A few weeks ago, out of the blue, my wife said "you know you should convert half the garage for your games machines" - Me: ... *blinks* ... ... ... "errr, yeah, that's a great idea" ...
And that's exactly how it all started, no word of a lie, amazing ey? I guess it could have been a defensive move against a possible future where "just one more" cab turns up and finds a place in the house proper but I was already planning in my mind and very soon in SketchUp.
The beauty of SketchUp is that it is free (you won't need the Pro version) and it's pretty straight forward after watching a couple of YouTube tutorials.
I'd decided to limit myself to only half the garage and no more so that there was still plenty of room for bikes and tools... or a Smart Car if I ever fancied storing one; so I was going to have a pretty small arcade at 2.8m x 2.1m and careful planning would be needed.
Luckily, in SketchUp, two or three people have created most of the classic arcade cabs at the correct dimensions and with plenty of detail. What became clear immediately was that 2 rows of cabs were not going to be feasible but that 1 cab facing across the width of the room would be fine... a pinball could also be a goer.
With the plan "sorted" I booked our regular handy man in for a week's work and soon we were underway...
That plan in full:
- Clear the space
- Line the existing concrete floor with damp proof sheet
- Build a raised floor (17cm) using a wooden frame, polystyrene insulation, and 22mm moisture resistant chip board
- Attach a ceiling to the existing rafters (the garage has a vaulted roof)
- insulate above the ceiling with the roll stuff and then loft boards over the top to create a storage area
- Build a partition wall with insulation and a door through to the remaining garage space.
- Add cabs!
Some pics of the build that cover the above steps...
Most of the garage cleared, the cupboards will stay for now until the cab/pinball is bought that means they have to go. I was displacing so much stuff for the build it was just nice to not have to find somewhere for all the food and cleaning products that live in these.
There's some superficial damp and mould around the garage but it's pretty dry overall, it's had 8 years of bikes in and out and it cleaned up well. The base build is really sound and was put up in 2005 by previous owners.
Soon to be loft storage space
Damp proof lining, floor frame, insulation and 22mm floorboards go in.
Wall going up.
Adding ceiling and loft space
Getting there, nearly done with the handy man's help and onto painting and carpeting.
Getting some "help" with the loft boards. Really happy with this space, it's bigger than it looks in the photo, easy to access from the garage and clean and dry.
So skip ahead a bit and imagine I finished the outer side of the wall, cleaned and painted the garage, shifted everything back in there, then moved on to paint and carpet most of the arcade side.
You'll be able to see I got just enough carpet in to be able to bring the first cab in, exciting times!
I was so happy at this point, I'd worked really hard for 7 days and it had turned out exactly as I had hoped, nothing could dampen this great mood...
...and then I turned on Outrun for a game and... nothing... ... tried a different plug... checked the trip switch... f**k, f**k, f**k... must have damaged it in some way shifting it up the step into the house! Not fair.
And then I remembered it had a power switch on the back of the cab and I'd turned it to the off position for the first time when I moved it... what a numpty... a happy again numpty mind.
I'd bought these Asteroid wall stickers a year ago so was pleased to finally be able to put them to use.
A ropey panorama pic but gives an idea of the space.
To do:
- Bring the Electrocoin Midi down from the loft; that will be my horizontal screen cab
- Take delivery of my scratch build Donkey Kong which will serve as a Vertical screen cab
- Remove the cupboards and patch and paint the wall behind, probably a bold colour there
- Add various artwork and prints to the walls
- Make a wall mounted holder for multiple marquees
- Buy a Track & Field or Hyper sports cab... or a pinball
Thanks to all on ukvac who have posted advice on building home arcades and converting garages/shed... it's been invaluable!
cNp2016-05-13 13:54:34
