Den --> Fishroom Remodel

[SonsOfLeda]

Hey everyone -

I'm looking for a bit of guidance in regards to the remodel of my den. Here is a general idea of what needs to happen in order to transform the room from it's current state into my new fishroom:
Cut a hole into a non-load-bearing interior wall for a door.
Hang the new door (interior/exterior - haven't decided yet).
Run plumbing from the adjacent bathroom's water supply/drains for a utility sink and RO/DI unit.
Hang the new wall mounted sink.
Protect the walls/ceiling with either FRP or Bilgekote (keeping in mind that they are currently completely finished - drywall, textured, painted).
Remove all current flooring (carpeted) down to the slab.
Apply self-leveling concrete topping/primer to prevent future weight-distribution issues.
Install new waterproof flooring.
Install waterproof baseboards.What should be my plan of attack here? I'm not sure about where to start and in what order I should plan on getting these things done. Any advice would be much appreciated.


Thanks in advance!

- Eric

[flyguy1821]

Without any photos, blueprints we could be missing something, i.e. proximity of plumbing supply/drains and location of tank. Just an opinion on the construction process.

Deconstruct first - remove carpet, ( I sold my carpet on craigslist, who'd a thought)
-open up the wall and reinforce for your display
-run plumbing while walls are open for RO and sink(if you want your supply lines in wall) - make sure to reinforce for the sink weight while walls are open (recommend PEX for ease of installation but that can be argued too)
-level concrete
-make opening for door, hang door, then remove door after shimmed so it is not in the way
-reinstall drywall, seal - paint/texture
-install flooring
-install baseboard
-sit back and admire your handywork
-phase 2; set up the tank

I am sure there will be a little variance in method here but I firmly believe deconstruction has to be first. You can get little surprises once the drywall is off, since it is non load bearing shouldn't be much of an issue.

I also would like to know where the door is going? Will you have a separate room to get to the back of the tank? If so I would leave plumbing exposed on the inside just in case you want to add more later.

Electrical is another consideration you didnt mention. Do you have 14 guage (white casing) or 12 guage (yellow casing). You need to make sure your wiring can handle the load for your lights, skimmer, pumps, etc. I would put some receptacles up higher and some lower for ease of use. Much easier to do when walls are open then adding later.

[TAB]

two words.

Air Flow.

you need air coming in and air going out. Other wise you will never get rid of the mositure prob your going to have.

I'd also recomend cutting the slab to install a floor drain.

[SonsOfLeda]

Here's a visual for everyone so you can see what I'm trying to accomplish:

Before (currently):
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s168/SonsOfLeda/TheDen-Small.jpg

After (planned):
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s168/SonsOfLeda/FishRoom-Small.jpg
The wall on the left is an exterior wall with a 36" x 60" window (quite possibly how the tank's getting into the house). I plan to use this window (converted, of course) as my source of air flow for the room.
The wall at 90* in the back is the bathroom that I referred to where the plumbing will come from.
The 45* angled wall in the back corner of the room opens up to a hallway. In another layout of the house, this room is actually a bedroom and that wall has a doorway installed in it. Had I known at the time I was going to get approval from my better half for a fish room of this magnitude, that's probably the layout we'd have gone with.
The wall on the right side of the room is a continuation of that same hallway towards the rest of the house.
In front of this room (through the archway) is the living room. With a lot of traffic, this placement is perfect for viewing the tank once we're to that point.
The angled wall in the front corner is opposite the main entryway to the house.
The "shelf" on top of the archway is just that on the opposite side.
Yes, the ceiling is slanted. On the left side of the room, the walls are 8'. On the right side of the room, the walls are 10'2".My difficulty in using the room in this way (besides the construction itself, but that's gong to be fun) is the space in the archway above the tank. Does anyone have suggestions as how to seal this space from moisture exiting to the rest of the house, yet still be visually appealing and allow me to access the tank from the living room? I'm visualizing some sort of curved, hinged panel (or even cabinet-style doors), but I'm very open to suggestions.

Thanks again!

- Eric

[zack1a]

Won't a dehumidifier suffice in removing the moisture in the air?

As far as accessing the tank from the living area have you consided using magnetic weather stripping? I bet that would work great if you can find a way to hide it.

FYI, I am in the middle of a very similar project right now and have many of the same questions.