quote:

Originally posted by Ongwe:
Very nice!

But you need to shoo the neighbors damn dog out of there before he makes a mess!

lol.

He's just announcing it ready for wildlife!!!

I've got a spot light up there to highlight him when I get the urge to howl at the moon!!

Looking nice!

With the exception of an elk, the "deer wall" is complete. Getting the lighting just right is proving to be more difficult than I thought. Looks right to the naked eye but a photo still shows a few "hot" spots, mostly centered around the caribou and to his left. Trick is to get the animal and horns highlighted without creating massive shadows on the wall behind. Easier said than done for a novice like myself.


Working on the "Africa Section" currently.

Here is another view of the "Deer Wall". Considerations right now are to place the elk where the caribou is currently, then place the caribou above and to the right of the brown bear. That would make a "Deer Wall" and a sort of "Alaska" type wall, although the bear is from Russia, not AK. And yes, I've got to get that ugly white door painted. Anyway, doing some experiments to get it right.

I've also included a sneak peak of the "Africa" section. TV has to be moved later this week as the leopard is blocking the right lower portion. Bit of a bigger operation than expected with a TV of that size. But it's finally coming together.

This is looking really good. It's also clear that you have an above-average taxidermist.

Really nice room, Todd. Can't wait to see it all in there! The taxidermy looks great.

Question: As I said, I'm planning something similar. With the OSB sheeting, how big of a mount can you hang without looking for a stud? Mine will likely have drywall over the wood sheeting...

Baker,

I've got 1/2" OSB and the pallet wood is mostly 1/2" pine. So basically 1" of wood to nail into.

The heaviest animals I have up so far are the two Kudu. They are secure without being in studs, but I'd say they are probably the limit of what I'm comfortable with without nailing into a stud.

I've got a couple of young strong fellows coming over this weekend to move and hang the heavier items so once I get them up, I'll give you some additional info, or at least opinion.

If you went with plywood instead of OSB, you might be able to hang heavier items but with the outer wall being sheetrock, I think you'll need to go quite a bit heavier than 1/2" on the OSB in order to get away from locating studs. And of course, going with plywood instead of OSB is going to affect your build cost.

Love it Todd! Looking great... the rustic look rocks. Repurposed wood and tin give it a cool vibe.

Africa section is complete now. Still working on lighting but this is where it stands so far.

Thanks for posting the running account of the trophy room building project. I've been vicariously enjoying your project. It's looking great.

NICE !

Is there any trophy in the collection
that a .458 WIN with the right bullet
would not have been perfect for the bagging?

Rip ...

The lighting must be tough. That Kudu has a shiny face and the coyote is hiding in the dark.

Really wonderful room, if that is all you have to complain about it isn't much!

Whole lot of work there. Really looks nice.

wow

Thanks for the nice comments guys.

BWW, yes, the lighting can be a challenge as I'm finding out. In fact, if you look at the header for the Trophy Room forum with Saeed's Impala and Leopard, you'll see some of the same issues I'm dealing with as his impala has a hot spot of light right in the center, and the leopard's tail is highlighted. I'll bet it looks 100% in person as mine do, but for some reason, with the camera, those hot spots show up. So I'm still working through getting all of those sorted out. For instance on the Deer Wall, animals on the far right end look to be illuminated correctly as does most of the left side of my Africa section. The eland's face may be a bit bright. Not that big of a deal but with as much as has gone into the project to date, I want to get them exactly right. That kudu's face is shining and the waterbuck above the fridge is dark. Those seem to be the biggest outstanding issues on the posted photo.

I think the next set of photos will be the final showing unless anyone has questions. The crew is here paving the driveway today so the car will be parked in the room tomorrow for the first time. All the remaining animals are now in the building and I'm just waiting for one area rug to arrive for the musical instruments area.

As soon as those items are taken care of, I'll post the last group of photos.

Much appreciation for the folks who have followed along. It's been mostly fun but it's time to be done with construction, get it all cleaned up, and start enjoying it.

I am really enjoying it, and I thank you for the lessons you are providing.

Much as other trophy room builders have done on AR, it creates an incredible wealth of information to learn from.

Todd,

Thanks a lot for posting progress on your build. The room looks great!

Todd, it's looking good! I love the slat wood on the walls. I can't wait to see it finished and filled!

One more progress photo post before a wrap up with everything cleaned up and finalized.

Someone asked about integrating the car/trophy room decor. Here is how I did it. First time for the car in the cave.

I’m still trying to figure out if this is a marriage saver or breaker!

Wonderful job and pretty fast even with the crew delays.

quote:

Originally posted by DCS Member:
I’m still trying to figure out if this is a marriage saver or breaker!

Wonderful job and pretty fast even with the crew delays.

LOL Marcus. I hear you buddy. But after 38 years, I think it's pretty bullet proof at this point, especially considering those 7 years in the military.

Fact is, as a part time builder, the wife and I enjoy the creative process of taking a vacant piece of land and building something nice. We fight like cats and dogs over certain things in the process but mostly have it worked out where she does the design and I handle operations and finance. I let her do her designs as long as it fits the budget and isn't too far out there. Of course on this one, being our personal project, we both let the budget get a little out of hand!



But the wife and I have both been planning this room for a few decades. We've made changes to the plan over time and finally just got it done. This was actually as much her project as mine and I have to give her credit for most of the cool attributes.

Todd, that’s great. I’m glad you understood my attempt at humor.

I believe I met your wife just briefly at one of the banquets. She seemed like a lovely lady. She must be to put up with your hobbies, which are awesome, and your time in the service had to be trying.

Congrats on the ultimate man cave. Now you just need to stock the bar, put a smoker outside and enjoy!

That is a great trophy room! I really like the reclaimed wood.

quote:

Originally posted by Lhook7:
That is a great trophy room! I really like the reclaimed wood.

+1

Me too.

I would get rid of some trophies to show more reclaimed wood

Well done.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by Beretta682E:

quote:

Originally posted by Lhook7:
That is a great trophy room! I really like the reclaimed wood.

+1

Me too.

I would get rid of some trophies to show more reclaimed wood

Well done.

Mike

LOL Mike,

We all know you'd have that room displaying Blasers and a Tesla!

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Williams:

quote:

Originally posted by Beretta682E:

quote:

Originally posted by Lhook7:
That is a great trophy room! I really like the reclaimed wood.

+1

Me too.

I would get rid of some trophies to show more reclaimed wood

Well done.

Mike

LOL Mike,

We all know you'd have that room displaying Blasers and a Tesla!

I like it. I am really not into taxidermy. The American stuff also looks nicer to me than the Africa - but that is just me.

I really like the reclaimed wood. I really like the finished concrete floors.

The Dodge Viper is a nice touch. I would get rid of the drums

I would have more guns all over the place

Overall it is very nice and cool.

Mike

Nice room!! Having it loaded up really puts it all together. Well done.

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Williams:

quote:

Originally posted by Beretta682E:

quote:

Originally posted by Lhook7:
That is a great trophy room! I really like the reclaimed wood.

+1

Me too.

I would get rid of some trophies to show more reclaimed wood

Well done.

Mike

LOL Mike,

We all know you'd have that room displaying Blasers and a Tesla!

Not a Tesla, a Prius maybe

quote:

Originally posted by Hogbreath:

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Williams:

quote:

Originally posted by Beretta682E:

quote:

Originally posted by Lhook7:
That is a great trophy room! I really like the reclaimed wood.

+1

Me too.

I would get rid of some trophies to show more reclaimed wood

Well done.

Mike

LOL Mike,

We all know you'd have that room displaying Blasers and a Tesla!

Not a Tesla, a Prius maybe

Now I need to cancel my Tesla pickup truck preorder for a Prius

Mike

Thanks for doing this!

I have to get something together at some point, and the more options I see, the better.

I will probably steal some of your ideas when the time comes. I really like the reclaimed wood!

MAN! This room gets better every time I see it!

WELL DONE SIR!
…...…………………………………...

Looks wonderful. Quite relaxing. The wood walls pop. We have some accent walls in our house like that.

Thanks fellas.

I still plan to post some final photos but I still haven't gotten some of the very final items taken care of yet. For one, we've had a hell of a time getting the sink set for the bar. We had a petrified wood sink (one in the bathroom is installed and working fine) that is too thick for any commercially available drains. It needs about 6" of threads and we can only locate ones with 4". So we opted for a standard vessel sink. It shows up and requires a delicate routing in the counter top that the plumbers were not willing to try. So we've ordered yet another vessel and are waiting for it to arrive.

I did have the painters do their final touch ups last week but the masonry guys have a few bricks to reset.

Then there are some final grade / landscaping concerns.

All told, I may wait until completing the landscaping details before making a final post. May be a little while now that winter is upon us ... well, as much winter as we get here in TX!!

Todd, this is a very impressive trophy room, well designed and constructed. You have a fine collection of animals and a perfect venue to reminisce about all of those wonderful memories and plans for future ones.

Lovely man cave you have created. I drive a Dodge as my daily car, damn Swedish gas prices.

Looks great Todd. Lighting can sure be a problem, especially with dark walls, ceiling and few windows. You look like you have that part figured out though. Very nice room with lots of room!

Todd,

Nice! Love that you attached the shoulder mounts to the wall in a somewhat random fashion. These trophy rooms with everything on a straight line just look too stuffy to me.

Mark

Looks great! I showed my better half and now she wants to buy a new house...

Well done, all around. Congrats on a great space.

.

Great room ! Congrats. Whens the 'trophy room warming party'?

Super work and mounts!

.