Showing posts with label man cave. Show all posts
Showing posts with label man cave. Show all posts

Thursday 27 July 2023

8th Anniversary of the birth of the Man Cave

Afternoon #WarHamFam and #WarhammerCommunity I've had my man cave for 8 years now, it was originally installed on 27th July 2015. 


Still the best hobby purchase I've ever made but now it's also my home office. I use it every day and I had hoped to have some updated internal pictures but it's a complete nest now, but I can't find time to tidy it up 🤣 But I can confirm that I believe the floor upgrade last year was worth doing. I definitely had a warmer winter, but that might be down to rearranging how I use the electric oil radiator, so it's more efficient in keeping the heat lower. Without the new floor it wouldn't be so easy for it to be moved around and equally it wouldn't be as easy for my Herman Miller office chair to get around.

Conversely, it still gets quite warm in hot weather but my fan is helping to reduce temperatures by 2 or 3 degrees by moving air around at the top of the ceiling. I have picked up an additional air cooler which I might deploy on the worst days but haven't needed it yet. I've also considered a sun shield/net. For less than £20 I can cover the entire shed to block the sun and hopefully keep the temperature down but I'll need to find ways to anchor that so it doesn't get blown away. I might look into it next year.

One last thing, one of the fluorescent bulbs finally gave out, 8 years, we thank you for your service! Unfortunately I do need both bulbs and the only one I could get at short notice was a warm white, but it was only £1.20 so gave it a shot - no, very wrong! It was cheap because they're trying to move these over to LEDs, but the battens need to have their 'ballast removed' for this to work and although it would mean more efficient bulbs I wasn't able to swap them out and instead ordered another 2 daylight tubes. So I should be good for another 8 years before I need to address the lighting issue. It is surprising to see an 18W bulb described as energy efficiency of G! Remember when we all had 60W incandescent bulbs? Of course the landscape has changed and I figure they've revalorised the energy ratings but even so, odd.

Anyway, another year older for the shed - you're doing a grand job for my hobby, my mental health, wellbeing and the wellbeing of my marriage!

Wednesday 27 July 2022

7th Anniversary of the birth of the Man Cave

Afternoon #WarHamFam and #WarhammerCommunity I've had my man cave for 7 years now, it was originally installed on 27th July 2015. However, when COVID hit and we went into lockdown the best hobby purchase I'd ever made - the Man Cave, became dual-purpose in becoming my home office. One thing I discovered though, was it was freezing in winter and one reason for that was there was zero insulation in the floor. For over a year I've been contemplating adding a layer of insulation and new floor but it was a nightmare to arrange - getting the materials, excesive delivery costs for such a small project, storing all my stuff while I made the upgrade and once done there was no guarantee i'll make a difference. Anyway, I finally managed to get all the planets aligned, my son was at uni and with the Queen's Jubilee bank holiday weekend I took some extra leave and had 6 days to turn this place upside down, inside out and back to front. I pre-empted the build by putting most of my stuff in my son's bedroom. This represents about 75% of what was in the shed and yet seems to take up more space - the opposite of the TARDIS!


I was then able to remove a wooden chest, some shelving units and my oversized computer desk/storage system. I had ordered new carpet tiles - easy to install, relatively cheap £20 for the 24 I needed and durable, perfect for my Herman Miller Mirra 2 office chair to roll around on.


I had wanted carpet, but couldn't find a good deal, this patchwork offcuts from two previous carpets in the house had served me well but I did not know what their condition was. I had a number of rugs on top that had offered more protection and warmth but they'd started to perish and so I'd convinced myself the carpet would be beyond saving. In truth it might have been OK, but I had the carpet tiles now.


I built a wooden frame and put down some weed supressing fabric. I've seen it used in shed wall linings [something I foolishly didn't do in mine, goodness know what's happening behind the plasterboard and glasswool insulation] as a breathable membrane. As I had some I thought I'd put it down.


I debated the best position for that cross beam, where the 6mm plywood sheet would rest and figured the additional support would be better under my chair rather than towards the back wall.


I was sure the insulation board, frame and plywood would be strong enough but that additional solid wood should prevent any sinkage. So much of this was straightforward and simple, although there wasn't a single section that measured the same. Operating the 'measure twice, cut once' approach just seemed to drag on and concerns about my back ended up with so much kneeling that I was exhausted and my knees were so painful, even with knee pads. 


The weather came in and it started to rain, so all the desk, chair and shelves had to come back inside with the plywood down on the floor for the evening. I was pleased at my progress but a little disappointed. I'd bought a tin of anti-mould paint years ago and wanted to paint the bottom half of the walls, just for added peace of mind. I haven't really had a mould problem since I got the dehumidifier, but even so that would make me feel better. Despite the cramped interior and my fatigue I managed to get a coat of paint on the walls. It looked like cream chees when it went on, it had been in storage for 5 years afterall. 


The next morning I got in there early and gave it a second coat. Having more room in the tin to shake meant it went on like any satin varnish, it looked awful at first but has a great finish, except for protecting all the scuffs and bumps the wall has suffered in the last 7 years. I then went about sealing everything up with aluminium foil. I'm not sure if it makes a difference but it looked cool.


I used two tubes of no more nails under the plywood and also counter sunk screws to ensure maximum strength and no squeaky floor boards. I didn't want the plywood shifting and creaking but the shed expands and contracts with heat, cold and moisture so who knows what will happen.


I tried sealing in the joints between the plywood boards too but it was just bit of faffing. It was quite the challenge to cut those two strips. I tried a Stanley knife for one and my Dremel for the other. Both were knackering, but I got there in the end.


I then fit the carpet tiles, using a spray adhesive. I'd watched some videos on how to do it and seen how you cut them to fit the wall but didn't quite understand why you did it that way. Having glued the 2nd to last piece down from my first row and went about cutting the final piece I THEN understood why you do it that way - lesson learned.


Except it wasn't, because I'd glued down the second to last tiles in the first and second columns before I realised I needed to apply the same approach and to the final corner piece too! Oh my that was a head scratcher. Regardless, the tiles went down and  I even ended up with 3 spare, which was slightly annoying as because these were recycled from an office space I'd actually used 3 slightly damage ones that would run along the back wall, unseen, under the desk and shelves.


You'd never see them, but I knew. I just had to put it out of my mind and start putting stuff back in. The weather got better at least, which made thing easier to deal with but I was going to have to be organised and try to get rid of some of the huge amounts of things I'd hoarded.


Like these Citadel inks I'll be putting on ebay.


I organised all my shelves and used small labels on all the boxes to help me find the things that were in them. Figure boxes on the bottom - they're plastic and aluminium so better in corners where damp and mould likes to originate. That shelf is about 5" off the ground though which allows some air circulation. Preventing these micro-climates is another approach I believe has helped keep me mould free for 7 years and something I will continue with. The ability to check the bottom walls at a glance, to spot any changes early, is also good practice in this environment.


OK, so after everything got back in it hardly looks any different and I'll admit there is some 'surface debris' and a variety of things I still haven't organised but this is a significant improvement to how it was before, both for  hobbying and working from home. My work situation is in a state of flux but any working from home will benefit from this upgrade.


Whether it is warmer in the winter has still to be seen. I've been able to put my fan on the middle shelving unit, which when turned on manages to reduce the temperature by 2 degrees, because it's blowing the hot stuffy air at the apex of the ceiling down. I hope it will be able to do a similar job in the winter circulating the warm air that sits above waist height and the insulated floor doesn't bleed heat the way it did when it was just 12mm thick board and a couple of carpets. Finger's crossed this keeps the shed viable for another 7 years.

A month or so on and things are doing OK. The plywood floor is doing fine, although the no more nails wasn't quite as effective as I'd hoped - the boards do squeak a bit but despite the small amount of flexing it feels otherwise stable and solid. The carpet tiles are great and it's super easy to move around on my office chair. No cold days to speak of but we've had warm days, including the hottest in UK history [we're so screwed in future years]. I was able to mitigate some of the heat during the day with the fan but it did eventually get up to 34-36 degrees. 32 is manageable but those temps are too much. When my feet started getting warm - it's a problem. Anyway, more to think about regarding cooling in the future. Other than that I'm really pleased. 

Monday 9 August 2021

Belated 6th Anniversary of the birth of the Man Cave

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've had my man cave for 6 years now, it was originally installed on 27th July 2015 and once again I've been a little busy this year to remember to celebrate on the day.


I say busy, I mean actually busy doing nothing! I had some time off at home and rather than do some jobs I've just been chilled, watching the Olympics and then we got a new cat so that's required way more attention than I was expecting.


Anyway, getting into the man cave of late for hobby hasn't been too easy but prior to that it had become my home office. I must have moved into here in September/October last year and I didn't really prepare very well for it. I didn't tidy up too much and it has been problematic sharing hobby and work space. I also discovered how cold it could get in winter and how hot it got last month.

I had made plans to install some additional insulation on the floor as even with the heater on in winter it can get warm in the top of the shed but still very cold at floor level - my feet were freezing! I may regret not doing anything about it come winter but just sourcing the materials was a pain because you can't really get 25mm foil backed insulation delivered in small amounts. They don't want to sell two sheets so they charge a fortune for delivery. It got to the point where I was completely discouraged from doing it. Having to source all the materials and find a time frame [48-72 hours] to remove everything, install the flooring, apply anti-mould paint around  the bottom half of the walls and furniture. Install a new carpet and replace everything - it was just too much faffing.

So, we'll just have to see how next winter goes. I have a new office chair, and I mean a proper Herman Miller Mirra office chair [worth £650] it's second hand but it was free and immeasurably more comfortable than my old one. Mesh seat and lumbar support is a boon, but it's airiness may feel cold in the winter. Again, we'll just have to see, but I made the right choice in accepting it.


 So, here we are, 6 years on and I had no idea the Man Cave would become a 'working from home office'. Without it I'd probably be back in the office, but thankfully this will keep me effective and safe for a good few more months yet.

Thursday 20 August 2020

Belated 5th Anniversary of the birth of the Man Cave

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've had my man cave for 5 years now, it was originally installed on 27th July 2015 and as I've been a little busy this year with painting my kitchen, bathroom and fence panels I hadn't had time to celebrate.


Additionally, I'd been planning to repaint the shed so I thought I'd just wait a bit so I could share it's fresh new coats.


I had to sand this baby first, which was an absolute nightmare. So many people say preparation is important but I hate sanding. But I did it, washed it down and got two coats on the front and sides.


Once again I scrimped on the back, I only did one coat, it's a nightmare to get behind between the shed and the hedge and I'm constantly at risk of cramp or pulling my back again.


I'd previously filled in all the nail holes so it was much easier to paint this time round. I've a third of a tin of paint left, I may do that again next year and fill in some more gaps in all the corner strips and the bevelled timber. I'd thought about doing it this time but just wanted to get on with it. Hopefully I'll have more energy next time.


Also I painted all the metal work black. I used some matt black spray in some places - the door latches which immediately came off on the Cornish Cream paint. I also used matt black Humbrol enamel on the hinges, just to give it a nice touch.

As I continue to work from home and my wife needs her workspace on the landing back I may well have to tidy inside so I can set up my laptop and work from here. Surrounded by hobby I'll have to resist the temptation though and keep focussed! 😉

Wednesday 20 July 2016

First Anniversary of the birth of the Man Cave

On this day last year the 40k Addict Man Cave was born, it took a few weeks to then get it up and running, coupled with petitions to the machine spirits within but this was the culmination of months of debate and research.


At the time I had no concept on how this was going to impact my hobby, in actual fact it's been a boon of epic proportions.


As it is today I may well have filled it full of crap, so it's not as homely inside as I'd like but it's still a work in progress, with most of the progress on hiaitus as I spend most of my time working on figures!


That said I'm really pleased with my year 1 in the Man Cave and look forward to year 2.

Wednesday 13 January 2016

40kaddict Towers - 3 months on

If you saw the news over Christmas you'll know certain parts of Lancashire, Cumbria and Scotland got a bit wet. In fact Croston, a village just a few miles up the road was all over the National news thanks to the level of damage suffered. Croston is in fact where Otty lives but I think he avoided the worst of it. His wife was offering to care for other folks kids while they cleared any damage so I imagine that level of charity means you're not suffering as much.

For me though this was my garden, with it's impromptu water feature. There were some doubts but I was convinced the man cave would not be flooded and very glad of the base we had put down. This was the worst flooding we've ever had but from past experience we knew it could potentially happen. I think I'll be confident the shed base will overcome such a downpour in the future.


On the plus side the drainage of the field behind has been improved over the last five years so you can see just how much water receded over 24 hours after the rain stopped.


Of course the flooded path did provide me with ample opportunity to play with my new Christmas toy from my brother - an Orvibo WiFi enabled plug socket. Using the WiWo app on my phone I'm able to switch the heater on/off, countdown or set timed use. So I can pre-heat the shed before I go or just turn it on off and to keep the cold at bay. Prior to this I'd put it on early one day and by the time I went in in the evening it was about 27° C in there. Not only did I have to take off my jumper I was contemplating stripping off my T-shirt too!


I also picked up a pair of Dunlop wellies, my Dad used to make these in Liverpool until they closed the factory. He spent a lot of time dismantling the injection moulding machines which were then shipped out to Portugal where these particular wellies were manufactured. Should the garden be flooded again I'm at least going to be able to get to the shed instead of playing hopscotch across some old roof tiles I spread out on the path while trying to avoid ending up on Fail Army [remember when that used to be You've Been Framed]


But the really big news about the man cave is that before Christmas I was devastated to discover I'd got mould inside. Just at the point where the right hand side of the computer desk and the other metal painting desk meet. There was also some mould at the back behind that little green storage box just visible on the floor. Now I'm pretty sure this has not come from outside, with hindsight I'm regretting using the old rug on the floor and when the computer desk was in the back room it was prone to mould there so I'm pretty sure I've brought the spores into the shed. In fact I've looked underneath the very bottom far right shelf and there is mould underneath it so I'm convinced I imported the issue


This discovery was deeply unsettling and I've since been battling an outbreak of mould every few weeks, luckily only in the same places. It's definitely prompted me to think about storage and access to those areas prone to outbreaks - corners and where the skirting boards would usually be. So I'll be looking to move stuff around when the weather gets better. I've also picked up some clear anti-mould paint. I will remove most of the large furniture, scrub it down with anti-mould spray and then coat them in the anti-mould paint. I'll also paint the bottom foot or so of the shed with the paint to further deter outbreaks. Lastly I'm looking to get an electric dehumidifier to help combat moisture in the air, currently I've got one of those moisture traps, which'll do for a couple of months.

The wife is quoting house-improvement guru Sarah Beeney and how it's ventilation that's the key, which is true but there are still drafts in the shed door and when I open it to go in/out that's also a lot of air circulation so I'm convinced if I can clear the majority of what's present and then put in place coatings to prevent regrowth then I may return to a sense of peace, otherwise me and Papa Nurgle are going to have some serious issues!

Saturday 10 October 2015

40kaddict Towers - Inside the man cave

It's been a good few weeks now since the power was switched on and I started to move my stuff into the man cave. Sadly I haven't had opportunity to share the 'finished' results with you yet. This was pretty much after I moved about 65% of my junk into the shed, what's left in the back room has still to be sorted but although the shed look quite full it still needed another sift of what was needed, what could be chucked and a lot of the storage areas weren't filled or had not been optimised to their best. I'm still confident I'll get it all in but there's a lack of urgency now which is a bit worrying. I will endeavour to make the final transition this weekend and remove all my stuff from the back room so we can look at decorating/moving the dining table inside.


I have to say its a very weird feeling sitting in exactly the same environment but transplanted to a different location, it was so odd I asked my son to sit in the chair to see if he agreed, and he did!

So you can tell there's really no room to play a game in here but it's kind of cosy, I just need to sort out curtains or and tweek the door frame so it's more draft-proof. The weather has just started to turn autmnal, I've had a painting session which was cold but the little electric oil radiator I have warmed things up pretty quick. I'm looking forward to the first cold snap so I can see how chilly it actually gets.


Thursday 17 September 2015

40kaddict Towers - We have power!

The electrician came the other day an fitted all the electrics. The original quote we got was £500 but this was a guy who used to work for my mother-in-law and he arranged for one of the lads to come and do it. I spent around £100 on the materials and and the day-rate for the electrician and a few more bits came to a further £180 but it's all done.


I got a double socket on the right and two double sockets on the left.


You can also see I've 'laid' the carpet. I had various offcuts from my son's bedroom and our loft and landing. Unfortunately there wasn't enough of one to make it uniform but the two tone element is OK, I did consider having the beige stripe down the middle but that's in two parts so I thought it was best to have it nearer the door as I'll step over the join anyway.


I only stapled the carpet down, it's probably a major trip hazard but I'll mitigate that with a few rugs to add on top which will make it, warmer, more bohemian but a little more grungy and tatty


There are two 2' fluorescent tubes in the apex of the roof and and LED spotlight with PIR sensor above the door so I can see what I'm doing when I try and get inside. The lights were a bit dim when I tried them the other night but it could have been them warming up for the first time. I'll no doubt be needing more illuminations at some point. I've still to add the draft insulation on the door frame though.


And the first load of crap has been installed. I've so much stuff to move, my wife is already muttering under her breath it won't fit. She may be correct but I have to put in the computer desk first and as I've removed all it's contents and they're taking most of the back room I could agree that it looks like it's taking up twice as much  space as it eventually will.


Also some of the boxes on the shelf are actually empty. I'll be organising them a little better  once I've moved some of my stuff over but that'll be a job in itself.