bfrench Posted June 25, 2016 Author Share Posted June 25, 2016 Well we're still house hunting, but we got a full price offer on our house. Looks like we may just sell it and rent from some friends for a little while. We've got a fairly nice working budget and found this amazing home that's at the top end of it, but we need at least 4 bedrooms and 1 office. It was lacking the office :/ Would love to make it work, but it just won't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfrench Posted June 25, 2016 Author Share Posted June 25, 2016 So we spent a lot of time praying this week and a couple of really awesome things happened. First we got a full price offer on our house. Second we found a 5 bedroom farm house on 5 acres in the middle of town with a wooded lot behind it and what basically amounts to hiking/biking trails behind it. Put an offer in on it and it got accepted. It comes with a 30x30 metal building which already has water and electricity in it that I can finish out into fish room and office! Did not even think that we could find something like this any where near town and the high school and one of the elementary schools are basically across the street. So the build is back on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfrench Posted June 26, 2016 Author Share Posted June 26, 2016 So I know it seems cheesy, bit I think it would be cool to have this 10in buddha statue have sps attached to each hand or the easter island heads surrounded by kenya trees Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfrench Posted July 4, 2016 Author Share Posted July 4, 2016 The new property is out of the option period. Inspection is done and promising. There's a bunch of minor things that need repairs/updates, but nothing terribly challenging. The new house sits on 5 acres with a detached 30x30 metal building that is currently setup as a garage/workshop. We're currently trying to decide if we're going to hire a contractor to tackle this, or if I'm going to tackle the project with the help of more than a few friends. Either way, this affords the unique opportunity of basically framing out the interior in whatever layout we want. So, I may actually have the space for a fish room immediately off of the office. This would allow for running the sump remotely with plenty of room for any additional equipment in the future. It would also provide ample room to figure out how to rig up an auto-water change system (if I don't go with the genesis system). Tentative plan schedule below. Clean current concrete floor Layout office/fish room for framing Ensure area where the tank will go is level (if not figure out solution) Stain concrete floors Remove garage door and replace with french doors. Frame up walls Rough in electric boxes etc Install mini-split a/c Hire electrician to install breakers etc (building already has electricity) Insulate Drywall Install tank I'm sure there will likely be multiple mini-steps in this process. I'm hoping to be able to get most of this done within 8 weeks of moving in, but we'll see how that goes Any input on designing the layout of a fish room would be much appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wardlaw Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 Check out Mr saltwater tanks fish room build videos Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G928A using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfrench Posted July 7, 2016 Author Share Posted July 7, 2016 sump and skimmer shipped Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfrench Posted July 11, 2016 Author Share Posted July 11, 2016 package will be here tomorrow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfrench Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 package will be here tomorrow and FexEx freight decided to send it to Chicago instead.... :/ maybe Thursday now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salty_kat Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 That's no good! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salty_kat Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 If you have questions or need advice/suggestions for the stained concrete floor let me know. We did our whole house (1st floor) and it came out gorgeous! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salty_kat Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfrench Posted July 14, 2016 Author Share Posted July 14, 2016 Wow!!! Will definitely be hitting you up. Guess what showed up today..... Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfrench Posted July 14, 2016 Author Share Posted July 14, 2016 Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfrench Posted July 15, 2016 Author Share Posted July 15, 2016 The build quality on this is amazing! The skimmer is gorgeous too. Also picked up a 5gallon ATO. They sent a free coral viewer and t shirt too. Packing was excellent. Would definitely buy again Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfrench Posted July 15, 2016 Author Share Posted July 15, 2016 Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnM Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 Wow that thing is sexy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+BobcatReefer Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfrench Posted July 24, 2016 Author Share Posted July 24, 2016 The move is complete. Sister in law picked up my old tank plus two chromis, two clowns, and my hippo tang. Pictures are the temporary facilities while the new office area gets finished and while the new tank gets set up So far only one fish loss, our potters angel. Sucks, but I figured we'd have at least a few. Trying to get an Rx for chloroquine from our vet do I can start a quarantine process on the current fish before they go in the new tank. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfrench Posted July 24, 2016 Author Share Posted July 24, 2016 Finalized the measurements for the tank with the builder 72x36x30. Total volume clocking in at 336. Should allow for some epic aquascaping. If someone wouldn't mind dropping me a PM with instructions on how to change the thread title that would be swell. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfrench Posted July 26, 2016 Author Share Posted July 26, 2016 Thank you KimP for the directions on how to access the full editor. I've got two different builders coming out today to give quotes on finishing out our metal building. I'll post pictures later today. In the meantime here's my rough layout using sketchup I need to resize the tank to get it more proportioned, but this gives the basic idea. The front area with the garage doors will be used as storage and a workshop. The ping pong table room is to function as a game room opposite the game room is my office and the fish room. We're going to talk with them about adding a bathroom on as well, but really depends on how much it will cost to incorporate plumbing into the existing septic system. The stairs have since been removed. When we first viewed the property we thought there was quite a bit more overhead clearance that we could use as attic storage. However, that's not really the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfrench Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share Posted October 17, 2016 Hey all, Long time no update. Long story short life happens. Tank is here and sitting in the metal building. However bids from contractors came in higher than expected. We were kicking around the idea of doing it anyway when our shower broke which required the shower to need to be gutted down to the studs. This revealed that the surrounding bottom played were rotted out requiring replacement and scabbing of the studs. Finally got dry wall up and shower pan cut to fit. Hoping to be tiling by this coming weekend. So tank build is on hold fit the time being. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 Hey all, Long time no update. Long story short life happens. Tank is here and sitting in the metal building. However bids from contractors came in higher than expected. We were kicking around the idea of doing it anyway when our shower broke which required the shower to need to be gutted down to the studs. This revealed that the surrounding bottom played were rotted out requiring replacement and scabbing of the studs. Finally got dry wall up and shower pan cut to fit. Hoping to be tiling by this coming weekend. So tank build is on hold fit the time being. Showers are always fun!!! Glad you got that taken care of and hopefully be back on track in the near future for the tank build! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopper65 Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 just finished the whole thread, what a roller coaster for you. Im not sure what you have planned for your metal building, but 4 years ago I finished out one on my property. I did have to put up a few studs here and there but what I did was insulate it and instead of using sheetrock I used cedar planks for the roof and upper part, and some cedar that my dad cut with his sawmill. For the walls I used cabinet grade plywood and stained it. I thought it turned out nice, the building is a little smaller than yours (16 X 32 ) It not a fish room, it houses my train layout. I cant find a complete finished picture, but here is a before and after before stain. In the first pic I took out that doorway and made it flush with the wall. Its totally insulated, I use a window unit for cooling and a small heater in the winter. Just another idea for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfrench Posted October 18, 2016 Author Share Posted October 18, 2016 Chopper, that looks awesome. Unfortunately with the way the building is set up I can't frame into the exterior wall. The metal vertical supports are 8in I-beans with an 8in wide horizontal support at about 6ft. Basically well end up with 8in of dead space around each wall that needs to be filled. Also not sure how plywood would handle the high humidity in the long run. Right now we're considering our options. I'm about at the point where I'll pay someone to come poor a new slab and I'll build the **** thing myself as it would probably be cheaper and easier than finishing out the metal building. We looked at prefabricated structures, but with the wood floors I'm afraid we'll have long term issues with supporting this large of a tank. Would really prefer it sitting on concrete. What was killing the other project was the electrician and plumbing. If I essentially build an addition to the house separated by a breeze way I could wire the whole thing myself and just have an electrcian hook everything up. I grew up doing some construction work, but I've been amazed at how much contractors are charging. With the bathroom project they were wanting almost $16k and that was if I did all the demo and laid the floors myself. Otherwise it was pushing $20k. I'm into about $3k of materials at this point and after the new tub, cabinets, and counter tops I'm looking at $6k. I had one contractor tell me it was going to cost $3-4k for 2 guys to paint the interior of that building (26x18 of finished space all the same color). That's a 2 day job at worst with about $500 of paint on the high end. I get it that craftsman (like cabinet makers) can charge a lot because they have a unique skill set, but it's certainly not hard to paint a wall or hang sheet rock. I'll end my rant now :-) thanks for the read. Hoping the tank is up and running in the next 6-12 months, but my wife wants to redo most of the floors in the house with tile.... Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltwater snoopy Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 what a cool roof an cool place still reading tread Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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