Walls up!

We are ready to pull the trigger on these two new bathrooms!  Instead of taking apart, we are now putting together.  We have our plumber's bid and it was just what we expected.  A lot of drains and supply lines will need to be moved to accommodate the new layout.  In order to have the plumber start, we need all the walls in place that will hold water.

So the first wall was to split the bathroom in half.  We debated the best way to build this wall because it is a little complicated by a tall, sloped ceiling and some decorative cross joists.  The center beam has another beam a couple of feet below it.

Originally we were going to build the wall directly under the center beam which would have been easy.  However, the side that will become the master bath needed a few more inches in width to work the way we wanted.  Plus the other bathroom will not have a tub so has more space to spare (not to mention, it is a kid's bathroom, more for the adults!).  So the wall had to go up right beside the beams.

To deal with the trouble of attaching the top plate to a sloped wall, we cut some 15 degree wedges to hold the top plate level and then sank nails into the hidden joists.  It was surprisingly easy to do.

Then we split the top plate into three sections to fit inside the joists.  We considered trying to cut the joists since we believe them to be completely decorative but we weren't sure we could do a good job cutting them in an attractive way.  So we constructed the wall in separate segments with the top plate split.




The height of this room at its tallest is 10' 7" which meant we had to  use 12' lumber instead of 8' or 10.'  To make matters worse, the Home Depot was out of 12' pieces so we went with 14' lumber.  Wow, those are so long to get home in your SUV!  Not to mention, this length tends to be very warped.  As it turns out, we ended up using a double top and sole plate so we might have gotten away with 10" studs.  Nevertheless, it is done.

Once the main dividing wall was up we had to build a short perpendicular wall that will hold the shower head.  That one was much easier because we built it 8 feet tall to fit under the lower beam.

 First step toward the new bathroom is done.  Hooray!

And here is my best carpenter.  Thanks honey!

Billiards anyone?

We finally have a pool table!  We had a lot of fun trying it out this weekend.  It turned out pretty good but it was a lot of work  Let's rewind and see how we got here.

Originally I planned to purchase a pool table from Craigslist and I expected to pay around $1000.  I planned to hire a local billiard supplier to move and reinstall the table for me.  I had two criteria that limited my choices of table - size and wood color.  Based on the size of my room, my research said that a small table would be better.  So instead of the standard 8 foot table, I was looking for one that was  7 or 7 1/2 feet long.  Also, since the shuffleboard table and poker table we already have are a mahogany color, I wanted a dark wood finish.  Finally I was able to find a table for only $450!


The table was located over an hour from our house.  The billiards installation business will charge a flat fee if the start and end point are nearby, but otherwise they add $$ per mile.  Then my cheapness took over.  Of course I watched some Youtube videos about how to take apart and put together a pool table.  The combination of Youtube instructional videos and my thrifty nature makes me take on tasks that I probably shouldn't.



So we rented a U-Haul for $25 and went to get the table.  The couple who sold it to us were in the process of moving but were super nice to help us take it apart and move it into the trailer. The move was uneventful.  The table sat halfway assembled for the last couple of months - begging to be set up.



One of the holdups was that the felt needed to be replaced.  There was a large spot in the middle of the table, which might account for the low price.  When you move a table you have to take the felt off anyway so I figured I would just get it replaced. No biggie, right?  So I took the old felt with me around town looking for matching felt so I would not have to replace the felt on the bumpers.  If I could find that I figured I could do the installation myself.

While I was looking for felt, I went ahead and started assembling the slate.  As you can imagine, the table needs to be VERY level.  Since the slate comes in three pieces you also have to make sure they transition well.  After using my level, straight edge and a whole case of shims, after a couple of hours I felt like it was just right.






I screwed in the pieces and used this stuff to fill in at the joints and screws.  Some people use wax but the Youtube videos recommended Durham's Rock Hard Water Putty and it looks like that was what was used on this table before.  It's very easy to work with and dries without shrinking or cracking.  I might use this for some other tasks.











Now all I needed to do was replace the felt on the bed and I would be home free!  Of course it wasn't that easy.  I went to every billiard place in town looking for matching felt.  Nothing could match it.  I scoured the internet, knowing that it is hard to pick a color online anyway.  The closest I could find was one that I had seen in person at a few places.  I found it on the internet cheaper than I could get in town and ordered.  This was pricier than I would have thought.  The felt I ordered was about $100 but you can pay over $500!  Wow!

Alright, I guess I am all in at this point anyway.  I went ahead and ordered enough felt to do the rails as well but I knew that I wanted to avoid that if possible.  That part looks pretty complicated.  So here goes:


I used an air powered staple gun (Hey, at least I got a new tool out of all this!) to do most of the straight edges first and to get the fabric stretched evenly.  The hardest part is doing the pockets.  You have to put an extra piece of felt underneath to add a little cushion.  The you have to make incisions along the material to allow it to lay flat over the pocket.







The side pockets are the hardest because you have to do a half circle instead of a quarter circle.
To finish it off, I bolted the rails back on top.  They don't match exactly and the difference is noticeable.  We'll see how much it really bothers me by whether I decide to try to replace the felt on the rails.




Things turned out pretty good but a couple of things I would do differently:

I would do the side pockets first before the felt is totally stretched.

I would use a spray adhesive like Super 777 to spray around the pocket to help the material stay in place.

Too late for that now.  But given that I am well under half of my original budget and the table functions fine I am happy with the outcome.