Man Cave Phase III - Painting and Finish

Progress on the Monkey Man-Cave slowed significantly this summer, as other projects, distractions, and... well... life took precedence instead.  Still, moving forward was possible by doing a little here and there on occasional free evenings and weekend afternoons.

The next step was to add some color to the newly textured walls. Big Monkey is always happy to help, especially when painting is involved.  He is a hard worker and, all things considered, did a surprisingly good job, at least on sections of the walls between one and four feet high.

Since the Man Cave would function partially as a shop, I chose a gloss finish latex for easier cleaning.  With experience painting almost all the rooms in a few houses now, I've become a big fan of Behr Premium paint-plus-primer. Its extra thick formulation makes it cover with fewer coats, and it has much less of a tendency to drip, which is important since I'm often too impatient to put drop cloths over everything..

Before the walls could be finished, however, two small projects needed to be completed.  First, to pass through light from the garage door lites behind, I assembled a window from individual glass blocks and caulked them into the opening previously framed in the far wall.

To inflate tires and power pneumatic tools at key locations, I also installed outlets and tubing from a RapidAir Compressed Air System. This product features plastic pressure-rated tubing, push-on fittings, and machined aluminum manifolds that connect together quickly and easily to make a flexible air distribution system that can be routed through walls.

For floors, I chose a TrafficMaster Allure polyvinyl floating floor at Home Depot  Waterproof and durable, vinyl seemed like an ideal product to install over the bare concrete.  The TrafficMaster product comes in simulated wood-like boards and features patented overlapping strips that fasten the planks to each other instead of the subfloor so seams won't open up.  Best of all, they cut with scissors and feature a peel-and-stick install so that the whole room could be done in only a few hours.

As easy as they were to lay down, Little Monkey still wasn't a whole lot of direct help in the process.  He chose to watch and supervise instead.

After hacking down and hanging a reclaimed door from Craigslist, casing the window and doors, adding some light fixtures, and doing some remedial decorating, the Monkey Cave now has a nice space for computer and office work.

The other side of the Cave provides good working space for a workbench with tools and parts for projects.  A rolling cart (not shown) holds table and miter saws that can be moved outside for more substantial construction.

On the last wall, the addition of some storage cabinets and a modest TV (a hand-me-down from the family room) complete the project.  Now, an area that was once just an empty parking space is nicely serviceable Monkey Man-Cave for projects and days working from home.