Creating The Room
I have an extra room in my house. It used to be a den or sitting room, that I converted into a temporary bedroom for my daughter. When COVID came, unforeseen things happened to her career so we had her move back home for awhile to give her time to get things back on track. It took longer for her to move out because the price of apartments doubled. The apartment she used to live in before 2020, cost 950.00 a month. In 2021 that same apartment was almost 1900,00. Now its 2023 and things have come down a bit and she was able to move out. So now my wife and I have this empty space. We sit in our sun room most of the time, and we really don’t need another sitting room. So we decided to create a home gym.Â
Upgrading
I’ve already purchased the weight machine. We purchased that after Christmas and got it at a good end of the year price. Before we set up the machine I’m going to make upgrades to the room. The room is not in good shape, that’s why we need to remodel.
The Fireplace
The fireplace brick work is outdated and stained from smoke. Also the hearth is a dark brown tile. The flooring is a dark colored laminate floor with base molding that is dirty and in need of painting. The problem with the base molding is someone caulked it to the wall with silicone caulk. You can’t paint silicone. So after I remove the trim from the wall I’m going to try to remove the silicone from the trim. If I can’t then I will have to replace it.Â
The Walls
The walls are textured and I’m not a fan of textured walls, besides that they weren’t done very well. So I will have to skim coat them with drywall mud. The walls were also painted with semi gloss paint, which is not a good choice. Semi gloss shows all imperfections and these walls have many imperfections!
The Windows
The window trim wasn’t done correctly either and was trimmed with the wrong type of molding. It was done with material that is used for base, and windows are trimmed with casing. Again everything was caulked with silicone.
The Ceiling
On the ceiling there are 2 6″recessed lights over the fireplace, and the previous owners painted the ceiling with semi gloss paint. Ceilings generally are painted with flat paint to hide the imperfections and to keep the light from glaring from the ceiling.
The Upgrades
To upgrade this room and create a home gym, I’m going to reface the fireplace with natural stone from floor to ceiling and replace the hearth with new tile. Take the flooring out and install oak flooring or Berber carpeting. Then I’m going to replace the trim, float the walls and repaint. I’m also going to add 4″ LED recessed lighting, replace the outlets and cover plates with Decora devices. I’m debating on installing a ceiling fan, but I’m not sure if I will or not because of the ceiling height. The fan will sit a foot lower from the ceiling and I’m afraid of hitting the fan with weights. My alternate plan is to mount a fan in the corner of the room. I’m also going to install a flat screen TV. While the work is in progress, I’m going to record it all and share it on this website with you so you can keep track of the progress. I will also have videos on my YouTube channel for you to follow along and will list the tools, and materials I use so you can imitate the finishes!
