Remodeling my basement

Here are some progress pics of my basement remodeling project. It obviously isn't done yet, a lot more work to do!!!

[ Edited by: tikifreak1 2008-05-26 09:28 ]

Looks good so far.

Hopefully that thatching has been treated with flame retardant!

Thanks Hakalugi (love the name!!!) Actually, i did not get the thatch already treated with fire retardant, but I was told I can apply it myself which I was planning to do when everything is complete. We don't use the fireplace anyways because it hasn't worked properly since we bought the house!! Thanks for checkin' it out!

Craig

Hung up some matting tonight!!! I have a lot more bamboo getting delivered tomorrow!!!

Slick looking John !!!

Put up some more matting tonight and I'm all out so the rest of the white panel boards will be painted green because I have already spent way too much on materials (for my budget)!!!! This weekend I'll be ripping more bamboo poles in half to cover the seams and other areas that need it! Thanks for taking a peek!!

Craig

slowly, tiki will take over your whole house...great start!

Very nice, keep up the good work.

I love your ceiling, the thatch above the timber bamboo looks great!
Do you have room to hang lamps? (Or I should ask, are you planning to hang lamps?)

i'll bet it smells great in there!

Polynesiac- yep it sure is!!!

Tikiwahine- thanks, I'm sure there will be some hanging eventually!

Tiki Trav- the day after of the main install smelled but not so bad anymore!

A little more green, and some more bamboo on the ceiling to get some of the slack up!

The white doors and fireplace will have a faux finish and possibly a tapa print that Howland gave me some tips on.

[ Edited by: tikifreak1 2008-01-31 19:19 ]

Just got done building this thing with my friend! The TV will go in that area. Now going back to put bamboo over the seams so I can wrap this up and get back to carving!!

Those stripper poles look good!

( but how are you gonna dance around them? the sides are kinda tight....... :)

The Lauhala looks fine.

It's Tiki man!!

Thanks Bamboo Ben! Yeah, I guess I should have thought that through a little better about the poles!! :) Here is it for tonight.

Looking really sweet. Keep up the good (hard) work.

Looking really sweet. Keep up the good (hard) work.

Thanks Pappy x2!!! Work,work,work!!! Got most of the vertical seams up and decided to stain the beam and boxes to change up the color a bit. I also changed the 2 inch poles to 5 inch in the little area.

Had to rebuild the pillar thing, also changed the color of stain and put some rope over the cut in the top of the box.

almost done!!! I think?

Wow, thats looking great! :D

WOW!! Thats a lotta bamboo, thatch and panelling!!

Neat work with your trimming, I especially like the ceiling.

Now the fun part of decorating starts!! :)

Thanks Hewey and Harro!! Here are some better pictures (don't know if it makes the work look any better)? A little more progress too. Gotta get those white doors painted and some final touches of some areas I still need to figure out.

[ Edited by: tikifreak1 2008-02-13 16:53 ]

You have opened a can of worms, my friend....a tiki bar (house) is NEVER DONE!!!! You will continually add to it and add to it and add to it and...and it will just keep looking better and better. that is quite an undertaking and you have done a FINE job. It is looking really nice - I especially like the finer details, like your bamboo work. Now, you have to start carving a million tikis to fill the space!

More trim pieces and put some bamboo in the bathroom!!!! I caulked in the gap of the panel ceiling which I'm still going to add something to it and hope it works. Polynesic, slowly it is taking over my house!!

Messed up on the light using the nail gun, so I had to make something new. Also did it around the fire alarm to match! Does anybody have experience gluing matting to other materials? I want to glue this strip up where the paneling meets up to the wall and I don't want to nail it because I'm afraid it will split! I just want to make sure it will hold before I mess that up.

Thanks,
Craig

Nice you are really putting everything into this project and
its looking outstanding. You are going to have your own
world. I see what you are thinking
you need a few large tiki's around that place.

I ended up braving it and just screwed it in.

industrial hot glue will work fine

use an industrial stapler to attach the strip
looks real nice!!!!

Thanks for the info Poly!! I started to apply the first coat of fire retardant. It is a lot easier and not as messy as I thought it would be! Just using that little spray bottle didn't take me long at all to get the first coat on.

I just love seeing the pictures of your progress. I think I'm secretly living vicariously through you. I have neither the space available to create such a Polynesian paradise nor the funds to finance such a project. However, I do have the artistic know-how and, as a fellow creative person, I love watching your process - how you figure things out and then decide something works better so you change this and that as you go along. It's incredibly inspiring to me. I would simply adore doing what you're doing and then adding layer upon layer of tikis and carvings and various other authentic artifacts to decorate the space. You are seriously on your way to creating quite the little hideaway. You may even be able to charge admission to your lounge once you finish! Just kidding.

It must feel amazing to stand in the middle of that room with the thatch over your head. I bet you forget you're in a basement! Have you thought about adding some kind of water feature or faux fire element? Wasn't the juxtaposition of fire and water elements essential to tiki design? A wall fountain is fairly safe, easy to install/build, and would add that little something extra. Now about that fire thing, what about those somewhat cheesy fabric flame things that have a halogen light and a little fan that causes the faux flame to flutter and dance like real fire? You typically see them around Halloween in party stores. There's an idea for ya, not that you were looking for suggestions!

At any rate, great work! Keep the pictures coming!
:)

Thanks Dejavoodoo for the kind words! Painted the doors and fireplace (faux finish) I'm not sure if I like it! I'll see how it looks dry in the morning.

That's all looking good, man. Not a bad start on the faux job, either. How'd you end up splitting yer boo? Did you try the machete or table saw--or did you buy it already split? Keep it up -can't wait to see the next phase.

Thanks for checking it out Howland!!! It's not even close to yours, mine is just plain and basic! I ripped the bamboo myself with my table saw. It was pretty easy and cheaper to buy full rounds.

Almost done with the main job, just some paint touch ups and other minor things! Hung up some lights (still got some more on the way) and still have some puffers and floats to hang. The black bar and black couch which is not in the pictures are just temporary until we get newer stuff which will be awhile. GMAN if you are reading this, back to carving for me!! Lots of pics of the same crap, sorry I was trying different settings on my new camera.

Craig

WOW! Such great details!

Here's another you might do: Consider painting all your light switches, smoke alarms, etc., the color of the wall/ceiling behind them. Or you could paint them stained brown like the doors. It causes them to visually vanish.

I've done this with the restaurant decor I've designed, so, it's just a thought.

Thanks Bongo!!!! Yeah, That's exactly what I'm going to do but I'm going to buy them already tan or brown. I can't stand painted receptacles!!! That was some of the minor stuff I was talking about. Thanks for checkin it out.

Craig

[ Edited by: tikifreak1 2008-03-02 14:41 ]

Wow! That place looks great. How big is that space? It looks huge. Really nice attention to detail. I hardly ever take the time (or have it) to do stuff that meticulously. Can't wait to see more. I still believe that peoples home bars are the meat and potatoes of this whole scene.
Cheers.

Thanks Matt!!! Yeah it took a lot longer than I expected. I'm a DIY'er but I never worked with those materials before so I started to figure out different ideas as the project went on. The space isn't tiny but not huge. I live in a Townhouse but it is my whole basement and the stairs going down. I'm sure I will be constantly adding more and more to it! Thanks again.

Craig

Went to D.C. today and got a bar and some chairs and found the swivel chairs at the first estate sale I have ever been to for 60 bucks for both of them.

Questions......

1. Does anybody know anything about the glasses on the bar? I got them when I purchased the bar, just wondering if it is some kind of cool find or just crap?

2. Does anybody know where to get replacement cushions for the chairs in the pictures?

3. and any ideas on what to do for the sliding glass door? I'm trying to stay away from verticals and want to try to keep whatever I put up on the inside of the frame since my bar is butted up against it. I was thinking about those bamboo bead things?

Thanks
Craig

Looking super cool! I wish I lived somewhere where you could have a basement. I could have an under the house swimming pool though.

Remember...coolness is in the eye of the beer holder. One mans crap is another mans cool find.

You may be able to use cushions for patio chairs on those. Take some measurements and go to Target or something. You could also probably make them pretty easily. Furniture foam wrapped with a bunting of some sort. Quick and easy slip cover for it with some tie straps at the corners and where you need it to bend.

[ Edited by: Surf tiki 2008-03-17 11:10 ]

On 2008-03-16 16:48, tikifreak1 wrote:
Went to D.C. today and got a bar and some chairs and found the swivel chairs at the first estate sale I have ever been to for 60 bucks for both of them.

Questions......

1. Does anybody know anything about the glasses on the bar? I got them when I purchased the bar, just wondering if it is some kind of cool find or just crap?

2. Does anybody know where to get replacement cushions for the chairs in the pictures?

3. and any ideas on what to do for the sliding glass door? I'm trying to stay away from verticals and want to try to keep whatever I put up on the inside of the frame since my bar is butted up against it. I was thinking about those bamboo bead things? Beads would probably look cool over the glass, though.

Thanks
Craig

Answer to question #1: They are pure crap. Carefully pack them and send them to my address immediately!
Answer to question #2: Maybe swing them by an upholsterer and see if they can refurbish them to an original state.
Answer to question #3: Actually I have no answer but am swirling around some ideas for the same problem in my room--sliding glass door frames are the only thing white , therefore obtrusive, in my room.

Looking good, bro!

Wow you have done a incredible job on this tiki paradise.
Man if i was closer id have to pimp out my tikis in your place.

The glasses look cool the color and print seem to blend well with the
place.

The slider is a tough one?

Surf tiki- thanks!!! My wife is going to attempt to make new cushions for them.

Howland- Thanks, I tried to clean the cushions for two of the chairs but they were really moldy and smelled like my grandparents house!?!?

Seeksurf- you the man!!

Thanks again for the input!!

I thought the bar looked naked so I started to build a roof over it. I ran out of wood (which it is pretty much done except for one more arm) and have just a little sample piece of thatch hanging up! I planning on somehow covering the wood with burlap or matting to cover my Ghetto construction job, but that is the only way I could figure out how to build it since I did it after everything else!

Beautiful-lookin' lounge, TF. Now dim those lights next time you take the pics.

The place is looking pretty cool, especially the shrunken heads (mine is in some mail truck as we speak!) The easiest fix for the sliding glass doors would be the bamboo door curtains in a natural color, with a high strand count, like 130 or whatever they make. Those look awesome in natural but kinda cheesy with dragons dueling panthers, or wizards shooting lightning bolts at marijuana leaves. And if you find some for less than $40, let me know! I've been looking. I covered my roof (similar to yours frame-wise) and some of my ceiling with a woven burlap-looking matting material from OA and it looks good. It's also good because it was only 2 ft. wide and 30 ft. long, so there's enough to go around. There are pics of it on here somewhere if you want to check it out. Good luck!

Thanks Kahalakruzer, I am going with the beads!! I just sent you a PM about them and the heads!! Ohhh yeah, and your place looks great too, I love that shell light!!!

Craig

That bar with the overhead you are building is going to be nice...great job. Sliding glass doors can be a decorator's nightmare, but I am sure someone will come up with a great idea.

I have 3 sliding glass doors in my house that look a hundred percent better with BYPASS shutter doors. Mine are off-white plantation shutters that match the shutters in the rest of the house. The link shows examples, but you could do natural wood to match all your bamboo. Looks like you have a frame build-out around your door already. Well anyway...that is my lame suggestion. :D

http://www.riverwoodshutters.com/Shutters_For_Doors_s/32.htm

Thanks Pappy!!! Good call on the lights, now I need to go get dimmers!!

VampiressRN that was not a lame suggestion, I would have never thought of that. I think I am going to try my lame idea with the bamboo bead things and if it doesn't look good, I might try your idea. Thanks!!!

Here are some pics with the thatch up. It is not really supported yet or finished for that matter. I think I am going to order more thatch and double it up because it is kind of gappy!!! Also, it will be covered with some kind of material were all the exposed wood is.

Can anyone tell from the pictures is this a "real Leeteg painting? I bought another new bar and they guy practically gave it to me for free because I bought the other bar from him too! I like the painting/print regardless, just curious if there is any experts out there with any info on it. The pictures kind of suck (only got two and the battery died!!!

Thanks,
Craig

Ahhh, I just looked at the pictures I posted and noticed the blue writing below the signature. I didn't notice it before. So I guess it is just a poster, looks really old though!

http://www.myspace.com/crutler

[ Edited by: tikifreak1 2008-03-23 10:16 ]