New gym is coming along.

[Clancelt]

I decided to dedicate one of my rooms to gym duties. It's on the second floor so I didn't go with anything more than dumbbells and bags for fear of a barbell coming through the floor. Now it seems I could of gone as heavy as I want. The walls have 6X6 rough cut studs about every 3 feet, and the same for the beams plus 1" thick hardwood floors. I'm pretty sure I could park a car up there. Gotta love the way they built things in the 1800's!

So this week I was pulling ceiling, repairing walls, painting, etc... and it's starting to look pretty sharp! Went with all stainless electrical hardware and for the ceiling light I found a armored industrial light that is shatterproof. I have hit the current one with my dumbbell a few times. The wife says it would make a nice prison cell now I mounted peg boards on the walls for equipment, a speed bag, heavy bag, cardio equipment, etc... and soon some more iron!

Oh yeah, and for the color I went with John Deer green... hehe.. Believe it or not the wife thought it looked pretty cool. I'll get a pic when it's finished. All I can't do yet is the rubber flooring, but it's coming. I'm just dieing to get my first workout in!

-E-Dubya

[bjketchem]

that sounds like it'll be sweet. can't wait to see the pictures and I can't wait to have a gym in my own house!!!

[Rich McClain]

I love my garage gym. No mistaking why I am out there in these ridiculous conditions and temperatures. I need to sweep out the wife's side so I can work on some rotational training. I love this stuff!

[Clancelt]

Hey Rich, did I mention I have a dehumidifier and heat in my gym? hehe

Man, got stuck on 50 on the way home. They closed the south river bridge in both directions and I sat in my car for 4 hours!!! I was not a happy camper

[Rich McClain]

Ya give some, ya get some. Ten minute commute from home to work. About 3 miles. When gym is hot, it is hot! When it is cold, I get hot. The temperature really does not factor in to the equation because once I get my hip and shoulder joints loosened up, I can't tell it is that cold unless I see my breath. I really would love a gym in my house, but there are no rooms big enough and the basement is too short. Also, I have been able to beat the flu bug because of those cold conditions I train in. Right now it is like a huge slushy outside without the flavor. Don't eat the yellow snow!

[FrankH]

I put some 1/2 inch rubber mats down in a 7.5 foot by 11 foot section of the basement, and it works great except that the ceiling height is only 8 feet so no overhead stuff. Nice to be able to do squats and DLs whenever I feel like it, and I'm thinking about trying cleans and maybe some upright rows down the road. You really can do a lot in a small space; in that space I have a bench, treadmill (folds), a squat cage and a hex bar. I'm still fat, though.

[Clancelt]

Hey Frank, where did you get the mats from? Were they very expensive? I'm looking for some now.

-E

[jim]

I use stall mats - you can get them at Tractor Supply or Southern States.

[FrankH]

Hey, Eric-- Jim's idea might be better and most likely a lot cheaper. Here's the skinny on my mats, provided by Lee who gave them to me for Christmas:

The website: http://www.kodiaksports.com/index.asp?P ... tegory=114

We got the Pre-Sized Interlocking Tile Room Kits (Minimizes Trimming, Easy to Install)

7'9" x 11'8" ... it was the 1/2" .. free shipping, cost: $546.08 (Free shipping was a deal; total weight of the mats was probably around 300 pounds.) Since the mats interlock, they're a bit shorter than advertised-- kinda like a 2x2 isn't really 2x2, I guess.

Good luck! -- Frank

[jim]

Frank's are really nice. Here's a link to the Tractor Supply horse mats. They do hold up well.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay_10551_10001_37050_-1______?rFlag=true&cFlag=1

[Clancelt]

The ones Frank got are nice, but the link Jim has there is right up my alley! That has cheap bastard written all over it! I think my room is 9x12, I'll have to measure. Might get off cheap with the stall mats.

Thanks!

[miked]

haha. There's nothing wrong with being cheap, Eric. haha

sounds like you are setting up some nice digs. I had a coach in college who used to say, "If you look good, you feel good, you play good." So, he would let us get away with doing whatever to our football uni's and wearing extra stuff. I think that philosophy is good and true. So, if you feel good about your home gym, you will use it, get stronger and faster, and throw farther.

Can't wait to see the pics. John Deere green. sweeeeet.

[Clancelt]

Yeah, been working on it every day this week. Paint is done. Just finished building some corner shelves for the TV, DVD/VCR, and a small corner desk for my log book, timer, drinks, etc... This has been an adventure. You learn things about old houses, and most of it isn't good. Frame wise I got good news. The place is framed up very solid. Everyone has always commented on how little the floor creaks and the overall solid feel of the place, now I know why it is so sturdy. I was told that this side of the house was once a barn. I don't doubt that after seeing inside these walls.

Now the bad. The electricity must of been put in soon after Edison invented the light bulb. This stuff is OLD. Putting in a new ceiling light proved to be a challenge, There was an old broken ceiling fan there. The motor for the fan had long ago locked up. If you turned the fan on it would just hum and get hot. Not a good thing with a house that is all wood and insulated with paper and corn cobs. I took the fan down yesterday and jerry rigged is being too kind to describe how it was held up there. On top of that it's a old surface mount box with armor cabling and cloth insulated wiring. For anyone who hasn't worked with this stuff before, you touch it and the casing falls off in your hands as a black powder. Not good. If enough falls off it will short against the box or the armor shielding, which then energized all of your faucets (the armor cable is grounded to your pipes).... oh the fun! Anyway, the new light is up but I want to put a new box in. I'm just afraid to work with the cabling too much.

To quote my electrician friend “This stuff is fine as long as you don't mess with it. If you mess with it it's better to just replace it all. I can give you a quote, but it won't be cheap”

Argghhhh.

[Jeff Storey]

yeah man, that cloth stuff is no joke. We have it in about half our house now. We had an electrician friend check it out, and most of it is totally fine, and the rest is okay for now. Not reassuring, to me anyway. The circuits that are fine are now wired up w/GFCI plugs, which provide a "invisible ground" for 2-wire circuits.
I'm not sure it'd work with the armored cable, but if you can avoid messing with the old stuff and it's okay, that might be an option for you. I'd def talk to your friend about that. They are about $12 bucks a piece, and I think they sell circuit breakers that do the same thing for the whole circuit.

Or you could do what I do, and hire a friend, or friend of a friend, and apprentice yourself to him. If you pick the right guy, you can save a lot of money and learn something. Let's just say, I like my $400 and if I need to, I can replace a well pump and tank in 17 degree weather....