This is where the fun actually all started. I tore into this closet
long before the aquarium arrived. Once I had possession of the home,
this was actually the first project I tackled. This is what the
closet looked like the day I moved in -
Not a bad pantry actually. A few shelves and such and it could
hold a lot of canned goods and other non-perishable food incase
of that Nuclear Holocaust. Or, we could actually do something useful
with all this square footage. Within 7 days of living in my house
the project was underway. However, before any work could begin,
the most important tool of the job had to be purchased, chilled,
and stocked.
The beer fridge, naturally. With August Schell Octoberfest safely
and efficiently pouring into our pint glasses, work was able to
commence.
Meet Steve, he was instrumental in this project and was there nearly
everyday progress was made (thanks Steve!). But really, he should
be thanking me for this. I gave him a really kick-ass project for
a year. He is now bored and waiting for me to start my backyard
porch. Anyway, back to the closet. Getting the drywall off was the
easy part I suppose, but it was a huge step towards completion.
You can't, after all, have an ending without a beginning. Once we
had bare walls it was time to reconstruct the closet to an aquarium
filtration center. There was a lot to fit into this closet so blueprints
were key in making it all fit. Shelves were added at precise heights
and dimensions, a total of 6 circuits of electricity were brought
in, a single Cat 5 cable to integrate the aquarium with my home
PC, as well as the aforementioned water and sewer lines.
Little by little the room came together. Below is a picture of
the electrical control center. Each outlet has it's own switch.
Of course the electrical was easy for me given my background, what
I wasn't ready for was drywalling that concentration of electrical
boxes. After giving it some thought a template was made from cardboard
-
Then traced from the cardboard and cut out of the drywall -
And finally a trim job once in place -
After several weeks we finally had the electrical, shelves, and
drywall complete. And an empty keg.
The workers voted for a replacement of the August Schell - who
was I to argue?
Now it was time to put the finishing touches on the room. White
Birch wood is used throughout my closet, canopy, and stand, with
Red Oak trim throughout. Up until this point it was mostly just
Steve and I working on the project, but this is where Paul became
involved.
With his handy work on the trim it was knocked out with me barely
having to look into the closet. And before long we had a closet
ready for urethane.
It' was good timing, too, because the aquarium just arrived and
it was time to build the stand.
To see the entire photo album of the closet portion please
view this link.
To continue on with the project please follow along to
building the stand.
Delivery Day
~ The Plumbing
~ The Closet~
The Stand ~ The
Tile ~ Move In
~ The Canopy ~
Filling
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