her this post.
Thanks for the sentiment it means a lot. I got a set of "beautiful balls" a few days back. I still miss Max... It still hurts. As for fences and leashes... how about drivers watching WTF they are doing? How about not just driving off and leaving a crippled animal in the ditch. It wasn't the dog's fault.
xpunk on 10/9/2013 8:49:25 PM
I can't think of a better, more functional thing to do with 1440 square feet. I have always wanted a basement but they are almost unheard of down here in Odessa, Texas. You did good, man!
Another update on the pool room. I added a beer fridge to the area, and hung some more instruments on the wall.
Here are a couple more pictures. You can see the beverage fridge better and I moved the TV setup back a bit toward the corner.
Still a bunch of tidying up to do for the ceiling. I want to put some insulation up and do a drop ceiling where maybe every second 2x2 tile is embossed.
I need to get the "Music Room" side of it lined out too. I accidentally took a cool pic of the amp stacks too.
Your pool room is looking nicer by the month. It's been almost a year in progress now. When does it end?
I am pretty sure it never stops. In the house overall, I need to put up some more walls, light up a hallway, and put a bathroom in the basement.
It is a never ending project!
Fastfish on 6/16/2014 6:11:05 PM
Very nice rec-room! You have a large basement with plenty of room but you definitely need chairs and a fridge. Then there's no reason to ever leave!
My New Basement Billiard Room "A Work in Progress"
- Title: My New Basement Billiard Room "A Work in Progress"
- Author: kkroger (Kerry Kroger)
- Published: 1/16/2013 11:38:08 AM
