A New Home

[OC Maximus]

Finally pulled the trigger on our own place here in HI. It's been a long time coming. Already have a house in Virginia Beach so this one is mostly an investment we'll live in for the next 3 to 5 years. One more stepping stone till our final home, we think....

It's a comfortable 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom, 2 car garage town-home in Ewa Beach. With central air, very important! More than enough for us at the moment. As with everything else I own, its time to start modding. First, Bamboo flooring on the bottom floor then tile in all the bathrooms. There is a small office space which will by my new micro man-cave, that'll get bamboo floors too. The plan is to pull out that tiny built-in desk and figure out a custom solution.

Here are a few pics to kick it all off.

Cherokee loaded up with flooring. Yes Kal, safety inspection expired 3 days ago. :ohcrap:

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Town-home/20151103_094323_zpsvqipcd1b.jpg

Flooring acclimating to the rooms.

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Town-home/20151103_124212_zps3wd627u7.jpg

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Town-home/20151103_124111_zpszlkzmkxq.jpg

[Witchdoctor]

Looks nice man , Congrats

Can't wait to see some pics of this flooring installed :thumbsup:

That job is tough on the knee's :ohcrap:

[Kal-EL]

When's the house warming?

Looking good bud, those skinny floor panels look like a pain tho. Is that tiny space yer new game station?

[OC Maximus]

Thanks.

My knees are shot, I'm having someone else do the labor. Plus I got my two little rug rats running around which won't allow me to do pretty much anything other than watch them.

That is the new game station, it was part of the compromise. The deal was that we would rip it out and get a pre-built L-shaped or custom built workstation.

Not sure on the house warming, I'll keep you posted :)

[Kal-EL]

I did my floors oh ten years ago. Hardest part was always the corner cuts. Saved some money dewin it myself and my son got to help.

Congrats on the new base!

[OC Maximus]

Modem upgraded. Woot!


http://www.speedtest.net/result/4807595057.png

[Kal-EL]

Holy hell, nice, any ping improvements on the usual servers?

[OC Maximus]

Didn't get a chance to test out the usual servers. It was a quick speed test and out the door I went.

[OC Maximus]

Tiled the downstairs bathroom and finished installing the floor. Going to give the bamboo another week and a half before installing baseboards for acclimation and expansion as recommended by the manufacturer.

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Town-home/20151108_132010_zpskmn4cmb5.jpg

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Town-home/20151108_133322_zpssjoqbq9a.jpg

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Town-home/20151108_131326_zpshoneqoxm.jpg

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Town-home/20151108_131658_zpsm1tis22u.jpg

[Kal-EL]

Tight!

[Kal-EL]

wut was the pricing like on the floors?

[OC Maximus]

$3.99 sq-ft at Lowes plus a 20% discount. Not socked at Lowe's, picked up locally from the distributer by the airport.

Cappuccino flavor.
http://arcadegreen.com/product-category/bamboo/

[OC Maximus]

On to the next mod.

My desk is so small and uncomfortable that I had to mount the PC to the wall so that I could have enough desk space. After a few weeks of this setup I've decided that enough is enough. I plan to expand the desk along the left wall to have both a computer area and reading/writing are for school. Here we go... weeee......

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/5_zpscnxwzvvn.jpg

[OC Maximus]

I actually did a simple sketchup rendering of the room back in December to help me visualize how I could make the best of the small space. The desk top will be white Corian to match the kitchen counter tops and the other cabinets in this common area upstairs. I plan on reusing the current desk's cabinets to save a little cash.

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/1_zpsdnqzykmf.png

[Kal-EL]

sans the wall and open the space up?

[OC Maximus]

If I sans the wall I will end up with no master closet. Don't think the misses would be too happy with that. :crazy:

Here is a mock up of the new desk layout. Left side measures 7.5' long and the side along the window measures 5'. The depth of the desk will be 24" which allows me enough space to comfortably roll the chair back without hitting the side wall.

I may also have to trim the bottom of the cabinets an 1" or 2". The desk currently sits at 32.5" tall which is extremely uncomfortable to sit at.

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/2_zpsk6rot9dv.png

[Kal-EL]

u gonna need a smaller chair.

[OC Maximus]

u gonna need a smaller chair.

I thought the same thing. My super slouch position while sitting in the chair and farting around on the computer is 53" from the wall to the back of the chair. My slide back, spin and step out of chair distance from the wall is 55". The space from left wall to right wall is 60" so I have just enough space to use this gigantic (to me) chair. 5" isn't much (that's what she said), but it will be a much more comfortable setup than I have now.

[Kal-EL]

Just don't stand up with a woody or yer gonna scrape the walls.

[DOM]

Just don't stand up with a woody or yer gonna scrape the walls.

He's belly would rub before so he's good :laughing:

[OC Maximus]

He's belly would rub before so he's good :laughing:

:laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing: :thumbsup:

[DOM]

Nice place BTW :)

[OC Maximus]

Tweaked, stretched, and twerked. Final rendering of the desk.

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/5_zpsuevsldqs.png

[OC Maximus]

Demolition only took 8 minutes, lol. Chopped the bottom of the cabinets 2" and reset them in their new permanent locations.

The counter top guys came by and digitally measured the room for the counter top.

The "Command and Control Center" has moved down stairs for the time being. :thumbsup:

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/6_zps1tsxpsdn.jpg

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/7_zpsabzbpzxz.jpg

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/8_zpsrrvtmuqg.jpg

[Kal-EL]

Uh wuts wit all the circle stickers?

[OC Maximus]

Uh wuts wit all the circle stickers?

IDK. Probably some Vanduul Tech they stole to digitally map the space. :shock:

[Kal-EL]

IDK. Probably some Vanduul Tech they stole to digitally map the space. :shock:

Brilliant!
http://i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/004/128/BRILLIANT_.jpg

[OC Maximus]

Has it really been 4 weeks since the last update?????

To no avail....

update otw

[OC Maximus]

Added a cleat to support the Corian. Also made a gutter to capture all of the cables. 2x4's and some common wood planks from Home Depot, easy day. OMG what a bad haircut! :laughing:

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/9_zpspejmjcoq.jpg

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/11_zpsm6w3rr3w.jpg

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/10_zpsnvxqcmsb.jpg

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/20160826_163318_zps6yrenvqo.jpg

[OC Maximus]

Painted the office the same color as the rest of the upstairs. Considering painting the left wall, of my closet sized office, black like the computer space in this video: Scroll over to 5:58 of this video and let me know what you think.

fsZIrGUYRSQ

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/20160908_072211_zpsqtxwejog.jpg

[OC Maximus]

Keyboard update....

Contacted WASD Keyboards for a customized key set and they hooked me up. Oh man, what a great company.
They got my order exactly correct. Great communication, super cheap, and super fast service.
I may have them make me an OCM logo key to replace the key to the right of the left Ctrl key.
Also, need to figure out a way to erase that steelseries logo from the upper right hand corner of the keyboard.
http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/
http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/628c0ef0-a376-4bf7-971f-1b1a011e05e2_zpsenkzfgt9.jpg

[OC Maximus]

After some deep meditation..... decided on adding a few heavy duty brackets.

And yes, pulled the passenger seat out my car to pick up some closet organizing shelves from the Home Depot. How did you guess? :shock:

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/20160913_065746_zpsrulkjffe.jpg

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/20160914_171827_zps7mhbwwom.jpg

[OC Maximus]

Finally, Corian top installation day. This desk idea was dreamed up the very first day I looked at the property, 1 year later I have my desk.

If the installers only knew that I was taking picture behind their backs ;)

Now its time to set it all up :thumbsup:

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/20160916_154627_zpsb5tsn6h8.jpg

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/20160916_155554_zpsprzqjj3z.jpg

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/20160916_162228_zpsmew7r9z4.jpg

[Kal-EL]

Lookin gooder.

[OC Maximus]

The first layout was really uncomfortable and cramped. The second layout was much much better. I could recline all the way back and not touch the wall. Now lets mount them flight sticks under the desk ;)

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/20160919_201931_zpsnd5b4tgl.jpg

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/20160923_153622_zps85rwfzfp.jpg

[OC Maximus]

I gathered some scrap wood that I had laying around from another project and built some retractable flight stick mounts. The idea was to keep it simple, sturdy and functional. Flip them up and lock them in when I need them, unlock them and flip them back under the desk when not in use (Velcro is your friend :)). At the same time ensure that the mounts or the sticks themselves are not being kicked when I'm sitting at the desk.

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/20160924_093251_zpsi8xwq4jy.jpg

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/20160923_185325_zpsynihrhoc.jpg

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/20160923_200142_zpsjuhovrwv.jpg

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/20160923_201429_zpsxxcaqv2e.jpg

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/20160923_201640_zpsgryrsuhc.jpg

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/20160923_211534_zpshrde9itf.jpg

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/20160923_211645_zpsns9mhnrl.jpg

[OC Maximus]

And here you have it. Double stick fun in Star Citizen.

Made a second mount for the left stick and then dismantled everything for paint. Painted both flip up mounts flat black and haven't looked back. I am quite happy with the way it turned out. Is amazing what one can do with a few simple hand tools and a little imagination.

Next I'll be working on cable management. If you noticed, on the right side of the desk is my server. There is a 2" hole in that corner of the desktop in which I routed all my wires through. Same goes for the PC in the opposite corner. Most of the cables are running in the cable troughs that I made. As for the monitor, the intention is to mount it to the wall using a Freedom Arm or a similar articulating monitor mount. Then make a pass wall pass through for the wires so the wires aren't hanging down. The goal is to eventually hide all wires and not have any of them running on the desktop.

As for speakers, I'm still using my Samsung sound bar and sub-woofer that I stole from my TV. :shock: It outputs decent sound and the woofer really fills the small room. Considering keeping it for now. Here is a picture of my latest iteration with dual stick setup.

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/383HEMI/Desk/20160925_234048_zpsk0nuvcvb.jpg

[Kal-EL]

Maximum double fisted delight. O.o

This is a definite go/to thread for any space jockey looking to see how to mount a hotas to a desk. The envy of the galaxy. Batman got nuttin on you.

Might I suggest a bumper be placed on back of yer chair before you accidentally scrap da wall?

[Witchdoctor]

Da bomb bro :thumbsup:

[Buckeye]

That is a really good idea for mounting sticks... makes me think now how to do my area.

[cdoublejj]

Nice setup! The joy stick setup is pretty clever too.