Work Out Room Project

 Below are a couple of before pictures of the so-called "work out room". It was really more of a space for the dogs to sleep at night and an occasional storage room.

 In an attempt to make this an actual work out room, I knew that I had to tackle some big issues. First of all, I needed to find another place for the dogs. My solution was to empty out the space under the stairs which was also used for storage. I had always hesitated to do this because the dogs have a window in this room but not under the stairs, but then it occurred to me that when they are in there at night they can't see out the window anyway, DUH! I'll show you their new space later on. Back to the work out room...

Secondly, I had to take care of the molding problem. Our beautiful yellow lab as a puppy loved to chew on everything. Luckily, he is out of that phase.

 The molding was an easy fix. Most of it could be repaired with a little sanding and fresh paint. The window sill, however, needed to be completely replaced. This was not a big problem though. I kept the old piece of molding and took it to Home Depot. By doing this I was able to not only select the correct piece of molding, but I could get the new piece cut to size before I brought it home. The nice folks at Home Depot continue to enable me by doing all of the cutting! A few nails, a little caulk and fresh paint and that task was done.

Next, I wanted to do some commercial carpet. I love the look of the stained concrete but we are going to add weights and a universal machine so I think the carpet is a better choice. Our concrete in this room was not in exceptional shape anyway.

I chose carpet tiles because I knew that I could install them myself and save money. The instructions are very simple. First, you just have to find the center of the room. I made a chalk line in each direction so I could line the first few tiles along the chalk lines. Next, you just peel of the backing and stick down to the floor. A couple of hints...make sure you install with the arrows. I wanted a bit of a checkerboard design, so I alternated between arrow up and arrow to the right. Also, I found that it helped to have the dark floor underneath because if there is any gap, you can't tell because it blends in. (If you do a light color carpet, you would want a light color floor beneath.) When you make the cuts around the room, make sure you use a sharp blade. I used a regular matte knife and changed the blades out 3 or 4 times. I ordered these online from Lowes. They are 18"x18" in Gunmetal. This room is about 12'x12' so it cost around $270 to complete this project.  The carpet installation took about 2-3 hours. These are great because if you damage one or stain it, it can be easily replaced so make sure you have a few extras!

We still need to order the equipment for the room but my job is complete. Well, I guess, except for the working out part. :)