Post #371228 by Spikey McSpikerson on Thu, Apr 3, 2008 9:07 AM

Hello All!

My name is Scott and I'm a Tiki-holic! :)

I am a total newbie to the world of Tiki, but I have bitten by the bug HARD! I have always loved everything tropical and escapist...living here in Chicago you almost need to be!!!

Well, here is a little back-story to fill you all in on how I discovered my love for tiki....we had a finished basement on our house...functional but VERY stale...brown paneling, brown indoor/outdoor carpet...lame paper-backed drop ceiling. Well, in September of 2006 there was a sizable flood and we had 3 feet of sewage in there...NICE! We gutted it and ins. covered nothing. We got a check from FEMA, but it paid for maybe 1/2 of the cleanup costs. long story short...it still remains unrepaired...carpet ripped up...walls only 2/3rds paneled (I cut off the bottom part during the gut)...and it has now turned into a dump-all storage area for junk and old toys my 3 year old has grown tired of.

I was looking for a little motivation to remodel the basement getting a start with the help of a check from Uncle Sam...but we decided to drywall this time as well as knock down a wall giving us more living space and thus shrinking the laundry room....I was not stoked to start this endeavor...until the epiphany...a tiki bar!!!..A little help from google and here I am!!!

I lurked for 2 weeks and saw all the totally amazing things you all have done and I am hooked!

I got clearance from the wifey and hopefully will start the big clean-up/frame up of the basement this weekend!

I have been drawing feverishly and have a bunch of ideas and a handy father living next door (insert your "Everybody Loves Raymond" jokes here)..we'll see what I end up with.

Wow...this post turned into a bit of a novel...sorry for that...guess I better go get some actual work done before my boss gets pissy!

Mahalo~