It's done!! Mostly....

So...the last man cave update in November left us at insulation for the walls, preliminary floor finishing and hardi-plank on the exterior.

Next up was plywood.  Over the entire building...walls AND ceiling.  It was a big job...that ceiling is very high and I think making cut-outs for the numerous canned lights was hard.  Glad it wasn't me doing it!   

In the midst the plywood process there came a day where Bryan was able to pull together a posse of men to take a small chunk of their Saturday morning and move the vault door. 

It's enormous, this door.  800 pounds.  It was not easy the first time, when we first brought it home to install in our basement storage room.  So the thought of moving it up the basement stairs, through the backyard and then down into the man cave was daunting.  But it had to be done.

 Next up was sheet rock.  But in order to get that done, we had to call out the company that installed the gas a few months ago to get the heat officially on and running.  It's one thing to slap up plywood in the December cold but mudding and taping sheet rock was another story....one that ended with my gas bill going up noticeably but predictably in price.  Still, it's certainly nice to be cozy in there. 

Trim was next.  Along the floor and around the windows and doors.  

And then with the heat on and the mudding and taping done, the painters made an appearance.  Bryan chose the same paint color for the interior walls and ceiling that we have throughout our house.  A nice neutral color.  While the painters were here they also painted the door a dark brown that matches the soffit and the stairs made from dark brown trex decking.  Oh!  Stairs!  That's new from our last update as well.  Our contractor showed up one warmish, sunny day and whipped those out in a couple of hours.  (Railing to come in the spring.) 

Sheetrock was not installed along the bottom 5-6 cement underground feet of the building because Bryan decided he wanted carpet there.  Deciding that this was something he could handle on his own rather than pay for the labor...he picked out and picked up the carpet himself, bought the glue and tools, and then with the help of his brother Kevin, installed that carpet on the walls and the landing right inside the door.  

Once all the messy stuff was done, the electrician who had run wires and set things up months ago, was called back to officially install the lights and outlets.  With winter bringing on dark early in the evenings a lot of work had been done with shop lights on extension cords running through the back yard and up to the house.  So to be able to flip a switch?  I felt like exclaiming "Let there be LIGHT!!"

And are you getting a eyeful of that gorgeous floor?  Just this past week they cleaned up all cardboard and plastic coverings that had been protecting the floor and did a final finish.  Pretty, no?

There are things still left to do.  The exterior will get stacked rock and railings up the stairs and around the porch and we need to pick out the coach lamps.  And eventually there will be some kind of garage type rolling or accordion door on that wide closet-type room that you can see.  But in the meantime, for all intents and purposes the man cave is done!  Bryan excitedly started moving in his weight equipment last night.  Gymnastics mats and power tools will make their way in soon as well.  Which means, realistically, that I think my husband may go MIA for awhile as he spends all his free time in the awesomeness that his his man cave.  Luckily it won't be too hard to find him...