Spent most of June in S.A. with my son and grandsons...we managed to get some great trophies...now I have to build a Trophy Room...I know that most of you guys are knowledgeable on this subject...plan for ceilings to be 14'high,1/2" plwd. on all walls covered with 1/2" smooth finish drywall,only 2 windows with uv coating,complete HVAC with dehumidifiers...I also cut an 18" hickory tree which I plan to cut in lengths for pedestal mounts(heavy but I think will look good)...please advise if you think any of this is a mistake and any other info you might care to share with me...

Make it bigger than you think you need it.

plan on making it 30'x 40'

Wall height is good. I went 3/4" plywood just in case with the bigger stuff and lifesize mounts. Good luck.

Thanks ,I do have two half body mts. to place and that would solve it.

you never make it big enough

I have been told that by several people...that is what I wanted to gleen from you guys ''experience not an experiment''.only have enough $ to do this one time....like pedestal height,is there something I should watch for or not do...

I have no doubt ,if J Kinson Cook builds it ,it will be 'right'. How you doing ole boy?

well, for an old fat man I am doing great,but if compared to what I was,not worth a shit...and yes J.Kinson Cook will build the room,I have the slab poured now and will start the framing next week,my big project and all this expense is jdollars fault...might I be so bold as to ask ''hoo dat no me''...........

Im an ole GA boy, Mr Ed Balls wore out cowboy,retired cropduster that thought the world of Mr Jerome. Im one of those Brocks, the Dollars,Brocks, Harrell and Deans settled SW GA back in the Indian days. We had a lot of mutual friends back in the late 70's early ,mid 80's. Miss Penny was several years ahead of me. Steve Brock of the Adloph Brock clan.. very best

damn small world, eh!! yeh, the family lineage does go WAY back to the early days of south GA. i opened a big can of worms when i finally convinced my BIL to go to Africa in June for plains game. he got seriously bitten by the Africa bug and we are now planning a little hunt next year for buff, hippo, and croc! my sister Penny, may never forgive me. hell, you are closer to my age than Penny's( me being younger, of course )

Hey J,

Don't forget about lighting. Lots of it. Down lights, tracks, uplights, wash lights... you get the idea.

And did anyone mention make it bigger than you think you need?

Have fun-

lots of light it will be and yes everyone says make it bigger,but the slab is poured at 30 x 40 so that what I will work with...I am having a great time planning and working on this project...as some know I have hunted alot out west,Alaska,Canada,and South America and had thought I would spend the rest of my time with my dogs hunting bobwhite at CHIPOLA in South Ga...then after about 10 years of pressure from jdollar,I messed up and got some of that damn African sand in my shoes this past June...we are already planning our next trip...my only regret on this is that I wish I had gone 10 years earlier....hi Steve and thanks to all for the advice,I look forward to more...............

I have a friend that used 1/2" plywood on the walls with drywall over that. When I built my room, he suggested that I use 3/4" plywood. So, I did and now can hang anything, anywhere. Just my 2 cents.

Mr Bearhunter, Not meaning to hijack the trophy room thread, do any farmers still grow satsumas in your area ? I have been researching them and understand there were as many as 13,000 acres in NE FL back at turn of century, My grandmother had one and each hard freeze I would have to wrap it in old bed sheets. the tree was 20+ feet tall and prob 35 ' in dia. when a hard 11 deg freeze nailed it in mid 80's right at Christmas. No telling how much fruit that tree produced in its lifetime. Satsuma FL was over around Jax FL. very best

I will use the heavy plwd. it appears that most have felt it was best,thanks for the advise..Winchester poor,i do not know if you were aware or not,but they started planting both tangerines and satsumas by the thousands in Gadsden county,started several years ago...the tomatoe packing houses can run and grade the citrus without a major adjustments...we will just have to see what a hard freeze will do...you know we will have one.

My room is 30 by 40 as well. It is a good size. My walls are 12' with a 16' peak. Plywood is nice which I did. I also put 2x12 blocking in before the plywood about 3-4' down from top and the far end around my gas fireplace for large animals.
Also I did a spackle knock down texture to the walls. Basically it gives it a rough stucco like finish. I really like it over just smooth drywall. If I was doing it again I would mix my paint color in with the drywall mud when applying the spackle, that way any chips or scratches would only show the paint color and not white as the mud would be the same color as the painted walls.

Thanks brent,I am glad you feel the size is ok...I elected to make my ceiling 14',but flat with a few beams for looks...I also will have a gas fireplace(double sided in the middle of the room)...sounds like your drywall finish is what we use to call skip-finish "hardcoat" with the paint mixed in, good idea...the rough finish would also be easy to patch/match and match what I saw in Africa...if you have any pedestal mts. I would appreciate your advising the pedestal hights .....thanks

Kin, the height of a pedestal will depend a great deal on what animal you are going to put on it. a long necked, tall animal like a kudu will require a shorter pedestal. shorter animal like a wildebeest will require a taller pedestal. my thought is you want the animal's eyes to be at or slightly above your own line of sight. sort of like hanging a painting on a wall. of course, your eye level and your wife's eye level differ greatly!

sounds right...might be better to cut the pedestal hight after I am ready to place them in the room,thanks Jerry

cant wait to see the finished article, sounds very good!

sounds like its going to great! looking forward to the photos of the finished article!

Another + for the 3/4" plywood. 1/2" won't hold quite as well on the big guys.

Thanks for all the great advice,I've been all ears and appreciate all the input...yes I am taking photos from start to finish...I hope to have the framing complete by the week end...then the slow part will start...I have scheduled completion for about the same time my mounts arrive from Africa...at least, hopefuly.....................

3/4 inch plywood for sure and mark down where your studs are first for hanging the big heavy stuff like buffalo as you should use lag bolts into the studs through the plywood on that stuff. You only have to take one measurement per wall as all your studs will be on 16 or 24 inch centers thereafter. This will also give you peace of mind in the event they are hung near furniture like couches and chairs.

more good advice,I will mark the stud layout on each wall...we are using 2x6 studs on 16" centers,so it will be easy to find the studs...about how much does a buf. shoulder mount weight???

well Kin, did you get the framing finished today?? and BTW, a cape buffalo shoulder mount will weigh about the same as an eland mount, give or take 10 lbs- about 60-70 lbs max.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
well Kin, did you get the framing finished today?? and BTW, a cape buffalo shoulder mount will weigh about the same as an eland mount, give or take 10 lbs- about 60-70 lbs max.

I am good on the weight...........and
yes, the framing is done and the plwd. is up on the outside...trusses are to arrive and be set this week,so by Sun. it will be dry and ready to start the inside work,which will be a little slower...had good luck today,my boys claim I have a rabbit foot stuck up my butt...taking a clue from you I was online looking for a vent free dbl. sided gas log fireplace, complete for the room...I liked to have fell over when I found how much they cost...went by the insulation sub today to line up my insulation and they had started selling fireplaces...found just what i was looking for complete with everything including the logs...it had a dent in the sheet metal on the top where the forklift had hit it, which will be covered up with the interior framing...I have known the owner for some time and I started bitching about the dent the cost,etc...he looked at me and said " Kin,you cheap SOB,I can not sell as new,it has been here for months,if you give me 500 dollars I will have someone put it in your truck,as long as I get a chance to have a scotch in front of it."...it rode to the house with me and on to the farm tomorrow..he even threw in extra lava rock for Penny.............

this post is incomplete without pictures( and i know you have some)!!!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
this post is incomplete without pictures( and i know you have some)!!!!!!

I have pictures from cutting the trees thru. today,bldg.ready for outside finishes,fireplace set and elec. about finished...I will post some photos as soon as my dumb ass figures out how to post them...that is why I did not post any pictures from our June hunt...........

note to those building and /or renovating their "T" room...i did most of the items suggested by you guys,high ceilings,plwd.behind the drywall and lots and lots of lighting...with the large amount of fixtures(each controled with dimmers),the number of wall switches is such that you need a program...i am not sure ,but i think it would have been better to have picked a place to have installed a cabinet(control box) and controled most of the lights from a single location...just a thought...it may be that most of you did that to start with...

FRAMING WALLS

INSTALLING TRUSSES

DRYING IN EXTERIOR

INSTALLING PLWD ON WALLS

DRYWALL INSTALLING

EXTERIOR FINISHED

INSTALLING HARD TILE

GETTING CLOSER TO FINISH...